Taiga drama

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 20:00, with rebroadcasts on Saturdays at 13:05. NHK BS Premium and NHK World Premium broadcasts are also available.

Taiga dramas are very costly to produce. 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. 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.

Current series

• Kirin ga Kuru

Upcoming series

• Seiten wo Tsuke (2021)
• Kamakura-dono no 13-nin (2022)

List of series

#	Romanised Name	Kanji (or Kana) Name	English title	Start	End	Starring	Supporting cast	Additional Notes (Time period)	Average Rating
1	Hana no Shōgai	花の生涯	Life of a Flower	7 April 1963	29 December 1963	Onoe Shoroku II	Chikage Awashima Kaoru Yachigusa Kyōko Kagawa Keiji Sada	Black and white	20.2%
2	Akō Rōshi	赤穂浪士		1 January 1964	27 December 1964	Kazuo Hasegawa	Isuzu Yamada Osamu Takizawa Chikage Awashima Onoe Baikō VII	Black and white. Also the most viewed taiga drama in its history.	31.9%
3	Taikōki	太閤記		3 January 1965	26 December 1965	Ken Ogata	Shiho Fujimura Yoshiko Mita Sessue Hayakawa Kōji Takahashi	Black and white	31.2%
4	Minamoto no Yoshitsune	源義経		2 January 1966	25 December 1966	Onoe Kikunosuke IV	Ken Ogata Junko Fuji Osamu Takizawa Isuzu Yamada	Black and white	23.5%
5	San Shimai	三姉妹		1 January 1967	24 December 1967	Mariko Okada Shiho Fujimura Komaki Kurihara	Tsutomu Yamazaki Shinsuke Ashida Kō Nishimura Osamu Takizawa	Black and white	19.1%
6	Ryōma ga Yuku	竜馬がゆく		7 January 1968	29 December 1968	Kin'ya Kitaōji	Ruriko Asaoka Yoshie Mizutani Hideki Takahashi Keiju Kobayashi	Black and white	14.5%
7	Ten to Chi to	天と地と		5 January 1969	28 December 1969	Kōji Ishizaka	Fumie Kashiyama Ineko Arima Osamu Takizawa Kōji Takahashi	Colour. Future broadcasts are in colour.	25.0%
8	Momi no Ki wa Nokotta	樅の木は残った		4 January 1970	27 December 1970	Mikijirō Hira	Sayuri Yoshinaga Komaki Kurihara Kinuyo Tanaka Kin'ya Kitaōji		21.0%
9	Haru no Sakamichi	春の坂道		3 January 1971	26 December 1971	Nakamura Kinnosuke	Yoshio Harada Yoko Tsukasa Ichikawa Ebizō X So Yamamura		21.7%
10	Shin Heike Monogatari	新・平家物語		2 January 1972	24 December 1972	Tatsuya Nakadai	Tamao Nakamura Tsutomu Yamazaki Masakazu Tamura Osamu Takizawa		21.4%
11	Kunitori Monogatari	国盗り物語		7 January 1973	30 December 1973	Mikijirō Hira Hideki Takahashi	Keiko Matsuzaka Shōhei Hino Shigeru Tsuyuguchi Masaomi Kondō		22.4%
12	Katsu Kaishū	勝海舟		6 January 1974	29 December 1974	Tetsuya Watari → Hiroki Matsukata	Reiko Ohara Yoshiko Kuga Keiju Kobayashi Onoe Shoroku II		24.2%
13	Genroku Taiheiki	元禄太平記		6 January 1975	29 December 1975	Kōji Ishizaka	Tōru Emori Muga Takewaki Shinsuke Ashida Hisaya Morishige		24.7%
14	Kaze to Kumo to Niji to	風と雲と虹と		4 January 1976	26 December 1976	Go Kato	Sayuri Yoshinaga Masao Kusakari Shigeru Tsuyuguchi Ken Ogata		24.0%
15	Kashin	花神		2 January 1977	25 December 1977	Nakamura Umenosuke IV	Masatoshi Nakamura Jukichi Uno Ruriko Asaoka Hideki Takahashi		19.0%
16	Ōgon no Hibi	黄金の日日		8 January 1978	24 December 1978	Ichikawa Somegorō VI	Komaki Kurihara Jinpachi Nezu Tetsurō Tamba Matsumoto Kōshirō VIII		25.9%
17	Kusa Moeru	草燃える		7 January 1979	23 December 1979	Kōji Ishizaka Shima Iwashita	Ken Matsudaira Hiromi Go Keiko Matsuzaka Onoe Shoroku II		26.3%
18	Shishi no Jidai	獅子の時代		6 January 1980	21 December 1980	Bunta Sugawara Go Kato	Reiko Ohara Shinobu Otake Minoru Chiaki Kōji Tsuruta		21.0%
19	Onna Taikōki	おんな太閤記		11 January 1981	20 December 1981	Yoshiko Sakuma	Masatoshi Nakamura Pinko Izumi Harue Akagi Toshiyuki Nishida	Based on the novel Taikōki (which formed the basis of the 3rd Taiga Drama of the same title), with the story told from a woman's perspective.	31.8%
