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Taiga drama

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Taiga drama (Japanese: 大河ドラマ, Hepburn: Taiga dorama, "Big River Drama") is the name NHK gives to the annual year-long historical drama television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white Hana no Shōgai, starring kabuki actor Onoe Shoroku II and Awashima Chikage, the network regularly hires different writers, directors, and other creative staff for each taiga drama. The 45-minute show airs on the NHK General TV network every Sunday at 8:00pm, with rebroadcasts on Saturdays at 1:05pm. NHK BS, NHK BS Premium 4K and NHK World Premium broadcasts are also available.

Taiga dramas are very costly to produce.[1] The usual procedure of a taiga drama production would have one-third of the total number of scripts finished before shooting begins. Afterwards, audience reception is taken into account as the rest of the series is written.[2] Many times, the dramas are adapted from a novel (e.g. Fūrin Kazan is based on The Samurai Banner of Furin Kazan). Though taiga dramas have been regarded by Japanese viewers as the most prestigious among dramas in Japan, viewership ratings have considerably declined in recent years.[1]

Current series

[edit]

Upcoming series

[edit]
  • Unbound (2025)
  • Toyotomi Brothers! (2026)

List of series

[edit]
Showa Era
# Romanised Name English title Start End Starring[3] Supporting cast Notes Average Rating[4]
1 Hana no Shōgai
花の生涯
Life of a Flower[5] 7 April 1963 29 December 1963 Onoe Shoroku II
(as Ii Naosuke)
Chikage Awashima
Kaoru Yachigusa
Kyōko Kagawa
Keiji Sada
Detail

Black and white. Bakumatsu period.

Only footage fragments of episodes 1 and 38 still exist.
20.2%
2 Akō Rōshi
赤穂浪士
5 January 1964 27 December 1964 Kazuo Hasegawa
(as Ōishi Kuranosuke
Isuzu Yamada
Osamu Takizawa
Chikage Awashima
Onoe Baikō VII
Detail

Black and white. Also the most viewed taiga drama in its early history. Set during the Edo period.

A scene from episode 7 and full footage of episode 47 still exist.
31.9%
3 Taikōki
太閤記
3 January 1965 26 December 1965 Ken Ogata
(as Toyotomi Hideyoshi)
Shiho Fujimura
Yoshiko Mita
Sessue Hayakawa
Kōji Takahashi
Detail

Black and white. Set in the Sengoku period.

Only episode 42 still exists.
31.2%
4 Minamoto no Yoshitsune
源義経
Minamoto no Yoshitsune 2 January 1966 25 December 1966 Onoe Kikunosuke IV
(as Minamoto no Yoshitsune)
Ken Ogata
Junko Fuji
Osamu Takizawa
Isuzu Yamada
Detail

Black and white. Set during the Genpei War at the end of the Heian period.

Only episodes 1, 33, and 52 still exist.
23.5%
5 San Shimai
三姉妹
Three Sisters 1 January 1967 24 December 1967 Mariko Okada
(as Mura)

Shiho Fujimura
(as Rui)
Komaki Kurihara
(as Yuki)

Tsutomu Yamazaki
Shinsuke Ashida
Kō Nishimura
Osamu Takizawa
Detail

Black and white. Set at the end of the Edo period into Meiji Restoration. It was chosen to commemorate the 100th year since the Meiji Restoration.

Only episode 19 still exists.
19.1%
6 Ryōma ga Yuku
竜馬がゆく
Ryōma Goes 7 January 1968 29 December 1968 Kin'ya Kitaōji
(as Sakamoto Ryōma)
Ruriko Asaoka
Yoshie Mizutani
Hideki Takahashi
Keiju Kobayashi
Detail

Black and white. Bakumatsu period. Along with previous year's Taiga drama, this was also chosen as part of the 100th year celebration since the Meiji Restoration.

