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The current NHK morning drama &#8220;Chimudo-don&#8221; is set in Okinawa. This is the third time that Okinawa has been the setting for a morning drama, following &#8220;Churasan&#8221; (first half of 2001) and &#8220;Jun to Ai&#8221; (second half of 2012).
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This time, however, many of the cast members, including lead actress Yuna Kuroshima, are from Okinawa. Among them, Yukie Nakama, who plays Yuko Higa, the mother of the heroine, gives a fine performance.
Nakama has played a variety of roles, including a policewoman, lawyer, fortune teller, weekly magazine reporter, entertainment manager, freelance writer, and former Minister of Justice and leader of a political party. One of her more unusual roles was as a personality on a local FM station in the drama &#8220;SAKURA: Jiken wo hears a case&#8221; (TBS), but her true identity is that of an undercover police officer&#8230;, and she also played a magician in the movie &#8220;Trick&#8221;.
In this morning drama, she plays the role of a &#8220;mother who works from morning till night&#8221; to raise her four children while being in debt because her husband has passed away.
Yuko&#8217;s constant trust and affection for her children has been well-received on the Internet.
 &#8220;I think Yukie Nakama gives a wonderful and heartfelt performance that can be called the culmination of her career.
 《This role doesn&#8217;t feel strangely out of character with her image. I feel that she is at her own pace, and I sense her own supple strength.
I feel that she has her own flexible strength.
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 Ms. Nakama has always been comfortable in any role she has played, but I don&#8217;t think she has ever played a role in which she blended in as well as she did in this one. Her performance in the role of the mother, especially in the original Japanese landscape, was highly acclaimed by many.
 Playing a mother, especially a &#8220;Showa-era mother who looks good in a kappo-gown,&#8221; which is a typical Japanese scene, seems easy, but it is difficult. There are many actresses who have played this role in the past, but few have given memorable performances.
(TV magazine writer) &#8220;It is a sign of a great actress that she can play any kind of role, but &#8220;mother&#8221; seems to be a high hurdle for her.
In the past, there have been several morning dramas in which the &#8220;mother of the heroine&#8221; has attracted attention and become a topic of conversation.
The most recent examples are Kyoko Koizumi in &#8220;Amachan&#8221; (first half of 2001), Takako Tokiwa in &#8220;Mare&#8221; (first half of 2003), and Keiko Matsuzaka in &#8220;Manpuku&#8221; (second half of 2006). Nanako Matsushima in &#8220;Natsuzora&#8221; (first half of &#8217;19) and Kyoka Suzuki in &#8220;Okaeri Monet&#8221; (first half of &#8217;21) have attracted attention and interest since their cast announcement.
Particular expectations were placed on Matsuzaka and Suzuki. This was because they had already established themselves as major actresses in leading roles.
 Many viewers may have been surprised that they took on the supporting role of the &#8220;mother,&#8221; a role that is not often given much attention, but NHK&#8217;s morning dramas are special dramas for actors. As an actor, you can play any kind of role you want, and if you have the opportunity to do so more than once, you will do so. If you are an actor, you want to play any role, not just once, but as many times as you have the chance.
 It is different now, but there used to be areas where you could only watch NHK. It was a status for actors to be in a drama that could be seen every day anywhere in Japan. The &#8220;mother&#8221; played by the two actresses was very well received and showed once again the stature of great actresses, but to put it another way, it is precisely because they are highly regarded as great actresses that they were able to create that flavor,&#8221; said a producer from a production company.
Both Matsuzaka and Suzuki have appeared in three morning dramas, and both were selected to play &#8220;mother&#8221; for the third time.
Coincidentally, this is also the third time Nakama has appeared in a morning drama. With her unforgettable performance, she may one day join the ranks of great actresses.
The drama got off to a decent start with an average first-run rating of 16.7%, but after the fifth week, the ratings have been declining slightly. From the 6th week, the heroine Nobuko will finally start her life in Tokyo.
 She is expected to appear less frequently as her mother, Yuko, remains in Okinawa. However, I have heard that morning dramas often change their scripts when there is a high-profile actor in the cast. There is a big possibility that Yuko&#8217;s role will increase.
Chibariyo!

Born in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Hiroyuki Sasaki became a reporter for FRIDAY at the age of 31, reporting numerous scoops during his time at FRIDAY and later working mainly for weekly magazines. Currently he also appears on TV and radio as a commentator .

 Hiroyuki Sasaki (Entertainment Journalist)

 Kotaro Okada

 NHK's morning drama "Chimu Doton" depicts Okinawa, which has returned to the mainland. Yukie Nakama, who hails from Okinawa, is attracting attention for her role as the heroine's "mother" in the drama. It is said that playing "mother" in a morning drama is the path to becoming a great actress...

Yukie Nakama shows glimpses of the great actress she will become in her role as Mom in “Chimu Doton

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