20	Tōge no Gunzō	峠の群像		10 January 1982	19 December 1982	Ken Ogata	Ken Matsudaira Juzo Itami Nakamura Umenosuke IV Jukichi Uno		23.7%
21	Tokugawa Ieyasu	徳川家康		9 January 1983	18 December 1983	Sakae Takita	Shinobu Otake Tetsuya Takeda Masako Natsume Kōji Ishizaka		31.2%
22	Sanga Moyu	山河燃ゆ	Burning Mountains and Rivers	8 January 1984	23 December 1984	Matsumoto Kōshirō IX Toshiyuki Nishida	Reiko Ohara Keiko Tsushima Kiyoshi Kodama Toshiro Mifune	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		6 January 1985	15 December 1985	Keiko Matsuzaka	Masatoshi Nakamura Morio Kazama Chikage Awashima Keiju Kobayashi		18.2%
24	Inochi	いのち	Inochi: Life	5 January 1986	14 December 1986	Yoshiko Mita	Tetsurō Tamba Mako Ishino Kōji Yakusho Ken Utsui	First taiga drama set in postwar Japan. First taiga drama to be officially broadcast with English subtitles.	29.3%
25	Dokuganryū Masamune	独眼竜政宗	Masamune the One-Eyed Dragon	4 January 1987	13 December 1987	Ken Watanabe	Tomokazu Miura Teruhiko Saigō Shima Iwashita Shintaro Katsu		39.7%
26	Takeda Shingen	武田信玄	Shingen Takeda	10 January 1988	18 December 1988	Kiichi Nakai	Kyōhei Shibata Misako Konno Toshiyuki Nishida Ryōtarō Sugi	Last taiga drama to air during the Shōwa period.	39.2%
27	Kasuga no Tsubone	春日局	Kasuga the Court Lady	1 January 1989	17 December 1989	Reiko Ōhara	Aiko Nagayama Shinji Yamashita Tetsurō Tamba Yoshiko Sakuma	Earliest premiere for a Taiga drama; first Taiga drama to be shown during the Heisei period.	32.4%
28	Tobu ga Gotoku	翔ぶが如く	As If in Flight	7 January 1990	9 December 1990	Toshiyuki Nishida Takeshi Kaga	Yūko Tanaka Sumiko Fuji Hideki Takahashi Yūzō Kayama		23.2%
29	Taiheiki	太平記		6 January 1991	25 December 1991	Hiroyuki Sanada	Yasuko Sawaguchi Tetsuya Takeda Frankie Sakai Kataoka Takao		26.0%
30	Nobunaga	信長 KING OF ZIPANGU		5 January 1992	13 December 1992	Naoto Ogata	Momoko Kikuchi Keiko Takahashi Ken Utsui Mikijirō Hira		24.6%
31	Ryūkyū no Kaze	琉球の風 DRAGON SPIRIT	Wind of the Ryūkyū Islands	10 January 1993	13 June 1993	Noriyuki Higashiyama	Atsuro Watabe Tomoyo Harada Rumiko Koyanagi Kenichi Hagiwara	First part of a 3-part series.	17.7%
32	Homura Tatsu	炎立つ		4 July 1993	13 March 1994	Ken Watanabe Hiroaki Murakami	Yūko Kotegawa Kei Satō Tsunehiko Watase Kōtarō Satomi	Second part of a 3-part series. Also had the latest premiere for a Taiga drama.	17.3%
33	Hana no Ran	花の乱		3 April 1994	25 December 1994	Yoshiko Mita	Ichikawa Danjūrō XII Mansai Nomura Yorozuya Kinnosuke Machiko Kyō	Conclusion of the 3-part series.	14.1%
34	Hachidai Shōgun Yoshimune	八代将軍吉宗	Yoshimune	8 January 1995	10 December 1995	Toshiyuki Nishida	Hideji Ōtaki Nenji Kobayashi Nakamura Baijaku II Masahiko Tsugawa	About the Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune.	26.4%
35	Hideyoshi	秀吉		7 January 1996	22 December 1996	Naoto Takenaka	Yasuko Sawaguchi Hiroaki Murakami Etsuko Ichihara Tetsuya Watari	49 episodes about the life of Hideyoshi.	30.5%
36	Mōri Motonari	毛利元就		5 January 1997	14 December 1997	Nakamura Hashinosuke III	Yasuko Tomita Takaya Kamikawa Keiko Matsuzaka Ken Ogata		23.4%
37	Tokugawa Yoshinobu	徳川慶喜		4 January 1998	13 December 1998	Masahiro Motoki	Bunta Sugawara Ayako Wakao Hikari Ishida Reiko Ohara		21.1%
38	Genroku Ryōran	元禄繚乱	Chūshingura	1 January 1999	12 December 1999	Nakamura Kankurō V	Shinobu Otake Noriyuki Higashiyama Honami Suzuki Kenichi Hagiwara		20.2%
39	Aoi Tokugawa Sandai	葵 徳川三代	Aoi	9 January 2000	17 December 2000	Masahiko Tsugawa Toshiyuki Nishida Onoe Tatsunosuke II	Tōru Emori Nakamura Baijaku II Mayumi Ogawa Shima Iwashita	First series to be fully filmed in high definition (HD). Future series are also broadcast in HD.	18.5%
40	Hōjō Tokimune	北条時宗	Hōjō Tokimune	7 January 2001	9 December 2001	Motoya Izumi	Atsuro Watabe Ken Watanabe Sumiko Fuji Kin'ya Kitaōji		18.5%
41	Toshiie to Matsu	利家とまつ～加賀百万石物語～	Toshiie and Matsu	6 January 2002	15 December 2002	Toshiaki Karasawa Nanako Matsushima	Takashi Sorimachi Teruyuki Kagawa Ken Matsudaira Bunta Sugawara		22.1%
42	Musashi	武蔵 MUSASHI		5 January 2003	7 December 2003	Ichikawa Shinnosuke VII	Ryoko Yonekura Shinichi Tsutsumi Tsunehiko Watase Makoto Fujita		16.7%
43	Shinsengumi!	新撰組!		11 January 2004	12 December 2004	Shingo Katori	Tatsuya Fujiwara Koji Yamamoto Masato Sakai Kōji Ishizaka		17.4%
44	Yoshitsune	義経		9 January 2005	11 December 2005	Hideaki Takizawa	Ken Matsudaira Mikijirō Hira Kiichi Nakai Tetsuya Watari		19.5%
45	Kōmyō ga Tsuji	功名が辻	Love and Glory	8 January 2006	10 December 2006	Yukie Nakama Takaya Kamikawa	Tetsuya Takeda Gin Maeda Akira Emoto Hiroshi Tachi		20.9%
46	Fūrin Kazan	風林火山	The Trusted Confidant	7 January 2007	9 December 2007	Masaaki Uchino	Ichikawa Kamejirō II Gackt Sonny Chiba Tatsuya Nakadai		18.7%
47	Atsuhime	篤姫	Princess Atsu	6 January 2008	21 December 2008	Aoi Miyazaki	Eita Masato Sakai Hideki Takahashi Kin'ya Kitaōji		24.5%
48	Tenchijin	天地人	Heart of a Samurai	4 January 2009	22 November 2009	Satoshi Tsumabuki	Kazuki Kitamura Takako Tokiwa Hiroshi Abe Hiroki Matsukata		21.2%
49	Ryōmaden	龍馬伝		3 January 2010	28 November 2010	Masaharu Fukuyama	Teruyuki Kagawa Nao Ōmori Kiyoshi Kodama Kōtarō Satomi		18.7%
50	Gō	江〜姫たちの戦国〜	Princess Go	9 January 2011	27 November 2011	Juri Ueno	Rie Miyazawa Asami Mizukawa Gorō Kishitani Kin'ya Kitaōji		17.7%
51	Taira no Kiyomori	平清盛		8 January 2012	23 December 2012	Kenichi Matsuyama	Hiroshi Tamaki Masaki Okada Shota Matsuda Kiichi Nakai		12.0%
52	Yae no Sakura	八重の桜	Yae's Sakura	6 January 2013	15 December 2013	Haruka Ayase	Hidetoshi Nishijima Hiroki Hasegawa Nakamura Shidō II Toshiyuki Nishida		14.6%
53	Gunshi Kanbei	軍師官兵衛	Strategist Kanbe	5 January 2014	21 December 2014	Junichi Okada	Miki Nakatani Tori Matsuzaka Naoto Takenaka Kyōhei Shibata		15.8%
54	Hana Moyu	花燃ゆ	Hana Moyu	4 January 2015	13 December 2015	Mao Inoue	Takao Osawa Yūsuke Iseya Kengo Kora Yoshiko Mita		12.0%
55	Sanada Maru	真田丸	Sanada Maru	10 January 2016	18 December 2016	Masato Sakai	Yo Oizumi Masami Nagasawa Seiyō Uchino Masao Kusakari		16.6%
56	Onna Jōshu Naotora	おんな城主 直虎	Naotora: The Lady Warlord	8 January 2017	17 December 2017	Ko Shibasaki	Haruma Miura Issey Takahashi Masaki Suda Kaoru Kobayashi		12.8%
57	Segodon	西郷どん	Segodon	7 January 2018	16 December 2018	Ryohei Suzuki	Eita Keiko Kitagawa Shota Matsuda Ken Watanabe	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	6 January 2019	15 December 2019	Nakamura Kankurō VI Sadao Abe	Haruka Ayase Takeshi Kitano Mirai Moriyama Kōji Yakusho	Last taiga drama to premiere during the Heisei period and the first Taiga drama to be shown during the Reiwa period.	8.2%
59	Kirin ga Kuru	麒麟がくる	Awaiting Kirin	19 January 2020	TBA	Hiroki Hasegawa	Shōta Sometani Mugi Kadowaki Kuranosuke Sasaki Masahiro Motoki	First Taiga drama to premiere in the Reiwa period.
60	Seiten wo Tsuke	青天を衝け		2021	2021	Ryo Yoshizawa	Tsuyoshi Kusanagi Ai Hashimoto Kengo Kora Kaoru Kobayashi
61	Kamakura-dono no 13-nin	鎌倉殿の13人		2022	2022	Shun Oguri	TBA

NHK Special Drama

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 Go Kato 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

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

#	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	Kōji 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

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

• Kōmyō-ga-tsuji: Yamauchi Kazutoyo no Tsuma. Takaya Kamikawa plays the role of Yamauchi Kazutoyo, the military commander and daimyō who took over the Tosa han and built Kōchi Castle. Nakama Yukie plays the role of Chiyo, the ever-supporting wife of Kazutoyo. The story by Shiba Ryōtarō spans the closing years of the Sengoku period, the Azuchi–Momoyama period, and the beginning of the Edo period.
• 武蔵 MUSASHI (2003). Kabuki actor Ichikawa Shinnosuke VII (now Ichikawa Ebizō XI) held the lead role as the swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, whose lives spanned the end of the sengoku and the beginning of the Edo periods. The series was based on the Yoshikawa Eiji novel that forms the basis for most modern fiction based on the events of Musashi's life. This was the first Taiga Drama to have its title in both kanji and the Latin alphabet.
• Toshiie and Matsu (2002). Toshiaki Karasawa as Maeda Toshiie and Nanako Matsushima as Matsu recounted the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate from the point of view of an outside daimyō.
• Hōjō Tokimune (2001). Kyōgen actor Izumi Motoya played the lead character, heading a cast that included Watanabe Ken. Major events in the series included the Mongol Invasions of Japan.
• Genroku Ryōran (1999). Kabuki actor Nakamura Kankurō V played Ōishi Kuranosuke in this story set in the Genroku period, during which the events of the Forty-seven rōnin occurred.

See also

• Japanese television dramas
• jidaigeki
• Asadora

External links

• Official Site (in Japanese)