Top 10 highest single-episode ratings ranking for dramas in 2013 (Oricon)

1) Hanzawa Naoki Last Episode (TBS) - 42.2%

2) Gochisousan Ep 15 (NHK) - 27.3%

3) Ama-chan Ep 145 (NHK) - 27.0%

4) Doctor X ~ Gekkai Daimon Michiko ~ Last Episode (TV Asahi) - 26.9%

5) 24 Jikan Terebi SP - Kyou no hi wa sayounara (NTV)  - 23.4%

6) Galileo Ep 1 (FujiTV) - 22.6%

7) DOCTORS 2 Last Episode (TV Asahi) - 21.7%

8) Yae no Sakura Ep 1 (NHK) - 21.4%

9) Legal High Ep 1 (FujiTV) - 21.2%

10) Aibou Season 11 Last Episode (TV Asahi) - 20.7%

Source: Oricon

Taiga handover ceremony for "Yae no Sakura" and "Gunshi Kanbee"

The Taiga handover ceremony for this year's "Yae no Sakura" and next year's "Gunshi Kanbee" was held on 15 November which was attended by the leads Ayase Haruka and Okada Junichi. The last episode of "Yae no Sakura" will be shown on 15 December while the first episode of "Gunshi Kanbee" will be shown on 5 January. When asked for advice that she can give to Okada, Ayase said that it would be best to take naps during the filming breaks as the filming schedule for a Taiga drama can be very packed even though it stretches for a whole year. The leads also exchanged gifts from the hometowns of their characters i.e. Ayase giving Okada gifts from Fukushima Prefecture while he gave her items from Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture.

Source: Sanspo

Filming wraps up for NHK Taiga drama "Yae no Sakura"

The filming for NHK's Taiga drama "Yae no Sakura" was wrapped up on 30 Sep and in commemoration of that, the lead actress Ayase Haruka attended a press conference held on the same day. She commented that although the filming took more than a year, it felt as if the time passed too quickly and she was happy to feel the passion and dedication from everyone around her in order to make a good drama. Odagiri Jo, who plays her husband in the drama, also appeared at the press conference to present a bouquet of flowers to Ayase.

Next year's Taiga will be titled "Gunshi Kanbee" and stars Okada Junichi as Kuroda Kanbee, the advisor who helped Toyotomi Hideyoshi to unite the country.

Source: Sanspo

Top 10 dramas with the highest single episode rating in the first half of 2013

1) Galileo Ep 1 - 22.6%

2) Ama-chan Ep 65 - 22.2%

3) Yae no Sakura Ep 1 - 21.4%

4) Aibou season 11 Last Episode - 20.7%

5) Tonbi Last Episode - 20.3%

6) Jun to Ai Last Episode - 20.2%

7) Specialist (drama SP) - 19.4%

8) Last Cinderella Last Episode - 17.8%

9) Kazoku Game Last Episode - 16.7%

10) Taxi Driver no Suiri Nishi (drama SP) - 16.2%

Source: Oricon

Ayase Haruka at special screening event for NHK Taiga "Yae no Sakura"

Ayase Haruka appeared at the special screening of NHK Taiga drama "Yae no Sakura" on 18 June where the 30th June episode was shown. As this episode featured scenes from the Tsuruga Castle Siege which is the climax of the first half of the drama, Ayase commented that everyone put in their best to film this important battle where Yae dressed as a man and led the army to fight against the enemy.

Source: Nikkansports

The 16th Nikkansports Grand Prix (Winter 2013)

This is a rather small-scale survey since there are less than 1,000 votes so the results tend to be heavily skewed and quite different from the general opinion or what you see in The Television Awards. Please don't be upset if your favourites or those who you think deserves an award doesn't appear here. ^__^

Numbers in brackets indicate number of votes.

