Winners of the 2017 Annual Confidence Award Drama Prize

Here are the winners of the 2017 Annual Confidence Award Drama Prize as voted by industry insiders and the media:

Best Drama: Quartet (TBS)

Best Leading Actor: Asano Tadanobu (Keiji Yugami)

Best Leading Actress: Matsu Takako (Quartet)

Best Supporting Actor: Takahashi Issei (Quartet / Onna Joshu Naotora)

Best Supporting Actress: Wakui Emi (Hiyokko)

Best Script: Sakamoto Yuji (Quartet)

Best Newcomer: Yoshioka Riho (Quartet)

Source: Confidence Award Drama Prize

The 95th Drama Academy Awards (Autumn 2017) - Best Drama

Overall Ranking Top 3
1) Rikuou (TBS)
2) Saki ni umaretadake no boku (NTV)
3) Kangoku no Ohimesama (TBS)

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Saki ni umaretadake no boku (NTV)
2) Kounodori 2 (TBS)
3) Ashi Girl (NHK)
4) Rikuou (TBS)
5) Onna Joshu Naotora (NHK)

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Rikuou (TBS)
2) Kangoku no Ohimesama (TBS) / Keiji Yugami (FujiTV)
4) Onna Joshu Naotora (NHK) / Black Revenge (NTV)

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Rikuou (TBS)
2) Kangoku no Ohimesama (TBS)
3) Kounodori 2 (TBS)
4) Keiji Yugami (FujiTV)
5) Doctor X 5 (TV Asahi)

Source: The Television

The 95th Drama Academy Awards (Autumn 2017) - Best Leading Actress

Overall Ranking Top 3
1) Ayase Haruka - Okusama wa, toriatsukai chuui
2) Koizumi Kyoko - Kangoku no Ohimesama
3) Yonekura Ryoko - Doctor X 5

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Ayase Haruka - Okusama wa, toriatsukai chuui
2) Yonekura Ryoko - Doctor X 5
3) Shibasaki Kou - Onna Joshu Naotora
4) Kuroshima Yuina - Ashi Girl
5) Koizumi Kyoko - Kangoku no Ohimesama

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Koizumi Kyoko - Kangoku no Ohimesama
2) Ayase Haruka - Okusama wa, toriatsukai chuui
3) Inoue Mao - Ashita no Yakusoku
4) Shibasaki Kou - Onna Joshu Naotora
5) Yonekura Ryoko - Doctor X 5

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Yonekura Ryoko - Doctor X 5
2) Koizumi Kyoko - Kangoku no Ohimesama
3) Shibasaki Kou - Onna Joshu Naotora / Ayase Haruka - Okusama wa, toriatsukai chuui
5) Inoue Mao - Ashita no Yakusoku

Source: The Television

The 95th Drama Academy Awards (Autumn 2017) - Best Supporting Actor

Overall Ranking Top 3
1) Takahashi Issei - Onna Joshu Naotora
2) Takeuchi Ryoma - Rikuou
3) Kamiki Ryuunosuke - Keiji Yugami

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Kazama Morio - Saki ni umaretadake no boku
2) Kentaro - Ashi Girl
3) Hoshino Gen - Kounodori 2
4) Seto Koji - Saki ni umaretadake no boku
5) Takahashi Issei - Onna Joshu Naotora

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Takahashi Issei - Onna Joshu Naotora
2) Takeuchi Ryoma - Rikuou
3) Kamiki Ryuunosuke - Keiji Yugami
4) Sato Jiro - Black Revenge
5) Terao Akira - Rikuou

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Takahashi Issei - Onna Joshu Naotora
2) Kamiki Ryuunosuke - Keiji Yugami
3) Shison Jun - Ueki Hitoshi to Nobosemon
4) Yagira Yuuya - Onna Joshu Naotora / Kobayashi Kaoru - Onna Joshu Naotora / Yamamoto Koji - Totto-chan! / Iseya Yuusuke - Kangoku no Ohimesama / Takeuchi Ryoma - Rikuou

Source: The Televison

Winners of Nikkansports Dorama Grand Prix (Autumn 2017)

There were 1,055 valid responses for this round of voting and the numbers in brackets indicate the number of votes received for the drama or actor/actress:

Handover ceremony for NHK Taiga dramas "Onna Joshu Naotora" & "Segodon"

The handover ceremony for NHK Taiga dramas "Onna Joshu Naotora" and "Segodon" was held at the TV station's HQ in Tokyo on 30 November which was attended by the dramas' leads Shibasaki Kou and Suzuki Ryohei. "Onna Joshu Naotora" will air its final episode on 17 December while "Segodon" begins its run from 7 January next year. During the customary gift exchange ceremony, Shibasaki presented Suzuki with oranges from Hamamatsu, Shizuoka while Suzuki did the same with a red and gold Satsuma kiriko glass from Kagoshima.

Filming wraps up for NHK Taiga drama "Onna Joshu Naotora"

The filming for NHK Taiga drama "Onna Joshu Naotora" was wrapped up at Kurumeki Tanada in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, on 11 October where cast members such as Shibasaki Kou, Ichihara Hayato, Komatsu Kazushige, Kinoshita Takayuki, Kimoto Takehiro, Yamanaka Takashi, Maehara Kou and Morishita Yoshiyuki gathered for a scene in the last episode i.e. Ep 50 due to be shown on 17 December. Tanaka Mio who was not filming that day, came to celebrate the wrap-up with his co-stars at this place which was already featured before in the earlier part of this drama.

Winners of Nikkansports Sports Drama Grand Prix (Summer 2017)

There were 1,846 valid responses for this voting and numbers in brackets indicate the number of votes received for the drama or actor/actress:

Best Drama
1) Code Blue 3 (1,069)
2) Hiyokko (161)
3) Onna Joshu Naotora (92)
4) Gomen, Aishiteru (78)
5) Uchi no otto wa shigoto ga dekinai (69)

Best Leading Actor
1) Yamashita Tomohisa - Code Blue 3 (1,086)
2) Nagase Tomoya - Gomen, Aishiteru (136)
3) Nishikido Ryo - Uchi no otto wa shigoto ga dekinai (90)
4) Kamikawa Takaya - Iryu Sousa 4 (68)
5) Higashiyama Noriyuki - Keiji Shichinin 3 (62)

Best Leading Actress
1) Arimura Kasumi - Hiyokko (426)
2) Takahata Mitsuki - Kahogo no Kahoko (355)
3) Takei Emi - Kurokawa no Techou (309)
4) Shibasaki Kou - Onna Joshu Naotora (251)
5) Watanabe Naomi - Kanna-san! (152)

Best Supporting Actor
1) Asari Yousuke - Code Blue 3 (797)
2) Takahashi Issei - Onna Joshu Naotora (150)
3) Takeuchi Ryoma - Kahogo no Kahoko (101)
4) Sawamura Ikki - Hiyokko (84)
5) Shiina Kippei - Code Blue 3 (61)

Best Supporting Actress
1) Aragaki Yui - Code Blue 3 (650)
2) Toda Erika - Code Blue 3 (303)
3) Higa Manami - Code Blue 3 (97)
4) Kimura Yoshino - Hiyokko (91)
5) Miyamoto Nobuko - Hiyokko (72)

Source: Nikkansports

Winners of the Winter 2017 Nikkansports Dorama Grand Prix

In case you are wondering why Nikkansports has announced the winners even though the season has not ended, the polling was done via Nikkansports.com, Entame Premium, Nikkan Geinou and Nikkan Point Club between 6 and 13 March. They will be doing the annual voting for the full-year awards in the end of this month.

Numbers in brackets indicate the number of votes received out of 1,238 valid votes.

Best Drama
1) A LIFE ~ Itoshiki Hito ~ (251)
2) Uso no Sensou (159)
3) Onna Joshu Naotora (92)
4) Beppin-san (85)
5) Aibou season 15 (84)

Best Leading Actor
1) Kimura Takuya - A LIFE ~ Itoshiki Hito ~ (276)
2) Kusanagi Tsuyoshi - Uso no Sensou (222)
3) Mizutani Yutaka - Aibou season 15 (142)
4) Tsutsumi Shinichi - Salaryman Saenai-shi (130)
5) Miura Tomokazu - Shuukatsu Kazoku ~ Kitto, umaku iku ~ (80)

Best Leading Actress
1) Shibasaki Kou - Onna Joshu Naotora (209)
2) Ayase Haruka - Seirei no Moribito Kanashiki Hakkaigami (144)
3) Yoshine Kyoko - Beppin-san (138)
4) Sawaguchi Yasuko - Kasouken no Onna (137)
5) Yoshitaka Yuriko - Tokyo Tarareba Musume (131)

Best Supporting Actor
1) Matsuyama Kenichi - A LIFE ~ Itoshiki Hito ~ (148)
2) Sorimachi Takashi - Aibou season 15 (90)
3) Takahashi Issei - Onna Joshu Naotora (74)
4) Asano Tadanobu - A LIFE ~ Itoshiki Hito ~ (64)
5) Suzuki Ryohei - Tokyo Tarareba Musume (54)

Best Supporting Actress
1) Kimura Fumino - A LIFE ~ Itoshiki Hito ~ (170)
2) Koizumi Kyoko - Super Salaryman Saenai-shi (83)
3) Takeuchi Yuko - A LIFE ~ Itoshiki Hito ~ (72)
4) Oshima Yuko - Tokyo Tarareba Musume (62)
5) Yamamoto Mizuki - Uso no Sensou (56)

Source: Nikkansports

Handover ceremony for NHK Taiga dramas "Sanadamaru" & "Onna Joushu Naotora"

The handover ceremony for NHK Taiga dramas "Sanadamaru" and "Onna Joushu Naotora" was held on 25 November which was attended by the respective leads Sakai Masato and Shibasaki Kou. In the customary gift exchange section, Sakai prepared Fuyu persimmons from Wakayama Prefecture where his drama was set in while Shibasaki prepared a kite from Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka, in return. Upon receiving the kite, Sakai joked that he will fly it in Yoyogi Park near NHK. Shibasaki also expressed her thanks for the beautiful persimmons which look too good to be real.

As her senior in Taiga dramas, Sakai replied that she can rest during weekends when Shibasaki asked if he got the weekends off. He didn't have any specific advice for her other than she must eat well so as to have the energy to handle the tough filming. Sakai also jokingly remarked he didn't have time to meet the people he should and had to keep calling his friends not to abandon him because his year of "missing-in-action". In response, Shibasaki said that she is experiencing this right now and called out to her friends as well to "wait" for her.

Sakai also "complained" that the scripts for "Sanadamaru" took a long time to be ready in a dig at the scriptwriter Mitani Koki for being too slow although he enjoyed the filming after all. He also expressed his envy to Shibasaki because he heard that the scripts for "Naotora" were prepared at a fast pace so the filming can probably be done much faster without much hitches.

Shibasaki commented that unlike Sanada Yukimura who was very famous nationwide, her character Naotora was little known even to the locals at Hamamatsu City so she hopes that the drama will make people more aware of Naotora and be a source of inspiration to women who are striving to make their mark in society.

Sources: Nikkansports / Sanspo / Yomiuri Hochi / Sponichi / Oricon

Open filming session of new NHK Taiga drama "Onna Joushu Naotora"

The open filming session of new NHK Taiga drama "Onna Joushu Naotora" was held at the Kurumeki no Tanada (Kurumeki terraced paddy fields) at Hamamatsu City in Shizuoka Prefecture on 7 October where the cast members Shibasaki Kou, Miura Haruma, Takahashi Issei and Maeda Gin met the reporters. This was the first open filming session since the drama's filming began on 6 September. Shibasaki plays the heroine Ii Naotora while Miura plays her fiance Ii Naochika. Takahashi plays the role of Ono Masatsugu, the chief retainer in the Ii household while Maeda plays Ii Naohira who is the great grandfather of Naotora. On this day's filming, Shibasaki appeared in a nun's costume as Naotora was a nun in her early 20s before she became the castle lord. In order to keep her promise to marry Naochika made when they were children, Naotora became a nun to prevent anyone from forcing her to marry another man.

Shibasaki commented that when she read the script, she felt that there was a bond deeper than love between Naotora and Naochika who couldn't get together due to the chaotic war situation. Despite being someone who is poor at and uncomfortable with initiating communication with others, Shibasaki tried to improve on this by being more open to interaction and not setting any barriers at her end in a bid to prepare for her role. When asked about her similarity with Naotora, Shibasaki said that their unyielding spirit is the same and that she would still charge ahead even if the people around her try to stop her. Since this is the first time she is appearing as a nun, she also engaged in active discussion with the staff to decide on the clothes and headdress she should be wearing in the drama. Last but not least, Shibasaki revealed that she had been a regular visitor to Shizuoka during her primary school days since she would visit a friend's house during summer vacation so she hopes to be able to interact with the locals who have been very supportive whenever they see her.

As for Miura who was recently reported to be dating dancer Sugawara Koharu, he was asked about his character Naochika who was forced to be apart from his beloved Naotora for 10 years due to enemies who wanted to kill him. Miura commented that even though Naochika and Naotora liked each other when they were children, their feelings after becoming adults had an added aspect of their consideration for their hometown and futures together so he hopes to be able to convey this serious feeling in the drama. He also said that Naotora is a very wonderful woman for being a firm believer and taking action when it's needed.

