is a

Japanese television drama , also called , are television programs that are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, jidaigeki, thrill ...

series and the 94th

asadora , colloquially known as , is a serialized, 15 minutes per episode, Japanese television drama program series broadcast in the mornings by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. The first such series aired in 1961 with the black-and-white , starring T ...

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestri ...

. It premiered on April 4, 2016, and ended on October 1, 2016. The

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at s ...

is " Hanataba o Kimi ni" by

Hikaru Utada , who is also known by the mononym Utada, is a Japanese-American pop singer, songwriter and producer. By 2010, Utada had become one of the most influential, and best-selling, musical artists in Japan. Born in the United States to Japanese paren ...

Plot

Tsuneko is the eldest of three daughters of Takezō and Kimiko Kohashi. When her father dies while she is only in her early teens, Tsuneko takes on the role of the father of the family, which earns her the nickname "Toto-neechan" (literally "Father older sister"). She cares for and protects her family during WWII and the early postwar era, graduating from school and eventually working as an editor at a publishing house. She eventually starts her own magazine offering advice to housewives and consumers about life and raising a family. With the help of the talented editor Isaji Hanayama, the magazine becomes a huge hit. Refusing to accept advertising, it becomes a model for a new form of consumer journalism. The story is loosely based on the life of Shizuku Ōhashi, who founded the magazine ''Kurashi no techō'', and the editor Yasuji Hanamori.

Cast

;Kohashi family *

Mitsuki Takahata is a Japanese actress and singer who is represented by the talent agency Horipro. She attended Hosei University as an undergraduate student Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate educ ...

as Tsuneko Kohashi **Mirai Uchida as young Tsuneko * Itsuki Sagara as Mariko Kohashi **Kohaku Suda as young Mariko *

Hana Sugisaki is a Japanese actress who was previously signed to Stardust Promotion. Her former stage name was Hana Kajiura. Biography Sugisaki debuted as a child actress with Stardust Promotion under the stage name . She withdrew from the industry for a peri ...

as Yoshiko Kohashi **Himena Negishi and Rinko Kawakami as young Yoshiko * Hidetoshi Nishijima as Takezō Kohashi, Tsuneko's father *

Tae Kimura is a Japanese actress. She won the Best Actress award at the 32nd Japan Academy Prize for '' All Around Us''. Biography Kimura starred in Ryosuke Hashiguchi's '' All Around Us''. Her performance in the film was described by Jason Gray as "one ...

as Kimiko Kohashi, Tsuneko's mother *

Osamu Mukai is a Japanese actor. He was born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. He graduated from Meiji University. Early life He was born in Isogo-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture and went to Hama Junior high school (浜中学校) and Hitorizawa High school ...

as Tetsurō Kohashi, Tsuneko's uncle ;Aoyagi Company * Mao Daichi as Takiko Aoyagi, Tsuneko's grandmother *

Tsurutaro Kataoka is a Japanese television personality, actor, artist, and former professional boxer. For his role in the 1988 film '' The Discarnates'', he won the award for best supporting actor at the 31st Blue Ribbon Awards, at the 13th Hochi Film Award, and at ...

as Eitarō Kumai * Takurō Ōno as Kiyoshi Aoyagi ;Morita-ya * Yoko Akino as Matsu Morita *

Pierre Taki , better known by his stage name , is the front man for Japanese synthpop group Denki Groove, which consists of himself and Takkyu Ishino. As of 2001 he was involved in an exhibit called Prince Tongha with Hideyuki Tanaka in New York City. He als ...

as Sōkichi Morita *

Kami Hiraiwa is a Japanese actress. Her birth name was . She is represented with Otona Keikaku. Filmography TV drama NHK Nippon TV Tokyo Broadcasting System Fuji Television TV Asahi TV Tokyo Wowow Variety programmes Voice acting Radio N ...

as Teruyo Morita *

Rina Kawaei Rina or RINA may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Rina (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Kento Rina, Indian politician * Mahfuza Rahman Rina, Bangladeshi politician * Tongam Rina (born 1979), Indian journ ...

as Tomie Morita *

Kenta Hamano is a Japanese musician, composer, and actor who is represented by the talent agency Kakubarhythm. He played the trombone in the band Sakerock. Filmography TV dramas Video on demand Film Video games Dubbing *''Soul In many religious ...

as Tetsunori Hasegawa ;Other characters * Junko Abe as Aya Nakada *

Kentaro Sakaguchi is a Japanese actor and model. He debuted as a model in Men's Non-no magazine in 2010, and as an actor under Tristone Entertainment in 2014. He has since starred in television series '' Tokyo Tarareba Musume'' (2017) and ''Signal'' (2018), as ...

as Takezō Hoshino * Hairi Katagiri as Chiyo Todō *

Toshiaki Karasawa (real name Kiyoshi Karasawa (唐澤潔 ''Karasawa Kiyoshi'')) is a Japanese theatre and film actor. He made his theatrical debut in the play ''Boy's Revue Stay Gold'' (ボーイズレビュー・ステイゴールド ''Bōizu Rebyū Sutei Gōrud ...

as Isaji Hanayama *

Mitsuhiro Oikawa is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, composer and actor who is represented by the talent agency, Mother Enterprise. He graduated from Seijo Gakuen Junior High School and High School and Seijo University Faculty of Law. He is business partne ...

as Ichirō Gotanda *

Tomomitsu Yamaguchi is a Japanese comedian, actor, voice actor, singer and presenter from Shijōnawate, Osaka. He is a graduate of the Osaka Prefecture North Shijōnawate Senior High School. He is currently attached to the Yoshimoto Creative Agency. He is best k ...

as Seiji Tani * Atsushi Itō as Shōhei Mizuta *

Toshio Kakei (born 10 August 1962 in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka) is a Japanese actor. He had major roles in several TV drama series such as ''Bayside Shakedown''. Kakei graduated from Osaka University of Arts. Filmography Television * ''Bayside Shakedown'' (19 ...

as Kunihiko Mizuta * LaSalle Ishii as Hirofumi Ōsako * Koutaro Tanaka as Yamada *

Erina Mano is a Japanese idol singer and actress formerly associated with Hello! Project. She joined in 2006 as a member of Hello Pro Egg, as a trainee. In 2007, she became a member of the Hello! Project futsal team Gatas Brilhantes H.P. and its musical ...

as Akemi Saotome *

Kyōko Maya is a very common feminine Japanese given name. Not to be confused with Kiyoko. Possible writings The final syllable "ko" is typically written with the kanji character for child, 子. It is a common suffix to female names in Japan. The first sy ...

as Raicho Hiratsuka *

Arata Furuta is a Japanese theatre and film character actor. Biography Furata has a broad range that goes from playing serious salary men, to '' bushi'' in period drama roles, and even women. He works with the theatrical troupe called Otona Keikaku and oft ...

as Munenori Akabane * Miyu Yoshimoto as Tamaki Mizuta *

Masato Yano Masato (written: , , , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *Masato (kickboxer) (born 1979), Japanese former welterweight kickboxer, won K-1 WORLD MAX kickboxing tournament in 2003, 2008 * Masato ...

* Kanji Ishimaru * Tōru Nomaguchi *

Shuhei Uesugi is a Japanese actor. Filmography Television Film Video on demand References External links Agent profile * 1992 births Living people 21st-century Japanese male actors {{Japan-actor-stub ...

References

External links

* * 2016 Japanese television series debuts 2016 Japanese television series endings Asadora {{Japan-tv-prog-stub