Source: Nikkansports

Best Drama
1) Tonbi / TBS  (97)
2) Aibou season 11 / TV Asahi (96)
3) Yae no Sakura / NHK (93)
4) Jun to Ai / NHK (59)
5) Nobunaga no Chef / TV Asahi (57)

Best Leading Actor
1) Uchino Masaaki / Tonbi / TBS (175)
2) Mizutani Yutaka / Aibou season 11 / TV Asahi (163)
3) Kazama Shunsuke / Jun to Ai / NHK (75)
4) Eguchi Yosuke / dinner / FujiTV (70)
5) Eita / Saikou no Rikon / FujiTV (67)

Best Leading Actress
1) Ayase Haruka / Yae no Sakura / NHK (230)
2) Gouriki Ayame / Biblia Koshodou no Jiken Tecchou / FujiTV (101)
3) Sawaguchi Yasuko / Kasouken no Onna / TV Asahi (96)
4) Natsuna / Jun to Ai / NHK (94)
5) Nakama Yukie / Saki / FujiTV & Suzuki Kyoka / Yakou Kanransha / TBS (80)

Best Supporting Actor
1) Narimiya Hiroki / Aibou season 11 / TV Asahi (98)
2) Nishijima Hidetoshi / Yae no Sakura / NHK (92)
3) Sato Takeru / Tonbi / TBS (85)
4) Oikawa Mitsuhiro / Nobunaga Chef / TV Asahi (74)
5) Oizumi Yo / Sharehouse no Koibito / NTV (55)

Best Supporting Actress
1) Ono Machiko / Saikou no Rikon / FujiTV (89)
2) Iijima Naoko / Itsuka Hi no Ataru Basho de / NHK (77)
3) Shida Mirai / Nobunaga no Chef / TV Asahi (74)
4) Morishita Aiko / Jun to Ai / NHK (64)
5) Aibu Saki / Otome-san / TV Asahi (63)

MEGUMI to appear in NHK Taiga drama "Yae no Sakura"

MEGUMI will appear in her first NHK Taiga drama as she joins the cast of "Yae no Sakura" and takes on the role of Mizuno Tei who was the second wife of the Aizu clan's chief Kajiwara Heima and had actively promoted the education of women in Nemuro, Hokkaido Prefecture. In preparation for the role, MEGUMI also consulted her father-in-law Furuya Ikkou who is also an actor, for advice and did lots of research besides reading the script. Even though Furuya is also acting in "Yae no Sakura", there will be no scenes involving him and MEGUMI at the same time. MEGUMI will appear in the drama from the episode airing on 19 May.

Source: Sanspo

Ayase Haruka & Nishijima Hidetoshi at tree-planting ceremony in Fukushima

Ayase Haruka who plays the role of Niijima Yae in the NHK Taiga drama "Yae no Sakura" and Nishijima Hidetoshi who plays Yae's brother Yamamoto Kakuma, attended the tree-planting ceremony held at a park in Fukushima Prefecture's Shirakawa City on 20 April. The tree which is a new species of the Yaezakura developed by Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute's Tama Forest Science Garden and named "Haruka" after Ayase, was planted with the hope of Fukushima's recovery from the nuclear, earthquake and tsunami crisis which hit the area in 2011. About 500 members of the public including tourists came to attend the ceremony where Ayase and Nishijima placed soil onto a 1.5m-tall sapling. Ayase commented that she hoped that the sakura tree would grow well and stand tall for a long time while Nishijima said that he wished that as the tree grows taller, restoration efforts in Fukushima would also progress smoothly at the same time.

Source: Sanspo

Filming of the Aizu Battle for NHK Taiga "Yae no Sakura"

The cast of NHK Taiga drama "Yae no Sakura" including Ayase Haruka, Tamayama Tetsuji, Katsuji Ryo and Nakamura Shido participated in the filming of the Aizu Battle at Ibaraki Prefecture on 13 April. As Ayase had to carry a Spencer rifle weighing 4kg during the filming, she prepared for it by doing 120 push-ups daily from two weeks earlier. The filming of the scenes for this key event in the first part of the drama will last till 16 April and will be shown in the 22nd episode on 2 June.

Source: Sanspo

Kuroki Meisa makes her return to acting in "Yae no Sakura"

Kuroki Meisa who had been on maternity break since giving birth to her first daughter last September, made her return to acting in NHK Taiga drama "Yae no Sakura". She attended the press conference held at NHK on 12 February and talked about how going through childbirth had made her understand the meaning of protecting something or someone with her life. Kuroki's role will be Nakano Takeko who started out as a rival to Yae (Ayase Haruka) but later became her comrade. Takeko then passed away during the Boshin War which left a strong impact on Yae's subsequent life. Kuroki's first appearance in the drama will be in the 21th April episode and will last till July.

Source: Sanspo

Kuroki Meisa back in the public eye after eight months

Kuroki Meisa made her first public appearance for the first time in 8 months on 24 January since she got married to Akanishi Jin and gave birth to their daughter last September. She attended the event for US movie "Silver Linings Playbook" starring actor Bradley Cooper as a guest. Kuroki will resume her acting career early next month when she begins filming for the NHK Taiga drama "Yae no Sakura".

Source: Yomiuri Hochi

Special edition "Yae no Sakura" aeroplane in service

ANA announced the introduction of a special edition  "Yae no Sakura" aeroplane in its fleet at Haneda Airport on 14 January which was unveiled by the drama's lead Ayase Haruka. The Boeing 767 aeroplane will be in service until December this year on domestic flights within Japan. According to ANA, they decided to support the drama set in tsunami-hit Fukushima Prefecture through this method. Unfortunately, due to the heavy snowfall today, the aeroplane could not embark on its maiden journey to Osaka Airport at 1pm to which Ayase expressed disappointment.

Source: Sanspo

Ayase Haruka at the opening of Yae museum in Fukushima

Ayase Haruka attended the opening ceremony of the "Handsome Woman Yae to Aizupaku Taiga Dorama Kan" which is a museum located in Yae's place of birth i.e. Aizu Wakamatsu City in Fukushima Prefecture on 12 January. The museum features a remake of Yae's birth family's house i.e. the Yamamoto residence, displays clothes worn in the Taiga drama "Yae no Sakura", simulations on how to use the Spencer rifle, images of the wartimes which Yae was in. It will be open till 14 January 2014 and admission ticket prices are at 500 yen for adults and 200 yen for children.

Source: Sanspo

"Yae no Sakura" gets off to good start with 21.4%

2013 Taiga drama "Yae no Sakura" got off to a good start for its first episode shown on 6 January with a rating of 21.4% in the Kanto region and 19.2% in the Kansai region. In the Fukushima area where the drama's story is set in, ratings were as high as 30.7%. As a result, "Yae no Sakura" fared better than last year's "Taira no Kiyomori" which only got 17.3% in Kanto and 18.8% in Kansai.

Source: Sanspo

Taiga handing-over ceremony - from "Taira no Kiyomori" to "Yae no Sakura"

The annual Taiga handing-over ceremony was held on 20 December at NHK's HQ in Shibuya which was attended by Matsuyama Kenichi and Ayase Haruka. Matsuyama stars in this year's Taiga which will end its run on 23 December while Ayase will be the lead of 2013's Taiga "Yae no Sakura" which airs its first episode on 6 January. Both of them are from Horipro where Ayase joined in 2000 and Matsuyama followed suit a year later but Matsuyama is considered as Ayase's senior when it comes to Taiga dramas. Reflecting on his past year, Matsuyama said that being anxious about the fact that he was starring in a Taiga drama made it difficult at times for him to do what he could do or excel in. In response to that advice, Ayase commented that she'll try to relax in the year ahead so that she can put up her best performance. During the ceremony, the both of them also exchanged gifts from the region where their characters are closely linked to. Matsuyama gave Kobe beef to Ayase while she responded with traditional art works from Aizu, Fukushima, that she had designed.

