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is a
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, thriller ...
series and the 102nd
Asadora , colloquially known as , is a serialized, 15 minutes per episode, Japanese television drama program series broadcast in the mornings by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. The first such series aired in 1961 with the black-and-white , starring Take ...
series, following '' Scarlet''. It premiered on March 30, 2020 and concluded on November 27, 2020. It was the first ''Asadora'' to be recorded in 4K, and the first since ''Musume to Watashi'' to be broadcast in only five 15-minute episodes per week Monday through Friday, with omnibus airings on Saturday mornings instead of a fresh episode.


Plot

In 1909, a long-awaited baby boy was born to a family which has run a dry goods store for generations in Fukushima Prefecture. He would later become the talented composer Yuichi Koyama who wrote many famous songs. Although Yuichi was brought up as the heir of the business, he was rather dreamy and considered a child with no redeeming traits by the people around him. However, when he encountered music, it sparked joy and unleashed his gift in composing music through self-study. As a youth, Yuichi secretly put his name down for an overseas songwriting competition. This would change his destiny. He won runner-up for the song he entered for the competition. As a result, he got to know a female student who wanted to be a singer. Despite the long distance between them – Fukushima and Toyohashi – the two of them tied the knot. When they came to Tokyo, they met all sorts of people and weathered a dark period to produce a number of hit songs. However, war broke out and Yuichi had to compose wartime songs at the army's request. It pained him that young men died in battle after singing the songs he had written. After the war, the country began to recover amid the chaos. The couple made a new era of music in an attempt to encourage the wounded through the power of music.


Cast


Koyama's family

*
Masataka Kubota is a Japanese actor. Filmography Films * ''Boku no Hatsukoi o Kimi ni Sasagu'' (2009) * ''Kyōretsu! Mōretsu!! Kodai Shōjo Doguchan Matsuri Special Movie Edition'' (2010), Makoto Sugihara * ''Gachiban Series'' (2010–2014), Yūto Kuronaga * ...
as Yūichi Koyama (based on
Yūji Koseki was a Japanese ''ryūkōka'', '' gunka'', march, fight song and film score composer. His real name was also Yūji Koseki, but its kanji was 古關 勇治. Koseki entered Nippon Columbia in 1930. He composed Hanshin Tigers' song "Rokko Oroshi" i ...
) ** Sera Ishida as young Yūichi *
Toshiaki Karasawa (real name Kiyoshi Karasawa (唐澤 潔 ''Karasawa Kiyoshi'')) is a Japanese theatre and film actor. He made his theatrical debut in the play ''Boy's Revue Stay Gold'' (ボーイズレビュー・ステイゴールド ''Bōizu Rebyū Sutei Gōrud ...
as Saburō Koyama, Yūichi's father *
Momoko Kikuchi is a Japanese actress, entertainer, singer, and scholar who was formerly represented by the talent agency, Parfit Production. On June 22, 2020, Kikuchi announced that she has left Parfit Production and gone independent. Her ex-husband is profes ...
as Masa Koyama, Yūichi's mother * Takara Sakumoto as Kōji Koyama, Yūichi's brother *
Morio Kazama is a Japanese actor. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 2nd Yokohama Film Festival for ''Shiki Natsuko'' and ''Yūgure made'' and at the 6th and 7th Japan Academy Prizes. Filmography Films * ''Wanpaku Ōji no Orochi Taiji'' (1963 ...
as Mohei Gōndō, Yūichi's uncle and Masa's older brother


Sekiuchi's family

*
Fumi Nikaidō is a Japanese actress and fashion model. Career Starting as a model in Naha, Okinawa, Nikaidō made her film debut in 2009 in ''Toad's Oil'', directed by Kōji Yakusho. She and Shota Sometani received the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best ...
as Oto Sekiuchi, Yūichi's wife (based on Kinko Koseki) ** Kaho Shimizu as young Oto *
Ken Mitsuishi is a Japanese actor. He has appeared in films such as '' Chaos'' and ''Tokyo Playboy Club''. Filmography Film ;1980s *'' Tora's Tropical Fever'' (1980) *''Foster Daddy, Tora!'' (1980) *'' Sailor Suit and Machine Gun'' (1981) *''Tora-san, the Exp ...
as Yasutaka Sekiuchi, Oto's father *
Hiroko Yakushimaru is a common feminine Japanese given name. Name meanings Hiroko can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *裕子, "kind child" *弘子, "Beautiful child" *寛子, " small child" *浩子, "large child" *博子, "wise child" * ...
as Mitsuko Sekiuchi, Oto's mother *
Rena Matsui is a Japanese actress, singer, and novelist. Matsui is a former member of the Japanese idol girl groups SKE48 and Nogizaka46. As a member of the former, she also participated in the main lineup of AKB48's singles. As an actress, she has played ...
as Gin Sekiuchi, Oto's older sister ** Toito Honma as young Gin *
Nana Mori is a Japanese actress and singer from Oita Prefecture, Japan. Biography Mori was born in Osaka on August 31, 2001 and brought up in Ōita. In 2016, she was scouted by the talent agency ARBRE. In 2021, she signed a contract with SMA (Sony Music ...
as Ume Sekiuchi, Oto's younger sister ** Chise Niitsu as young Ume


