NHK

Genroku Ryoran

The 38th NHK Taiga Drama is Genroku Ryoran. The "Forty-seven Loyal Samurai" is one of the most enduring and best loved stories of Japan's history. Generations have grown up hearing the stirring tale of Oishi Kuranosuke, chief councillor of the Ako clan who leads his men through suffering and hardship to ultimately avenge their lord after he is unjustly forced to commit harakiri. NHK's 38th Taiga Drama "Genroku Ryoran" is the ambitious remake of this classic epic and boasts a cast that reads like a Who's Who in Japanese entertainment.

Welcome Back For An Extracurricular Lesson, Sempai

Tokugawa Yoshinobu

The 37th NHK Taiga Drama is Tokugawa Yoshinobu. The series focuses on the life of Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the 15th and final ruler of the Tokugawa period. Born the seventh son of Lord Nariaki of Mito, Yoshinobu is named shogun when he is just 29 years old. With a wisdom and vision beyond his years, he tries to prolong the life of this 200-year-old dynasty which began with Ieyasu. However, he is unable to forestall the winds of revolution as clans in Choshu, Satsuma and Tosa, with the help of the Imperial Court, clamor for change.

Gugong's Treasure

A picture book collection shot by NHK showing the great treasure kept at the world famous Palace Museum in Beijing and Taiwan. Included in this documentary are the footages shot in Hi-Vision mode that was not aired by NHK, showing China's five thousand years of history, ceramics, books, paintings, heritage of the emperor.

Hakugei: Legend of the Moby Dick

Hakugei: Legend of the Moby Dick is an animated Japanese television series, based on Herman Melville's original novel Moby-Dick. However, this adaptation used futuristic outer space as the setting, with "whales" being large abandoned spaceships instead. It aired from 1997 to 1999, albeit with a suspension of new episodes from November 1997 to October 1998. The series ran for 26 episodes, which have been released on DVD in the USA by ADV Films, spread across six discs.

Agri

The 56th NHK Asadora Renzoku Drama is Agri. Story's settings include Okayama and Tokyo (Ichigaya). This renzoku chronicles the life of a Showa period hairdresser, and is based on a true life story of Moshizuki Agri. Agri has worked for over 70 years as a beautician. She is a successful business woman who survived the war by becoming a farmer. During the war, going to the beauty salon was considered a frivolity, so many such businesses went bankrupt as Japan suffered from the energy spent as all the yen was fueled into the war effort.

Shin Hanshichi torimono chô

This series is based on the series of 68 novels written by Okamoto Kido in the early 20th century. The hero is Hanshichi, a young but highly skilled Edo-era detective. Widowed for two years, Hanshichi lives alone in a tenement house. His sister-in-law Okume, who has a crush on him, looks in on him from time to time. Sanada Hiroyuki (known to action movie fans as Henry Sanada) stars as Hanshichi.

Mouri Motonari

The 36th NHK Taiga Drama is Mori Motonari. This series chronicles the life of Mori Motonari, a warlord of the early 1500s who stood at the vanguard of the Warring States era. All Japanese school textbooks contain the Mitsuya no kyokun, Mori's famous lesson to his three sons that teaches that while one arrow is easily broken, three arrows together cannot be broken. In 1997, 500 years after his birth, NHK dramatizes Motonari's rise from a chief of the region of Aki (now Hiroshima) to a daimyo who rules over ten provinces of the Chugoku region. Motonari was 64 years old and already the patriarch of a powerful dynasty about the time Oda Nobunaga and Takeda Shingen appeared on the scene. And even after his death, the Mori family figured prominently in Japanese history. His grandson Terumoto became a loyal Toyotomi vassal. Defeated at the Battle of Sekigahara, Ieyasu confiscated most of his lands, leaving him only with Suwo and Nagato, later known as Choshu. But 260 years later, the Mori got their ultimate revenge, leading the imperial forces against the Tokugawa in the Meiji Restoration.

Futarikko

Born over a tofu shop in Osaka, twin sisters Reiko and Kyoko have very different characters. Reiko is diligent, and longs for a secure, middle class lifestyle. Kyoko is a free spirit, who seeks thrills and adventure.

Yat, The Space Patrol

In the year 5808, humanity has taken gigantic steps in the vast reaches of space. The innovation of the dimensional tunnel made intergalactic travel possible between any planet in the galaxy. Focused on the planet Earth, an adolescent teenager named Goro Hoshiwatari approaches the feeble travel agency known as "Yamamoto Anshin Travel " to find the whereabouts of his father who disappeared fifteen years ago. Upon arriving, Goro meets the YAT staff and the president's daughter Katsura Tenjouin, whom he falls in love with. After getting inadvertently involved in an accident, Goro finds himself drafted into the agency to compensate for the damage. While Goro tags along to still search for his father, his troubles turbulence from the various cash-making attempts along the tours to enka-singing space pirates and escaping the romance attempts of the Cosmolord Agency's heiress.

ざわざわ森のがんこちゃん

Himawari

The story follows Minamida Nozomi, the charming female protagonist whose company's performance deteriorates due to the collapse of the bubble economy and who is forced to quit her job as she is prevented from getting married and starting a family. However, after her younger brother is involved in a theft incident within her family, she decides to become a lawyer. She passed the difficult bar exam and faced the harsh reality of legal training in Fukushima.

Hideyoshi

A dramatized biography of the second of Japan's three legendary leaders. Rising from obscurity, Hideyoshi served under the command of Oda Nobunaga. With an extraordinary combination of intelligence, bravery and military skill, Hideyoshi rose to near-absolute power and greatly expanded upon Nobunaga's unification of Japan's warlords. This series also focused on Hideyoshi's personal life, particularly his relationships with his mother and his wife, and the pair's rivalry for influence over him.

A Son of the Good Earth

新・電子立国

POP JAM

A music program that jams artists of various genres such as rock, pop, new music, and idols.

映像の世紀

Eighth Shogun Yoshimune

The drama is depicting the life and times in 17th and 18th century Japan during the rule of the eighth shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune.

Hana no Ran

The story takes place during the Muromachi period of Ancient Japan, in the midst of the Ōnin War. The main character in the series is Tomiko Hino, a historical figure with a bad reputation because of her actions to rebuild Kyoto after the Ōnin War.

The Fire Still Burns

This drama tells the story of the Oushu Fujiwara clan spanning generations, 140 years in the late Heian era. They established their domain in Touhoku area (North-east area of Japan), independent from the rule of Minamoto clan.