is a 2015

Japanese television drama , also called , are television programs that are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, jidaigeki, thrill ...

based on the novel ''Tennō no Ryōriban'' by Hisahide Sugimori, depicting the life of imperial cook

Tokuzō Akiyama was a Japanese chef who served as Emperor Taishō's and later Hirohito, Emperor Shōwa's imperial chef. He is regarded as an influential figure in spreading French cuisine in Japan. His life was adapted into a novel and several television series. ...

. It premiered on TBS on 26 April 2015, starring

Takeru Satoh is a Japanese actor. He is best known for his leading role as Ryotaro Nogami in the ''Kamen Rider Den-O'' franchise, and as Himura Kenshin in the live-action ''Rurouni Kenshin'' film and its sequels. Satoh was born on 21 March 1989 in Iwatsuki ...

in the lead role. The 1st episode is 108 minutes, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th episodes are 64 minutes long. The series was well received by the public, earning the highest viewership rating in its time slot during its run time.

Plot

Tokuzō Akiyama is a good-for-nothing young man living in the countryside, who gets easily absorbed in activities he finds interesting, but quickly loses interest and moves on, creating trouble for his family. He is married off to a merchant household to teach him discipline, and his wife gradually grows to love his personality. Tokuzō, however, falls in love again: this time with cooking. As he delivers goods to the army kitchen, the army chef introduces him to

cutlet Cutlet (derived from French ''côtelette'', ''côte'', "rib") refers to: # a thin slice of meat from the leg or ribs of mutton, veal, pork or chicken # a dish made of such slice, often breaded (also known in various languages as a '' cotoletta ...

, which prompts Tokuzō to learn the craft. On a whim, he decides to leave his wife to study cooking in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. Amid hardship and humiliation, the young man who never felt compelled to stick to a job, keeps his dream to become the emperor's cook at only 25 years of age.

Cast

Haru Kuroki is a Japanese actress. She gained international recognition by winning Silver Bear (Best Actress Award) at Berlin International Film Festival in 2014, for her performance in Yoji Yamada's film ''The Little House ''The Little House'' is a 194 ...

- Toshiko Takahama *

Kenta Kiritani is a Japanese actor and singer. He was born in Kita-ku, Osaka. Filmography Films TV series Internet series Dubbing *'' The Legend of Tarzan'', Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgård Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård (; born August 25, 1976) is ...

- Shintarō Matsui *

Tasuku Emoto is a Japanese actor represented by Alpha Agency. His father is actor Akira Emoto, his mother is actress Kazue Tsunogae, his brother is actor Tokio Emoto, and his wife is actress Sakura Ando. Biography Emoto was born in Tokyo on 1986. In 2001 he ...

- Tatsukichi Yamagami *

Saki Takaoka is a Japanese actress. Her uncle is the jazz pianist Yōsuke Yamashita. She won the award for best actress at the 19th Hochi Film Award for ''Crest of Betrayal''. Filmography Film * ''cf girl'' (''cfガール'', 1989) * ''Swimming Upstream ...

- Ume Morita *Gajirō Satō - Sennosuke Morita *

Sei Ashina , known professionally as , was a Japanese actress. Career She was born Igarashi Aya, and assumed the stage name Sei Ashina. Prior to her acting career, Ashina was a model. She made her acting debut in the 2002 Tokyo Broadcasting System Televisi ...

- Kayano *Ryū Morioka - Kurasaburō Akiyama * Anna Ishibashi - Mitsuko Takahama *Yoshiyuki Tsubokura - Okumura *Jinta Nishizawa - Masashi Sasaki *Daisuke Kuroda - Araki *Takeshi Ōnishi - Sekiguchi *Mamoru Watanabe - Sugiyama *Hirotaka Ōkuma - Fujita *Yūji Kido - Suzuki * Ryōhei Suzuki - Shūtarō Akiyama *

Tetsuya Takeda Tetsuya Takeda (), born April 11, 1949, is a Japanese folk singer and actor. Takeda is perhaps most known in Japan for his starring role in the Tokyo Broadcasting System's (TBS) long-running, highly rated television drama '' Sannen B Gumi Kinpa ...

- Professor Shōgo Kirizuka *

Hideaki Itō is a Japanese actor. Biography Ito is best known for starring in the hit franchise ''Umizaru'' film series which consistently topped the Japanese box office of the year. He has also head-lined many other major Japanese films such as Takashi M ...

- Sergeant Yūkichi Tanabe (Cook of the 36th Infantry Regiment) *

Yumi Asō , better known by the stage name , is a Japanese actress. She is a niece of singer Chiyo Okumura. She married actor in March 2004, and they had one child. The couple separated less than two years later, and officially divorced in 2008. Biography ...

- Okichi (Shūtarō's lodging house landlady)TBS official website
(in Japanese) *

Masaya Kato is a Japanese actor from Nara in the Kansai region. Life and career He is currently attached to Burning Production. He stands at 183 centimeters. He practices martial arts and performs his own stunts in movies. Filmography Films *1988: ''Shiro ...

- Takeshirō Iogi (Chef to the British Minister to Japan) *Yōjin Hino - Kinnosuke Takahama *Satoko Ōshima - Harue Takahama *

Jun Miho Jun or JUN may refer to: People and anthroponymy * Jun (given name), a common Japanese given name * Jun (singer), a member of South Korean boy band U-KISS * Tomáš Jun, Czech footballer * A spelling of common Korean family name Jeon (Korean surn ...

- Fuki Akiyama *

Tetta Sugimoto is a Japanese actor. Career Sugimoto was first a member of a rock band before he debuted as an actor in 1983 in the film '' Hakujasho''. For that film, he won a Japan Academy Prize best newcomer award. In addition to his work in film, he has a ...

- Shūzō Akiyama * Kaoru Kobayashi - Kamaichi Usami (Chef of the Peer's Club) *

Hiromi Go , is a Japanese singer, part of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. His real name is . In the 1970s, he was called the with Goro Noguchi and Hideki Saijo. He belonged to Johnny & Associates, but later left the agency. He also effectively became ...

- Japanese Ambassador to France Shin'ichirō Awano * Noémie Nakai - Simone *Kazuyuki Asano - Viscount Hayato Fukuba (Director of the Imperial Cuisine Division,

Ministry of the Imperial Household The was a division of the eighth century Japanese government of the Imperial Court in Kyoto, instituted in the Asuka period and formalized during the Heian period. The Ministry was reorganized in the Meiji period and existed until 1947, befor ...

) *

Kazue Itoh Kazue (written: 一恵, 一枝, 和恵, 和枝, 和永, 良恵 or かずえ in hiragana) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese actress *, Japanese gymnast *, Japanese swimmer *, Japanese voice actress ...

- Takigawa (Lady-in-waiting of

Empress Teimei , born , was the wife of Emperor Taishō and the mother of Emperor Shōwa of Japan. Her posthumous name, ''Teimei'', means "enlightened constancy". Biography Sadako Kujō was born on 25 June 1884 in Tokyo, as the fourth daughter of Duke Michit ...

)From the telop of ''Emperor's Cook'' episode 10
/ref> *

Emi Wakui is a Japanese actress. She has won three Japanese Academy Awards: the 1994 Best Actress award for her performance in ''Rainbow Bridge (Niji no Hashi)'', and the 1992 awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Newcomer for her performance as Sei ...

Zen Kajihara ,
(in Japanese) is a Japanese theatre actor. Originally a member of the Emperor Showa Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

SIS Company Inc. official profile page of Zen Kajihara
(in Japanese) * Sapphira Van Doorn - Françoise

Episodes

Production

The drama was filmed in various locations in Japan (including

Fukushima may refer to: Japan * Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture ** Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan ***Fukushima University, national university in Japan *** Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushim ...

, Ibaraki,

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

, Okayama) and in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

took cooking classes to portray the character and did the cooking scenes without a stand-in.

Accolades

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Emperor's Cook, The Japanese drama television series 2015 in Japanese television 2015 Japanese television series debuts 2015 Japanese television series endings Nichiyō Gekijō Television shows based on Japanese novels Japanese cooking television series Japanese historical television series Television shows set in Tokyo Television shows set in Fukui Prefecture Television shows written by Yoshiko Morishita