Fukushima people

* Ikusaburō Yamazaki as Hisashi Satō, Yūichi's classmate and childhood friend (based on Hisao Itō) ** Taiki Yamaguchi as young Hisashi *
Aoi Nakamura is a Japanese photomodel and actor. He belongs to the talent agency LesPros Entertainment. History Nakamura Aoi entered the entertainment industry when he won the Grand Prix at the final round of the 18th '' Junon'' Superboy Contest held in No ...
as Tetsuo Murano, Yūichi's classmate and childhood friend (based on Toshio Nomura) ** Taiga Komie as young Tetsuo * Naotarō Moriyama as Kiyoharu Tōdō, Yūichi's school teacher


Kitaichi kimono shop

* Daichi Sugawara as Takahiko Ōgawara, the owner * Shin Shimizu as Hiroto Kuwata, the shop clerk * Taketo Tanaka as Shizuo Oikawa, the shop clerk


Kawamata people


Kawamata Bank

*
Kazuyuki Aijima is a Japanese stage and film actor, and one of the original Tokyo Sunshine Boys, a theatrical troupe that lasted from 1983 to about 1994. He is currently seen in television dramas and onstage in Japan. Biography Aijima Kazuyuki was born Novembe ...
as Gorō Ochiai, a bank branch manager *
Satoru Matsuo is a Japanese actor and voice actor, known for starring in ''Shin Godzilla is a 2016 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, with a screenplay by Anno and visual effects by Higuchi. Produced by Toho Pictures a ...
as Renpei Suzuki, a bank clerk * Keiko Horiuchi as Shōko Kikuchi, a bank clerk * Ayumu Mochizuki as Kanda Matsuzaka, a bank clerk


Others

*
Mayu Hotta is a Japanese actress. She has played lead roles in the 2022 live-action television and film adaptations of ''Welcome to the Occult Forest'', and voiced the lead role of Tamaki Tsuru in the 2022 animated film ''Blue Thermal''. Her supporting role ...
as Suzu


Tokyo people


Columbus Records

*
Arata Furuta is a Japanese theatre and film character actor. Biography Furata has a broad range that goes from playing serious salary men, to '' bushi'' in period drama roles, and even women. He works with the theatrical troupe called Otona Keikaku and oft ...
as Homare Hatsukaishi, the company's director *
Yojiro Noda , is a Japanese singer, songwriter, musician, record producer and actor. Noda is the lead vocalist, songwriter and guitarist of the Japanese rock band Radwimps and also began a solo project, Illion, in 2012. Life and career Early life, Radw ...
as Masato Kogarashi, a composer (based on
Masao Koga was a Japanese composer, mandolinist, and guitarist of the Shōwa era who was dubbed "Japan's Irving Berlin" by Universal Press Syndicate. His melancholy style, based upon Nakayama Shimpei's '' yonanuki'' scale, was popularly known in Japan as ...
) * Kayano as Akane Sugiyama, the company's secretary


Bamboo

* Tooru Nomaguchi as Tamotsu Katori, the owner *
Riisa Naka is a Japanese actress. She was given a Best New Talent award at the 2009 Yokohama Film Festival. Naka became famous by appearing in ''Hachi One Diver'' (2008) and played the lead, Hana Adachi, in ''Yankee-kun to Megane-chan'' (2010). Personal li ...
as Megumi Katori, Tamotsu's wife


Others

*
Ken Shimura (born , 20 February 1950 – 29 March 2020) was a Japanese comedian. He co-starred with Masashi Tashiro, Nobuyoshi Kuwano in the Japanese variety show '. Throughout his comedy career, Shimura was known for his "Bakatono-sama" character, w ...
as Kōzō Oyamada (based on Kosaku Yamada) *
Ko Shibasaki is a Japanese actress and singer who has performed in television shows, movies, and commercials. She is managed by Stardust Promotion. Biography Acting career Shibasaki debuted in 2000, when she portrayed Mitsuko Souma in '' Battle Royale.'' ...
as Tamaki Futaura (based on
Tamaki Miura , was a Japanese opera singer who performed as Cio-Cio-San in Puccini's '' Madama Butterfly''. Early life Miura was born the first daughter of Shibata Mōho and Shibata Towa () on February 22, 1884 in Tokyo, Japan. Shibata, a music lover had h ...
) *
Takahiro Miura is a Japanese actor. He graduated from Juntendo University Sports Health Science Department. He is represented with Anoré. His father is Tomokazu Miura is a Japanese actor. Life and career Miura attended Hino high school in Tokyo. He was ...
as Takashi Tanaka * Nozomi Inoue as Fujimaru, a singer (based on Otomaru) * Hayato Kakizawa as Tarō Yamafuji, a singer (based on
Ichirō Fujiyama , born , was a Japanese singer and composer, known for his contribution to Japanese popular music called '' ryūkōka'' by his Western classical music skills. He was born in Chūō, Tokyo, and graduated from the Tokyo Music School. Although h ...
) * Mayuko Kominami as Chizuko Natsume


Production

On April 1, 2020, NHK announced that filming schedules for both ''
Kirin ga Kuru Awaiting Kirin is a 2020 Japanese historical drama television series starring Hiroki Hasegawa as Akechi Mitsuhide, a samurai and general during the Sengoku period. The series is the 59th NHK taiga drama, premiering on January 19, 2020. It is t ...
'' and ''Yell'' were cancelled until April 12 to consider the safety of performers and staff during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. By April 7, NHK extended the cancellation of shooting for both series after Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe ( ; ja, 安倍 晋三, Hepburn: , ; 21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 20 ...
proclaimed a one-month
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
for Tokyo and other prefectures. The series was resumed on September 14, 2020.


Accolades


References


External links


Official website
(in Japanese) * {{Asadora 2020 Japanese television series debuts 2020 Japanese television series endings Asadora Television productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic