is a Japanese

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series by

Akira Oze is a Japanese manga artist. He made his debut in 1971 under the pen name writing shōnen manga, but he switched in the 1980s to seinen manga. He is best known for '' Natsuko's Sake'', which was adapted as a live-action television series. Oze ...

. It was adapted into a live-action television series in 1994. The story centers around Natsuko Saeki, a young woman trying to break into

sake Sake, , or saki, also referred to as Japanese rice wine, is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indeed any East Asi ...

making, a business that's traditionally carried out by men. A prequel to the story by the same author, ''Natsu no Kura'', tells the story of Natsuko's grandmother, Natsu.

Plot

Natsuko Saeki, a young woman working for an advertising company in Tokyo, returns to her family's home in the countryside. There she finds her brother, Yasuo, searching for a "phantom" rice seed called ''tatsunishiki,'' rumored to create a new form of sake. He finds a few seeds, but after he passes away suddenly, Natsuko quits her job and begins working at the sake brewery to realize Yasuo's dream of making the best sake in Japan.

Characters

;Natsuko Saeki :Played by

Emi Wakui is a Japanese actress. She has won three Japanese Academy Awards: the 1994 Best Actress award for her performance in ''Rainbow Bridge (Niji no Hashi)'', and the 1992 awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Newcomer for her performance as Sei ...

;Wataru Kusakabe :Played by

Masato Hagiwara is a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and professional mahjong player. Biography Early life and education When Hagiwara was three years old, his parents divorced and he was taken in by his father. However, his father died when he was in ...

;Saeko Hashimoto :Played by Yuki Matsushita ;Kazuko Saeki :Played by

Mayumi Wakamura Mayumi Wakamura (若村麻由美 ''Wakamura Mayumi'', born on January 3, 1967, in Nerima, Tokyo) is a Japanese actress. She decided to be an actress at age sixteen when she saw a stage production by Tatsuya Nakadai's troupe. Later she joined his ...

;Gen :Played by

Hatsuo Yamaya Hatsuo (written: or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese World War II flying ace *, Japanese karateka {{given name Japanese masculine given names Masculine given names ...

;Araki :Played by Ken Ishiguro ;Shizue Tanaka :Played by Mayumi Hasegawa ;Yasuo Saeki :Played by

Kiichi Nakai is a Japanese actor. His name was given by Yasujirō Ozu. His father, Keiji Sada, also a movie actor, died when Nakai was only two years old. Nakai started his acting career while he was still in university and was awarded the Rookie of the Ye ...

References

External links

* 1994 Japanese television series debuts 1994 Japanese television series endings Japanese television dramas based on manga 1988 manga Alcohol in popular culture Seinen manga Fuji Television dramas {{manga-stub