Only episode 16 still exists.
14.5%
7 Ten to Chi to
天と地と
Heaven and Earth 5 January 1969 28 December 1969 Kōji Ishizaka
(as Nagao Kagetora/Uesugi Kenshin)
Fumie Kashiyama
Ineko Arima
Osamu Takizawa
Kōji Takahashi
Detail

Sengoku period. Only episode 50 and a fragment of episode 2 still exist.

Colour. Future broadcasts are in colour.
25.0%
8 Momi no Ki wa Nokotta
樅の木は残った
The Fir Tree Remained 4 January 1970 27 December 1970 Mikijirō Hira
(as Harada Kai)
Sayuri Yoshinaga
Komaki Kurihara
Kinuyo Tanaka
Kin'ya Kitaōji
Detail

About the Date Disturbance during the Edo period. Although there were no battles, viewers commented that it was dark in tone.

It was once thought to be entirely lost, but episode 29 in full color was discovered to still exist. It was then revealed in February 2011 that video tapes of  51 episodes out of 52 were recovered, albeit in black and white due to the limitations of the recording technology at the time.
21.0%
9 Haru no Sakamichi
春の坂道
Slope of Spring 3 January 1971 26 December 1971 Nakamura Kinnosuke
(as Yagyū Munenori)
Yoshio Harada
Yoko Tsukasa
Ichikawa Ebizō X
So Yamamura
Detail

Set during late Sengoku period to early Edo period.

No footage in full color still exist. Only the final episode still remains in black and white.
21.7%
10 Shin Heike Monogatari
新・平家物語
New Tale of the Heike 2 January 1972 24 December 1972 Tatsuya Nakadai
(as Taira no Kiyomori)
Tamao Nakamura
Tsutomu Yamazaki
Masakazu Tamura
Osamu Takizawa
Detail

Set during the late Heian era.

Episodes 46 and 52 still exist in black and white.
21.4%
11 Kunitori Monogatari
国盗り物語
Tale of Taking Countries 7 January 1973 30 December 1973 Mikijirō Hira
(as Saitō Dōsan)

Hideki Takahashi
(as Oda Nobunaga)

Keiko Matsuzaka
Shōhei Hino
Shigeru Tsuyuguchi
Masaomi Kondō
Detail

Sengoku period.

All footage of the regular broadcast is lost. In 2015, videotape recordings of episodes 37 and 38 were recovered.
22.4%
12 Katsu Kaishū
勝海舟
6 January 1974 29 December 1974 Tetsuya WatariHiroki Matsukata[6]
(as Katsu Kaishū)
Reiko Ohara
Yoshiko Kuga
Keiju Kobayashi
Onoe Shoroku II
Detail

Set during Bakumatsu at the end of the Edo period.

Only episodes 6, 7, 32, 35, 37, 38, 39, and 44 have been discovered to still exist.
24.2%
13 Genroku Taiheiki
元禄太平記
6 January 1975 29 December 1975 Kōji Ishizaka
(as Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu)
Tōru Emori
Muga Takewaki
Shinsuke Ashida
Hisaya Morishige
Detail

Set during the Edo period.

Episodes 2, 3, 7, and 18 still exist in its original broadcast form. As of 2016, a recording of episode 9 was recovered, as well as 41 videotaped episodes in 2019.
24.7%
14 Kaze to Kumo to Niji to
風と雲と虹と
Wind, Clouds, and Rainbow 4 January 1976 26 December 1976 Gō Katō
(as Taira no Masakado)
Sayuri Yoshinaga
Masao Kusakari
Shigeru Tsuyuguchi
Ken Ogata
Detail

Heian period.

It is the oldest NHK Taiga drama to date where all 52 episodes have been preserved.
24.0%
15 Kashin
花神
Flower Spirit 2 January 1977 25 December 1977 Nakamura Umenosuke IV
(as Ōmura Masujirō)
Masatoshi Nakamura
Jukichi Uno
Ruriko Asaoka
Hideki Takahashi
Detail

Bakumatsu period.

