was the 33rd Taiga drama to be broadcast on the NHK network in Japan. It premiered on 3 April 1994 and its finale aired on 25 December of the same year. 花の乱: NHK 大河ドラマ・ストリー (''Hana no ran: NHK taiga dorama stōrī''), 1994
/ref>

Plot

The story takes place during the

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by ...

of Japan, in the midst of the

Ōnin War The , also known as the Upheaval of Ōnin and Ōnin-Bunmei war, was a civil war that lasted from 1467 to 1477, during the Muromachi period in Japan. '' Ōnin'' refers to the Japanese era during which the war started; the war ended during the Bun ...

. The main character in the series is Hino Tomiko, a historical figure with a bad reputation because of her actions to rebuild

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...

after the Ōnin War.

Cast

;Hino and Ashikaga * Hino Tomiko:

Yoshiko Mita (born October 8, 1941) is a Japanese actress. Born in the city of Osaka, she graduated from Joshibi High School of Art and Design in Suginami, Tokyo. In 1960, she was hired by Toei and made her acting debut. She remained with Toei until 1967, ...

**Young Tomiko:

Takako Matsu (born June 10, 1977) also known as is a Japanese actress and pop singer. Personal life Matsu was born to a family of buyō and kabuki actors, including her father Matsumoto Hakuō II, her mother and businesswoman Noriko Fujima, her uncle, ...

* Ashikaga Yoshimasa:

Ichikawa Danjūrō XII was a Japanese actor. He was the twelfth kabuki actor to hold the illustrious name Ichikawa Danjūrō. Career He was the eldest son of Ichikawa Danjūrō XI. He first appeared on stage in 1953 under his birth name Natsuo Horikoshi, and in 19 ...

**Young Yoshimasa: Ichikawa Shinnosuke VII *Hino Shigeko: Machiko Kyō *Hino Katsumitsu: Masao Kusakari *Hino Mitsuko:

Yoshie Taira (born October 12, 1954, in Obihiro, Hokkaido) is a Japanese actress. She graduated from St. Margaret's Junior College in Suginami, Tokyo. From 1985 to 1999, she was a costar in the TBS prime-time television series ''Ōoka Echizen'' in the ro ...

Ashikaga Yoshimi (March 3, 1439 – February 15, 1491) was the brother of Shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, and a rival for the succession in a dispute that would lead to the Ōnin War. Life Yoshimi was the abbot of a Jōdo monastery when he was first approac ...

: Shirō Sano * Takao Osawa: Ashikaga Yoshiki ;Hosokawa *

Hosokawa Katsumoto was one of the Kanrei, the Deputies to the Shōgun, during Japan's Muromachi period. He is famous for his involvement in the creation of Ryōan-ji, a temple famous for its rock garden, and for his involvement in the Ōnin War, which sparked th ...

: Nomura Mansai ;Yamana *

Yamana Sōzen was originally before becoming a monk. Due to his red complexion, he was sometimes known as ''Aka-nyūdō'', "the Red Monk". He was one of the ''daimyōs'' who fought against Hosokawa Katsumoto during the Ōnin War in Heian-kyō. Biography Yam ...

Yorozuya Kinnosuke (November 20, 1932 – March 10, 1997) was a Japanese kabuki actor. Born , son of kabuki actor Nakamura Tokizō III, he entered kabuki and became the first in the kabuki tradition to take the name Nakamura Kinnosuke. He took on his guild name ('' ...

;Imperial Court *

Emperor Go-Hanazono (July 10, 1418 – January 18, 1471) was the 102nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')後花園天皇 (102) retrieved 2013-8-28. His reign spanned the years from 1428 throug ...

: Shun Ōide *

Ichijō Kaneyoshi , also known as Ichijō Kanera, was the son of regent Ichijō Tsunetsugu, Tsunetsugu. He was a ''kugyō'' or Japanese court noble of the Muromachi period (1336–1573). He held regent positions sesshō in 1432, and kampaku from 1447 to 1453 and fr ...

Taketoshi Naito was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1953 and 2003. He died of lymphoma on 21 August 2012. Selected filmography Film * '' Mahiru no ankoku'' (1956) * ''An Actress'' (1956) - Akio Satomi * '' The Burmese Harp'' (1956) ...

Nijō Mochimichi , son of regent Nijō Motonori, was a Japanese ''kugyō'' (court noble) of the Muromachi period (1336–1573). He held a regent position kampaku three times from 1453 to 1454, from 1455 to 1458 and from 1463 to 1467. He was the father of regent N ...

Yū Fujiki , born , was a Japanese film and television actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1954 to 2005. Career Born in Tokyo, Fujiki graduated from Doshisha University and joined the Toho studio in 1954. He began by playing straight male leads ...

;Others * Junkichi Orimoto: Zenami *

Ōuchi Masahiro was a member of the Ōuchi clan and general in the Ōnin War, serving Yamana Sōzen. He battled numerous times with Yamana's rival, Hosokawa Katsumoto, at one point commanding 20,000 men and 2,000 boats, moving his troops by land as well as by s ...

Hiroshi Fujioka , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor known for playing the hero Takeshi Hongo in the tokusatsu superhero series ''Kamen Rider'', and later the Sega Saturn mascot Segata Sanshiro (jokingly revealed to be Takeshi Hongo himsel ...

* Ikkyū:

Eiji Okuda is a Japanese actor and film director. Born in Kasugai, Aichi, he was nominated for the Best Actor award at the 1990 Japanese Academy Awards for his performance in ''Sen no Rikyu''. He won the award for best actor at the 37th Blue Ribbon Awards ...

*Ibuki Saburō Nobutsuna: Kōji Yakusho * Shuten-dōji:

Matsumoto Kōshirō IX Matsumoto (松本 or 松元, "base of the pine tree") may refer to: Places * Matsumoto, Nagano (松本市), a city ** Matsumoto Airport, an airport southwest of Matsumoto, Nagano * Matsumoto, Kagoshima (松元町), a former town now part of the c ...

*Kenke Uehara: Kotaro Tanaka *Aka Oni: Strong Kongo

Ratings

The series, which only managed a 14.1% audience share during its run, had the notorious reputation of being the lowest-rated Taiga drama series in the franchise's history until it was surpassed by ''

Taira no Kiyomori was a military leader and ''kugyō'' of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan. Early life Kiyomori was born in Heian-kyō, Japan, in 1118 as the first so ...

'' in 2012. Many blame the dark premises, the mysteries surrounding Hino Tomiko's family history, confusing disputes between her and Ashikaga Yoshimasa, and befuddling love scenes as the reasons why the drama failed.

References

{{Taiga drama Taiga drama 1994 Japanese television series debuts 1994 Japanese television series endings Television series set in the 15th century