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. It premiered on TBS on 26 April 2015, starring Takeru Satoh 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 '' cotole ...

, 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 List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. 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

* Takeru Satoh - Tokuzō Akiyama * Haru Kuroki - Toshiko Takahama * Kenta Kiritani - 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 Upstrea ...

- 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 - Professor Shōgo Kirizuka * Hideaki Itō - 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. Biograph ...

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

- Fuki Akiyama * Tetta Sugimoto - Shūzō Akiyama *

Kaoru Kobayashi Kaoru Kobayashi (小林薫, ''Kobayashi Kaoru'') is a Japanese personal name: * Kaoru Kobayashi (actor) (born 1951), a Japanese actor born in Kyoto * Kaoru Kobayashi (murderer) (19682013), a pedophile who murdered Kaede Ariyama in Nara in 200 ...

- Kamaichi Usami (Chef of the Peer's Club) * Hiromi Go - Japanese Ambassador to France Shin'ichirō Awano *

Noémie Nakai , is a French-Japanese actress, director and former model. Early life Noémie Nakai was born on December 2, 1990, in Tokyo, Japan. She has a French mother and a Japanese father. She took acting lessons when she was very young in France, and arri ...

- 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 - 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 Michita ...

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

* Zen Kajihara -

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, w ...

Okayama is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is . The city is ...

) and in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. Takeru Satoh 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