Only episodes 19, 24, 34, 39, and 52 (with 6 minutes missing) have been recovered.
19.0%
16 Ōgon no Hibi
黄金の日日
Golden Days 8 January 1978 24 December 1978 Ichikawa Somegorō VI
(as Luzon Sukezaemon)
Komaki Kurihara
Jinpachi Nezu
Kōji Tsuruta
Matsumoto Kōshirō VIII
Detail

Depicts daily life of merchants and traders in Sakai during the Sengoku period.

Starting from this Taiga drama onward, all episodes of each work still exist.
25.9%
17 Kusa Moeru
草燃える
Grass Burns 7 January 1979 23 December 1979 Kōji Ishizaka
(as Minamoto no Yoritomo)

Shima Iwashita
(as Hōjō Masako)

Ken Matsudaira
Hiromi Go
Keiko Matsuzaka
Onoe Shoroku II
Detail

Set during the Genpei War into the start of the Kamakura period. The story is told from the female main character's perspective.

All episodes still exist, however, 18 out of 51 episodes have distorted images and sound, as well as missing fragments.
26.3%
18 Shishi no Jidai
獅子の時代
The Age of Lions 6 January 1980 21 December 1980 Bunta Sugawara
(as Hiranuma Eiji)

Gō Katō
(as Kariya Yoshiaki)

Reiko Ohara
Shinobu Otake
Minoru Chiaki
Kōji Tsuruta
Detail

Set during the Bakumatsu and Meiji Restoration periods.

Main leads are two fictional characters from rural Japan with commoner roots. It depicts their struggles to survive the chaotic, dark period.
21.0%
19 Onna Taikōki
おんな太閤記
11 January 1981 20 December 1981 Yoshiko Sakuma
(as Nene)
Masatoshi Nakamura
Pinko Izumi
Harue Akagi
Toshiyuki Nishida
Detail

Set during the Sengoku and early Edo periods.

Based on the novel Taikōki (which formed the basis of the 3rd Taiga Drama of the same title), with the story told from Toyotomi Hideyoshi's wife's perspective.
31.8%
20 Tōge no Gunzō
峠の群像
10 January 1982 19 December 1982 Ken Ogata
(as Ōishi Kuranosuke)
Ken Matsudaira
Juzo Itami
Nakamura Umenosuke IV
Jukichi Uno
Detail

Edo period.

This is the second depiction of the 47 Rōnin, which focused on different themes and an alternative insight into the Ako Incident.
23.7%
21 Tokugawa Ieyasu
徳川家康
Tokugawa Ieyasu 9 January 1983 18 December 1983 Sakae Takita
(as Tokugawa Ieyasu)
Shinobu Otake
Tetsuya Takeda
Masako Natsume
Kōji Ishizaka
Detail
Set during the Sengoku and early Edo periods.
31.2%
22 Sanga Moyu
山河燃ゆ
Burning Mountains and Rivers[5] 8 January 1984 23 December 1984 Matsumoto Kōshirō IX
(as Kenji Amo)

Toshiyuki Nishida
(as Tadashi Amo)

Reiko Ohara
Yoko Shimada
Kenji Sawada
Toshiro Mifune
Detail
First (and so far only) Taiga drama set in the Shōwa period of World War II
21.1%
23 Haru no Hatō
春の波涛
Big Waves of Spring 6 January 1985 15 December 1985 Keiko Matsuzaka
(as Sada Yacco)
Masatoshi Nakamura
Morio Kazama
Chikage Awashima
Keiju Kobayashi
Detail

Set in the Meiji and Taishō eras.

About the life of a former Japanese geisha who became Japan's first actress.
18.2%
24 Inochi
いのち
Inochi: Life[5] 5 January 1986 14 December 1986 Yoshiko Mita
(as Miki Iwata)
Tetsurō Tamba
Mako Ishino
Koji Yakusho
Ken Utsui
Detail

Shōwa era. First taiga drama set in postwar Japan. First taiga drama to be officially broadcast with English subtitles.

