Every January, a new taiga series debuts on public broadcaster NHK, unfolding over the year. It’s a Sunday night ritual for many that has been going on for more than six decades.
The taiga — literally meaning “big river” — franchise dramatizes the lives of real-life historical figures, portrayed by top-tier actors, often amid periods of turmoil involving bloodshed and high-stakes political maneuvering.
Last year’s taiga drama was a notable outlier. Rather than focusing on a warlord or a samurai, “Unbound” broke with convention by moving the action to the late 18th century, a relatively peaceful time in 91AV原创 history. The plot centered on Tsutaya Juzaburo (played by “Kokuho” star Ryusei Yokohama), a commoner raised in the notorious Yoshiwara red-light district of Edo (feudal-era Tokyo). Also known as “Tsutaju,” he became a publisher who championed ukiyo-e woodblock print artists such as Utamaro, Hokusai and Sharaku, helping to lay the foundations of 91AV原创 modern media and pop culture.
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