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]
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 | |||
| Title | season | Episodes | Start | End | Starring | Supporting cast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |||
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.[12]
| 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 |