Ai Tominaga and Mayu Hotta’s “O-oku” is NHK’s plan for a hit program “Drama 10” following “Morning Drama” and “Taiga”.

Manga artist Fumi Yoshinaga’s masterpiece “O-oku” will be adapted into a live-action drama on NHK General TV from January 10, and the extravagant casting and gorgeous costumes and sets are already attracting attention.

The cast, costumes, and sets are already attracting attention. and “Seiyo Kotto Yogashi Ten (Western Antique Confectionery Shop)” have been made into films, and Yoshinaga’s best-selling manga “Ooku (The Inner Palace),” which won all the major publishing manga awards, is said to be one of her best works. The film version of “O-oku” was also made into a movie in 2010 and became a big hit, grossing over 2 billion yen at the box office.

In 2012, the story was dramatized by TBS and made into a movie again. However, since this is a unique work in which the positions and roles of men and women are reversed, people were surprised when they heard that NHK was dramatizing it,” said a person involved in a wide-ranging TV show.

The drama takes place during the reign of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third shogun of the Edo Shogunate, when a deadly disease called “akasura hoso,” which only affects young boys, is spreading. The population of boys was reduced to one-fourth that of girls, and the social structure of Japan was drastically changed. After the death of Iemitsu, the shogun’s position was handed over to a woman, and the inner chambers of the shogunate became a male garden with 3,000 beautiful men.

The love story of the 3rd Shogun Iemitsu (Mayu Hotta), the 5th Shogun Tsunayoshi (Riisa Naka), the 8th Shogun Yoshimune (Ai Tominaga), and their concubines is spun with a visual beauty that rivals that of a major TV drama. It is also a blockbuster drama on an unprecedented scale for a “Drama 10” series.

The drama adaptation has been met with some surprise. Why in the world did NHK decide to dramatize the unique historical drama “Ooku”?

NHK has been ahead of the commercial broadcasters in portraying the world of transgender people in dramas in the past.’ In 2006, NHK aired “Joshi Shiteki Seikatsu (A Girl’s Life),” in the “Drama 10” slot, in which Jun Shison played the complicated protagonist, who is male but looks slender and beautiful, but has no interest in men.

The following year, “Fu-Joshi, Inadvertently Tells a Gay Man” was a coming-of-age drama in the “Yoru Dora” slot, in which a fugue (Ryoko Fujino) starts dating a gay high school student (Daichi Kaneko). (Fugoshi, Inadvertently Tells a Gay Man.)”. In addition, last year, “Yorudora,” a “yorudora” drama depicting the world of lesbians, which has rarely been portrayed, “Tsukitai Onna to Eat Onna,” attracted much attention. It is a fact that NHK is more likely to feature such a project with a higher level of awareness than commercial broadcasters that have sponsors.

However, that is not the only reason for NHK to pick up “Ooku”. In anticipation of the 10% reduction in subscription fees to be implemented in October of this year, NHK wants to make its “Drama 10” slate a hit content following “morning dramas” and “historical dramas. Drama 10” to follow “Morning Drama” and “Taiga Drama. Such an intention is also apparent.

If a commercial broadcaster were to produce “Ooku,” the cost would be too high. However, NHK can reuse art sets and costumes used for historical dramas and historical episodes.

This not only reduces costs, but also means that NHK is proactively working toward the SDGs. Furthermore, the COVID-19 crisis has increased the reality of this work, which may be a tailwind,” said the producer.

However, it is not only NHK’s production staff who have an extraordinary passion for this film.

I love Japanese history, so I’ve always wanted to play a role in a period drama.

I thought that if I was offered the role, it might be as a male character because I am tall, so I practiced sword fighting and horseback riding on my own.

Mayu Hotta, who plays the role of Iemitsu, the third Shogun of Japan, said, “This is my own masterpiece.

I thought that if I was offered the role of a man, it might be a male role.

I was also very enthusiastic about the role of the third shogun, Iemitsu.

Yoshiko Morishita, who wrote the script for the drama, may also be secretly vowing to take revenge.

Morishita first gained attention in 2004 with the drama “Sekai no Chushin de, Ai wo Sakebu (Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World),” followed by the “JIN-Nin” series about a doctor who travels back in time from the present to the end of the Edo period, and “The Emperor’s Chef” (both on TBS), and she is now known as a hit maker. ‘ In ’13, he also won the Kuniko Mukoda Award for the morning drama “Gochisousan” (NHK).

However, in 2005, his work on the historical drama “Onna Jôshu Naotora” (NHK) failed to surpass the average viewer ratings for the first episode, and the series floundered. While some said that the drama had opened a new chapter in the drama genre, which had been in a state of limbo, others said that the drama was more of a romantic comedy than a period drama, and that they felt sorry for Kou Shibasaki. “It’s more of a romantic comedy than a period drama,” and “I feel sorry for Kou Shibasaki. Morishita is the best at portraying “dignified women,” so we hope she will get her revenge.

Will the unique epic “Ooku” be able to make “Drama 10” NHK’s hit content following “Morning Drama” and “Taiga Drama”? Drama 10,” following “Morning Drama” and “Taiga Drama”? We will keep an eye on its future development.