Official Website
www.nhk.or.jp/dodra/mikaduki
Broadcast
From 9.00 p.m., Saturdays, 26 January 2019
Network
NHK
Story
Ueda Ichiro failed his employment exams and lost sight of what he wants to do. He makes a living working part-time delivering packed meals. He feels pressurised by his grandfather Oshima Goro who was a legendary instructor and his grandmother Akasaka Chiaki who was a pioneer in running a supplementary school. Although he is interested in a career in education, he cannot bring himself to get a job. However, when he learns of children who cannot keep up in school and are not even able to attend supplementary school, he is affected. One day, Ichiro is given a manuscript by his grandfather for a new book called Mikazuki. It covers the lives of Goro, Chiaki, their family and the history of supplementary schools for half a century. In 1961, Goro, a janitor of an elementary school, became a gifted teacher who taught children who could keep up in school even though he had no licence. Chiaki, who was a single mother, opposed formal education in schools that came under the national school order during the war. She saw the potential in a supplementary school to give coaching for a free, well-rounded education. The two of them became a couple both at work and at home, and created new history in the industry in this story set against the backdrop of the Showa to Heisei era.
Characters
Takahashi Issei as Oshima Goro
A gifted supplementary school instructor. He was a janitor of an elementary school. However, he made a name for himself through teaching children after school and Akasaka Chiaki zeroes in on him as her partner to run a supplementary school. While he has a passion for education which gives him the zest for life, he seeks the tranquility of home because of his lonely early life.
Nagasaku Hiromi as Akasaka (Oshima) Chiaki
A charismatic operator of a supplementary school, she pursues her education ideals in school. She was a single mother who made a living as a home tutor. But she discovers Oshima Goro’s talent and they become a couple both at work and at home, and develop the supplementary school industry which was not part of the mainstream at the time. She regards the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture’s formal education policy with hostility.
Kurokawa Mei as Ueda (Oshima) Fukiko
The Oshimas’ eldest daughter. She has a romance with a former instructor of a supplementary school who joined the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture. Instead of taking over the family business, she becomes an elementary school teacher. This is a frequent point of contention with her mother Chiaki. She idolises her stepfather Oshima Goro.
Kudo Asuka as Ueda Ichiro
Oshima Goro and Chiaki’s grandson. The son of their eldest daughter Fukiko. He has failed all his employment exams and does not know what he wants to do. He now does food deliveries part-time. One day, he meets children who are unable to go to supplementary school at one of the addresses and this awakens a passion for education.
Omasa Aya as Oshima Ran
The Oshimas’ second daughter. She takes after her mother Chiaki and is fired up to run the supplementary school. Her image-conscious school which offers individual tutoring is a success. However, this is short-lived. She encounters a setback because of a scandal involving an instructor and student(s), and changes course to run a home food delivery business for elderly people.
Fubuki Jun as Akasaka Yoriko
Oshima Chiaki’s mother. She supports her daughter’s dream to open a supplementary school both emotionally and financially. She is the driving force behind its success. She also plays a pivotal role in keeping the family together both at home and at the supplementary school.
Scriptwriter
Mizuhashi Fumie (Haha ni Naru, Sharehouse no Koibito)
Original Work
Mikazuki by Mori Eto
Click here for photos from the press conference.
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