Date: From 10.00 p.m., 2 December 2015
Scriptwriter: Iketani Masao
Cast: Hayami Akari, Hada Michiko, Haba Yuichi, Uchino Kenta, Shuri, Yamazaki Ginnojo, Mizumachi Reiko, Kitajima Saburo, Matsumoto Ramu
Synopsis: 22-year-old Takayama Mineko (Hayami Akari) is a fourth-year university student who is looking for a job. She has completely smothered her childhood dream of becoming a news announcer and taken a pragmatic line. However, none of the large companies have made an informal job offer to her and she feels as if her back is against the wall. At that moment, her 50-year-old mother Harue (Hada Michiko), a full-time housewife, suddenly declares her desire to use the rest of her life for herself and become the geisha that she yearned to be. This is a seismic event for the Takayama family. Harue takes lessons in singing, dancing and the shamisen. Although she is not good at traditional performing arts, she overcomes this with her natural ability to entertain people. Mineko simply cannot forgive her mother who seems to carried away with geisha training. Seeing Harue become beautiful with each passing day, Mineko’s father Kinichi (Haba Yuichi) who had been supportive of his wife’s geisha training, quickly gets impatient while Mineko’s elder brother Manabu (Uchino Kenta) watches over the family. Mineko has a dramatic reunion with an elementary school classmate who became the geisha Umechiyo (Shuri) after graduating from high school, and also makes the acquaintance of people that love the town including the honorary chairman of the shopping street Kitakuni Saburota. Harue’s debut as a geisha is finally decided and she is introduced to the townspeople at the Hachioji Festival. What is Harue’s true intention of becoming a geisha?
Official Website: www.nhk.or.jp/shutoken/hachidra
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Tagged: Tokyo Westside Story