Fictional female lead.
29.3%
25 Dokuganryū Masamune
独眼竜政宗
Masamune the One-Eyed Dragon[5] 4 January 1987 13 December 1987 Ken Watanabe

(as Date Masamune)

Tomokazu Miura
Teruhiko Saigō
Shima Iwashita
Shintaro Katsu
Detail
Late Sengoku to early Edo period.
39.7%
26 Takeda Shingen
武田信玄
Shingen Takeda[5] 10 January 1988 18 December 1988 Kiichi Nakai
(as Takeda Shingen)
Kyōhei Shibata
Misako Konno
Toshiyuki Nishida
Ryōtarō Sugi
Detail

Sengoku period.

Last taiga drama to fully air during the Shōwa period.
39.2%
27 Kasuga no Tsubone
春日局
Kasuga the Court Lady[5] 1 January 1989 17 December 1989 Reiko Ōhara
(as Lady Kasuga)
Aiko Nagayama
Shinji Yamashita
Tetsurō Tamba
Yoshiko Sakuma
Detail

Late Sengoku to early Edo periods. Focuses on the early reign of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Earliest premiere for a Taiga drama in 22 years since 1967's "Three Sisters"; the last taiga drama to air during the Shōwa period by only the first episode, and the second episode was delayed; first Taiga drama to be shown during the Heisei period.
33.1%
Heisei Era
28 Tobu ga Gotoku
翔ぶが如く
As If in Flight[5] 7 January 1990 9 December 1990 Toshiyuki Nishida
(as Saigō Takamori)

Takeshi Kaga
(as Ōkubo Toshimichi)

Yūko Tanaka
Sumiko Fuji
Hideki Takahashi
Yūzō Kayama
Detail
Set during the Bakumatsu and Meiji Restoration periods centering around two of the last samurai. It is the first taiga drama to be firmly split into two parts.
23.2%
29 Taiheiki
太平記
6 January 1991 25 December 1991 Hiroyuki Sanada
(as Ashikaga Takauji)
Yasuko Sawaguchi
Tetsuya Takeda
Frankie Sakai
Kataoka Takao
Detail
26.0%
30 Nobunaga
信長 KING OF ZIPANGU
Nobunaga: King of Zipang 5 January 1992 13 December 1992 Naoto Ogata
(as Oda Nobunaga)
Momoko Kikuchi
Keiko Takahashi
Ken Utsui
Mikijirō Hira
Detail

Sengoku period.

This is the second depiction of Oda Nobunaga in the main character role and the first full depiction as the sole lead.
24.6%
31 Ryūkyū no Kaze
琉球の風 DRAGON SPIRIT
Wind of the Ryūkyū Islands[5] 10 January 1993 13 June 1993 Noriyuki Higashiyama
(as Keitai)
Atsuro Watabe
Tomoyo Harada
Rumiko Koyanagi
Kenichi Hagiwara
Detail

Depicts the Ryūkyū peoples during the Azuchi-Momoyama and Edo periods. It features a fictional character as the lead.

First part of a 3-part series.
17.7%
32 Homura Tatsu
炎立つ
Burst Into Flames 4 July 1993 13 March 1994 Ken Watanabe
(as Fujiwara no Tsunekiyo, Fujiwara no Yasuhira)

Hiroaki Murakami
(as Fujiwara no Kiyohira)

Yūko Kotegawa
Kei Satō
Tsunehiko Watase
Kōtarō Satomi
Detail

Set during the Genpei War during the late Heian period, it focuses on the Northern Fujiwara Dynasty from its founding to its fall.

Second part of a 3-part series. Also had the latest premiere for a Taiga drama at 35 episodes split into three parts in itself.
17.3%
33 Hana no Ran
花の乱
3 April 1994 25 December 1994 Yoshiko Mita
(as Hino Tomiko)
Ichikawa Danjūrō XII
Mansai Nomura
Yorozuya Kinnosuke
Machiko Kyō
Detail

Muromachi to early Sengoku periods, focuses around the Ōnin War.

Conclusion of the 3-part series.
14.1%
34 Hachidai Shōgun Yoshimune
八代将軍吉宗
Yoshimune[5] 8 January 1995 10 December 1995 Toshiyuki Nishida
(as Tokugawa Yoshimune)
Hideji Ōtaki
Nenji Kobayashi
Nakamura Baijaku II
Masahiko Tsugawa
Detail
Edo period.
About the Eighth Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune, known as the "Father of Shogunate Reforms".
26.4%
35 Hideyoshi
秀吉
Hideyoshi 7 January 1996 22 December 1996 Naoto Takenaka
(as Toyotomi Hideyoshi)
Yasuko Sawaguchi
Hiroaki Murakami
Etsuko Ichihara
Tetsuya Watari
Detail

Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods.

The second depiction of Hideyoshi in 31 years since 1965's Taikōki.
30.5%
36 Mōri Motonari
毛利元就
Mōri Motonari 5 January 1997 14 December 1997 Nakamura Hashinosuke III
(as Mōri Motonari)
Yasuko Tomita
Takaya Kamikawa
Keiko Matsuzaka
Ken Ogata
Detail

Sengoku period.

This work was made to commemorate the 500th anniversary since Motonari's birth.
23.4%
37 Tokugawa Yoshinobu
徳川慶喜
Tokugawa Yoshinobu 4 January 1998 13 December 1998 Masahiro Motoki
(as Tokugawa Yoshinobu)
Bunta Sugawara
Ayako Wakao
Hikari Ishida
Reiko Ohara
Detail

Bakumatsu period.

It covers the life of the last Tokugawa shōgun.
21.1%
38 Genroku Ryōran
元禄繚乱
Chūshingura[5] 1 January 1999 12 December 1999 Nakamura Kankurō V
(as Ōishi Kuranosuke)
Shinobu Otake
Noriyuki Higashiyama
Honami Suzuki
Kenichi Hagiwara
Detail

Edo period.

Third depiction of the 47 Rōnin and the Ako Incident.
20.2%
39 Aoi Tokugawa Sandai
葵 徳川三代
Aoi[5] 9 January 2000 17 December 2000 Masahiko Tsugawa
(as Tokugawa Ieyasu)

Toshiyuki Nishida
(as Tokugawa Hidetada) Onoe Tatsunosuke II
(as Tokugawa Iemitsu)

Tōru Emori
Nakamura Baijaku II
Mayumi Ogawa
Shima Iwashita
Detail

Azuchi-Momoyama to early Edo periods. It depicts the events of the first three Tokugawa shōguns; this is the second depiction of Tokugawa Ieyasu where he's a main character.

First series to be fully filmed in high definition (HD).[7] Future series are also broadcast in HD.
18.5%
40 Hōjō Tokimune
北条時宗
Hōjō Tokimune[5] 7 January 2001 9 December 2001 Motoya Izumi
(as Hōjō Tokimune)
Atsuro Watabe
Ken Watanabe
Sumiko Fuji
Kin'ya Kitaōji
Detail
Kamakura period.
18.5%
41 Toshiie to Matsu
利家とまつ~加賀百万石物語~
Toshiie and Matsu[5] 6 January 2002 15 December 2002 Toshiaki Karasawa
(as Maeda Toshiie)

Nanako Matsushima
(as Maeda Matsu)

Takashi Sorimachi
Teruyuki Kagawa
Ken Matsudaira
Bunta Sugawara
Detail
Sengoku and early Edo periods.
22.1%
42 Musashi
武蔵 MUSASHI
Musashi 5 January 2003 7 December 2003 Ichikawa Shinnosuke VII
(as Miyamoto Musashi)
Ryoko Yonekura
Shinichi Tsutsumi
Tsunehiko Watase
Makoto Fujita
Detail
Edo period.
16.7%
43 Shinsengumi!
新撰組!
11 January 2004 12 December 2004 Shingo Katori
(as Kondō Isami)
Tatsuya Fujiwara
Koji Yamamoto
Masato Sakai
Kōji Ishizaka
Detail
Bakumatsu period.
17.4%
44 Yoshitsune
義経
Yoshitsune 9 January 2005 11 December 2005 Hideaki Takizawa
(as Minamoto no Yoshitsune)
Ken Matsudaira
Mikijirō Hira
Kiichi Nakai
Tetsuya Watari
Detail

Depicts the Genpei War during late Heian period.

Second depiction of Minamoto no Yoshitsune in Taiga dramas.
19.5%
45 Kōmyō ga Tsuji
功名が辻
Love and Glory 8 January 2006 10 December 2006 Yukie Nakama
(as Yamauchi Chiyo)

Takaya Kamikawa
(as Yamauchi Kazutoyo)

Tetsuya Takeda
Gin Maeda
Akira Emoto
Hiroshi Tachi
Detail

Sengoku to early Edo periods.

It depicts a minor samurai and his wife as dual main characters
20.9%
46 Fūrin Kazan
風林火山[8]
The Trusted Confidant 7 January 2007 9 December 2007 Masaaki Uchino
(as Yamamoto Kansuke)
Ichikawa Kamejirō II
Gackt
Sonny Chiba
Tatsuya Nakadai
Detail

Sengoku period.

It depicts the life of one of Takeda Shingen's 24 Generals.
18.7%
47 Atsuhime
篤姫
Princess Atsu 6 January 2008 21 December 2008 Aoi Miyazaki
(as Atsuhime)
Eita
Masato Sakai
Hideki Takahashi
Kin'ya Kitaōji
Detail
Bakumatsu period.
24.5%
48 Tenchijin
天地人
Heart of a Samurai 4 January 2009 22 November 2009 Satoshi Tsumabuki
(as Naoe Kanetsugu)
Kazuki Kitamura
Takako Tokiwa
Hiroshi Abe
Hiroki Matsukata
Detail

Sengoku to early Edo periods.

Depicts the life of one of the Uesugi clan's long-serving vassals.
21.2%
49 Ryōmaden
龍馬伝
Ryōmaden: The Legend 3 January 2010 28 November 2010 Masaharu Fukuyama
(as Sakamoto Ryōma)
Teruyuki Kagawa
Nao Ōmori
Kiyoshi Kodama
Kōtarō Satomi
Detail

Bakumatsu period.

Second depiction of Sakamoto Ryōma as the main role in Taiga dramas.
18.7%
50
江〜姫たちの戦国〜[9]
Princess Go 9 January 2011 27 November 2011 Juri Ueno
(as )
Rie Miyazawa
Asami Mizukawa
Gorō Kishitani
Kin'ya Kitaōji
Detail
Late Sengoku to early Edo periods.
17.7%
51 Taira no Kiyomori
平清盛[10]
Kiyomori 8 January 2012 23 December 2012 Kenichi Matsuyama
(as Taira no Kiyomori)
Hiroshi Tamaki
Masaki Okada
Shota Matsuda
Kiichi Nakai
Detail

Late Heian period's Genpei War.

The second Taiga drama to depict Taira no Kiyomori as its main character.
12.0%
52 Yae no Sakura
八重の桜
Yae's Sakura[11] 6 January 2013 15 December 2013 Haruka Ayase
(as Niijima Yae)
Hidetoshi Nishijima
Hiroki Hasegawa
Nakamura Shidō II
Toshiyuki Nishida
Detail
Bakumatsu to Meiji periods.
14.6%
53 Gunshi Kanbei
軍師官兵衛
Strategist Kanbe 5 January 2014 21 December 2014 Junichi Okada
(as Kuroda Kanbei)
Miki Nakatani
Tori Matsuzaka
Naoto Takenaka
Kyōhei Shibata
Detail
Sengoku to early Edo periods.
15.8%
54 Hana Moyu
花燃ゆ
Burning Flower 4 January 2015 13 December 2015 Mao Inoue
(as Sugi Fumi)
Takao Osawa
Yūsuke Iseya
Kengo Kora
Yoshiko Mita
Detail
Bakumatsu to Meiji periods.
12.0%
55 Sanada Maru
真田丸
Sanada Maru 10 January 2016 18 December 2016 Masato Sakai
(as Sanada Yukimura)
Yo Oizumi
Masami Nagasawa
Seiyō Uchino
Masao Kusakari
Detail

Sengoku to early Edo periods.

Depicts the life of the "Last Sengoku Hero".
16.6%
56 Onna Jōshu Naotora
おんな城主 直虎
Naotora: The Lady Warlord[12] 8 January 2017 17 December 2017 Ko Shibasaki
(as Ii Naotora)
Haruma Miura
Issey Takahashi
Masaki Suda
Kaoru Kobayashi
Detail
Sengoku to Azuchi-Momoyama periods.
12.8%
57 Segodon
西郷どん
Segodon 7 January 2018 16 December 2018 Ryohei Suzuki
(as Saigō Takamori)
Eita
Keiko Kitagawa
Shota Matsuda
Ken Watanabe
Detail

The second work to depict Saigō Takamori as its main lead in Taiga dramas.

Last taiga drama to air in its entirety during the Heisei period.
12.7%
58 Idaten
いだてん~東京オリムピック噺~
Idaten: The Epic Marathon to Tokyo 6 January 2019 15 December 2019 Nakamura Kankurō VI
(as Shizo Kanakuri)

Sadao Abe
(as Masaji Tabata)

Haruka Ayase
Takeshi Kitano
Mirai Moriyama
Koji Yakusho
Detail

Set during Meiji and Shōwa eras.

Last taiga drama to premiere during the Heisei period and the first Taiga drama to be shown during the Reiwa period.
  8.2%
Reiwa era
59 Kirin ga Kuru
麒麟がくる
Awaiting Kirin 19 January 2020 7 February 2021 Hiroki Hasegawa
(as Akechi Mitsuhide)
Shota Sometani
Mugi Kadowaki
Haruna Kawaguchi
Masahiro Motoki
Detail

Sengoku period.

First Taiga drama to premiere in the Reiwa period.
14.4%
60 Seiten o Tsuke
青天を衝け
Reach Beyond the Blue Sky 14 February 2021 26 December 2021 Ryo Yoshizawa
(as Shibusawa Eiichi)
Kengo Kora
Ai Hashimoto
Tsuyoshi Kusanagi
Kaoru Kobayashi
Detail
Meiji Restoration period to Shōwa era.
14.1%
61 Kamakura-dono no 13-nin
鎌倉殿の13人
The 13 Lords of the Shogun 9 January 2022 18 December 2022 Shun Oguri
(as Hōjō Yoshitoki)
Eiko Koike
Koji Yamamoto
Yo Oizumi
Toshiyuki Nishida
Detail
Late Heian period's Genpei War to Kamakura period.
12.7%
62 Dousuru Ieyasu
どうする家康
What Will You Do, Ieyasu? 8 January 2023 17 December 2023 Jun Matsumoto
(as Tokugawa Ieyasu)
Kasumi Arimura
Junichi Okada
Keiko Kitagawa
Hiroshi Abe
Detail

Sengoku to early Edo periods.

This work is the third depiction of where Tokugawa Ieyasu appears as the Taiga drama's starring character.
11.2%
63 Hikaru Kimi e
光る君へ
Dear Radiance 7 January 2024 15 December 2024 Yuriko Yoshitaka
(as Murasaki Shikibu)
Tasuku Emoto
Akihisa Shiono
Ai Mikami
Yasunori Danta
Detail
Set during mid-Heian period depicting the life of one of Japanese's first novel authors, who penned The Tale of Genji.
64 Berabou
べらぼう ~蔦重栄華乃夢噺~
Unbound 5 January 2025 2025 Ryusei Yokohama
(as Tsutaya Jūzaburō)
Shota Sometani
Hio Miyazawa
Kataoka Ainosuke VI
Ken Watanabe
Detail
Set during mid-Edo period, which depicts the life of publishing illustrated books and ukiyo-e woodblock prints.
65 Toyotomi Kyōdai!
豊臣兄弟!
2026 2026 Taiga Nakano
(as Toyotomi Hidenaga)
Sosuke Ikematsu
Mei Nagano
Riho Yoshioka
Minami Hamabe
Detail
Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods.