Sources: Nikkansports / Sanspo / Sponichi

Shibasaki Kou visits the grave of Ii Naotora before the filming of NHK 2017 Taiga "Onna Joushu Naotora"

Shibasaki Kou paid a visit to the grave of Ii Naotora, the heroine in the NHK 2017 Taiga drama "Onna Joushu Naotora", located at Ryotanji in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture on 26 August before the filming of the drama begins in early September. The day was Naotora's death anniversary. The drama will begin its run from 8 January 2017 at 8pm on Sundays.

Shibasaki commented after visiting Naotora's grave that she hopes to be able to convey the latter's life with conviction, sincerity and real love because this is how she would like her own life to be presented if this was a story about herself. She also expressed her wish to get some divine protection from Naotora after paying respects at her grave.

Shibasaki shared her view that in the current world, women have a lot more than their counterparts in the past but there are still challenges which they face today. As such, she hopes that this drama will be a form of encouragement to them and show how people can progress with their strong beliefs. After reading the script for the first 13 episodes, she said that she was touched by the story. As the filming will take a whole year, it is important to eat well so as to maintain her condition. In order to do so, Shibasaki cited the unagi which is a famous product of Hamamatsu as a good source of energy and will try to cook on her own when she has time. Even when she's busy, she will try to rely on the help of others to have foods rich in protein and build up her stamina. In order to prepare for the filming, Shibasaki has been attending horseriding lessons and how to read the Buddhist sutras after Naotora became a nun.

Sources: Sponichi / Nikkansports / Sanspo / Oricon

Cast announcement press conference of NHK 2017 Taiga drama "Onna Joushu Naotora"

The cast announcement press conference for NHK's 2017 Taiga drama "Onna Joushu Naotora" was held at its Tokyo HQ on 12 July which was attended by the lead Shibasaki Kou and fellow cast members Suda Masaki, Nanao, Shunputei Shota, Onoe Matsuya, Asaoka Ruriko and Abe Sadao. The drama will begin its run from 8 January next year.

Suda and Nanao who are making their first appearances in a Taiga will be playing Ii Naomasa and Tsukiyama-dono (Sena), the first wife of Tokugawa Ieyasu respectively. Shunputei will play Imagawa Yoshimoto while his son Ujizane is played by Onoe and his Ujizane's mother Jukei-ni will be played by Asaoka. Abe plays the role of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Here is the list of other cast members who did not attend the press conference but will be taking part in this drama:

Ketsuzan - Ichihara Hayato
Ono Genba - Inoue Yoshio
Sana - Hanafusa Mari
Matsushita Jokei - Wada Masato
Koten - Komatsu Kazushige
Takase - Takahashi Hikaru

Source: Oricon

Cast announcement press conference of 2017 NHK Taiga drama "Onna Joushu Naotora"

The cast announcement press conference of 2017 NHK Taiga drama "Onna Joushu Naotora" (The female castle lord Naotora) was held on 26 May which was attended by the lead Shibasaki Kou, Sugimoto Tetta, Zaizen Naomi, Maeda Gin, Kobayashi Kaoru, Miura Haruma, Takahashi Issei, Yagira Yuya, Kanjiya Shihori and Muro Tsuyoshi. The drama will be written by Morishita Yoshiko who was responsible for the NHK morning drama "Gochisousan" while the narrator will be Nakamura Baijaku.

The drama features Shibasaki as the only daughter of the Ii family in the present-day Shizuoka Prefecture during the Warring States era who was given a male name Naotora despite her gender. Naotora's parents will be played by Sugimoto and Zaizen while her fiance will be played by Miura who appeared as a child actor in the 2006 Taiga "MUSASHI" in 2003 and "Komyo ga Tsuji" in 2006. Yagira who makes his first appearance in a Taiga drama, will be playing the head of a bandit group who is a newly-created character that didn't exist in history. As for Takahashi, he had been seen in four previous Taiga dramas i.e. "Genroku Ryouran" in 1999, "Shinsengumi!" in 2004, "Fuurin Kazan" in 2007 and "Gunshi Kanbee" in 2014.

Other actors in the cast include Ukaji Takashi, Fukikoshi Mitsuru, Kariya Shunsuke, Denden and Kakei Toshio.

Sources: NHK / Oricon / My Navi