Winter 2025 Dramas

Berabo ~ Tsutajueiga no Yumebanashi^*NEW*
Date: From 8.00 p.m., Sundays, January 2025
Station: NHK
Genre: Period
Scriptwriter: Morishita Yoshiko (Ooku Series (2023), Dakara Watashi wa Oshimashita, Gibou to Musume no Blues Series)
Directors: –
Cast: Yokohama Ryusei
Synopsis: Born to poor commoners in Yoshiwara in the outskirts of Edo, Tsutaya Juzaburo became the adopted child of a tea house after he was separated from his parents at a young age. He started from a rental book business and later began editing and publishing books. Tanuma Okitsugu, who was the man in power at that time, created a liberal environment where Edo culture flourished and produced various literary figures. Tsutaju (Yokohama Ryusei) published a series of hits with the writer Kisanji Hoseido’s illustrated book known as kibyoshi. At the age of 33, Tsutaju set up a store in Nihonbashi’s Toriaburacho and rose to become the king of publishers. He discovered young talents such Kitagawa Utamaro, Katsushika Hokusai and Jippensha Ikku – many of whom would later become great masters and the pillars of Japanese culture. However, the times changed and Tanuma fell from power. With the implementation of the Kansei Reforms by Matsudaira Sadanobu, Tsutaju’s freedom and political satire became a problem. Half of his assets were seized as punishment. Some of the people around him were exiled from Edo or driven to their death. Tsutaju continued to be relentlessly suppressed by the shogunate government even after that. However, he remained anti-establishment and fought on with the power of the written word. In the midst of this, he was afflicted with an illness and as the end of his life drew near, he launched the great entertainment of Sharaku which could never be taken away … …
Website: –
Twitter: twitter.com/nhk_dramas