NHK Special Drama

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Saka no Ue no Kumo was originally set for a 2006 broadcast as "21st Century Taiga Drama". However, the scriptwriter of the series committed suicide, causing a delay in production. The series was aired as "NHK Special Drama" in three parts, each part airing from late November to late December of each year.

Title season Episodes Start End Starring Supporting cast
Saka no Ue no Kumo 1 5 eps 29 November 2009 27 December 2009 Masahiro Motoki
Hiroshi Abe
Teruyuki Kagawa
Miho Kanno
Gō Katō
Hideki Takahashi
Tetsuya Watari
2 4 eps 5 December 2010 26 December 2010
3 4 eps 4 December 2011 25 December 2011

Fantasy taiga drama

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Title season Episodes Start End Starring Supporting cast
Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit 1 4 eps 26 March 2016 9 April 2016 Haruka Ayase Masahiro Higashide
Mizuki Itagaki
Mikijirō Hira
Tatsuya Fujiwara
2 9 eps 21 January 2017 25 March 2017
3 9 eps 25 November 2017 27 January 2018

New Big Jidaigeki

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NHK broadcast three taiga dramas covering modern and contemporary history from 1984 to 1986. Instead, they specially prepared these three productions for jidaigeki fans. Many viewers see them as almost equivalent to Taiga dramas.[13]

# Romanised Name Kanji Name Episodes Start End Starring Supporting cast
1 Miyamoto Musashi 宮本武蔵 45 eps 4 April 1984 13 March 1985 Koji Yakusho Yūko Kotegawa
Eiji Okuda
Kōji Naka
Tetsurō Tamba
2 Sanada Taiheiki 真田太平記 45 eps 3 April 1985 19 March 1986 Tsunehiko Watase Masao Kusakari
Kurara Haruka
Misako Konno
Tetsurō Tamba
3 Musashibō Benkei 武蔵坊弁慶 34 eps 9 April 1986 12 December 1986 Nakamura Kichiemon II Tarō Kawano
Keiko Oginome
Bunta Sugawara
Yorozuya Kinnosuke

Series overviews

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The set of Ryūkyū no Kaze (1993) is now a park in Okinawa.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Mainichi Japan (8 May 2019). "NHK historical drama series 'Idaten' posts record low ratings". The Mainichi. Tokyo: The Mainichi Newspapers. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  2. ^ Shinozuka, Jun, ed. (January 2011). "Feature 1: JQR Interview – Yoshiko Nishimura". Japan Quality Review Vol. 0-1.
  3. ^ "大河ドラマ一覧". NHK.
  4. ^ "過去の視聴率データ NHK大河ドラマ". Video Research Ltd.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Clements, Jonathan; Tamamuro, Motoko (November 2003). The Dorama Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese TV Drama Since 1953. Berkeley, California: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 1-880656-81-7.
  6. ^ (main role actor changed as of 10th story
  7. ^ "大河ドラマ 葵 徳川三代". NHK名作選 (in Japanese). NHK. Retrieved 12 November 2019. 全編ハイビジョンで撮影された最初の「大河ドラマ」
  8. ^ "風林火山". NHK. Archived from the original on 15 January 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  9. ^ "江~姫たち戦国~". NHK. Archived from the original on 6 January 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  10. ^ "平清盛". NHK. Archived from the original on 9 January 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  11. ^ "Yae's Sakura". International Emmy Awards. International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  12. ^ Hawaii Herald (23 February 2017). "TV Guide Revision". The Hawai'i Herald.
  13. ^ "武蔵坊弁慶". Jidaigeki Senmon Channel. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
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