Source: Sanspo

First episode screening of "Yae no Sakura"

The first-episode-screening event of NHK's new Taiga drama "Yae no Sakura" was held on 11 December at NHK's HQ in Shibuya which was also attended by the lead actress Ayase Haruka who plays Yae, child actor Suzuki Rio who plays the younger version of Yae as well as Nishijima Hidetoshi who plays Yae's elder brother. The drama is scheduled to begin its run from 6 January onwards at 8pm on Sundays. In response to criticism that this year's Taiga "Taira no Kiyomori" had a very dark colour tone on screen, NHK said that "Yae no Sakura" will be shot with a new type of camera which features vivid colours on screen even in low light conditions.

Source: Sanspo

NHK reveals poster for "Yae no Sakura"

NHK revealed the poster for their 2013 Taiga drama "Yae no Sakura" on 21 November, which begins its run from 6 January at 8pm on Sundays. The poster features the lead Ayase Haruka who plays Yae with a Spencer rifle in order to match the image of Yae being a Joan of Arc in the Bakumatsu era. The poster will be displayed at all NHK broadcast stations nationwide and the drama's shooting locations such as Fukushima Prefecture from December onward.

Source: Oricon

Cast announcement press conference of "Yae no Sakura"

The cast announcement press conference of 2013 Taiga drama "Yae no Sakura" was held on 11 October which was attended by key cast members including the lead Ayase Haruka, Odagiri Joe, Mizuhara Kiko, Tanimura Mitsuki, Takashima Masahiro, Matsukata Hiroki, Oikawa Mitsuhiro and Katsuji Ryo. The drama is scheduled to begin its run on 6 January 2013 and will be shown at 8pm on Sundays.

Odagiri Jo who plays Niijima Jo, the 2nd husband of Yae (Ayase) and founder of Doshisha University, revealed that he had met Ayase before when she paid a visit to their house about six months ago at the invitation of Odagiri's wife Kashii Yu who is a close friend of Ayase and belong to the same agency. In addition, since their hometowns (Odagiri comes from Okayama and Ayase comes from Hiroshima) are close, he said that this additional level of familiarity with each other will serve to help them work well together in the year ahead.

As for the other cast members, Mizuhara Kiko will play Japan's first female student who went overseas to study Ooyama Sutematsu which also marks her first appearance in a drama. Oguri Shun will play Yoshida Shouin while Oikawa will play Kido Takayoshi.

Source: Sanspo

Odagiri Jo to appear in 2013 Taiga "Yae no Sakura"

Odagiri Jo will be appearing in 2013 Taiga drama "Yae no Sakura" as Niijima Jou, the husband of Niijima Yae played by Ayase Haruka and the founder of Doshisha University. This is the first time that the two of them are working togather in a drama although their collaboration in another movie "Real ~ Kanzen naru shuchoutaki no hi~ " is only due to be shown next summer. This will also be Odagiri's 2nd Taiga appearance in 9 years from his last role in 2004's "Shinsengumi".

Source: Yomiuiri Hochi

Press conference of 2013 Taiga drama "Yae no Sakura"

The press conference of 2013 Taiga drama "Yae no Sakura" was held on 30 May at NHK Broadcasting Centre which main cast members Ayase Haruka, Hasegawa Hiroki, Nishijima Hidetoshi, Gouriki Ayame, Hasegawa Kyoko, Nishida Toshiyuki, Matsushige Yutaka, Kudo Asuka, Ikeuchi Hiroyuki, Kuroki Meisa, Ayano Go, Inamori Izumi, Tamayama Tetsuji, Saito Takumi and Nakamura Shido attended. Fubuki Jun and Kitamura Yukiya were absent from the event. The drama is scheduled to start filming this summer and will begin its run for a year from January 2013.

"Yae no Sakura" features Ayase as the lead character Niijima Yae, a woman born in the Aizu area of Fukushima Prefecture during the Bakumatsu period who fought during the Boshin war in the Meiji era. After the Meiji Restoration, she became the first nurse who volunteered to help injured soldiers during the First Sino-Japanese war and the Russo-Japanese wars at the frontline. Yae's brother Yamamoto Kakuma will be played by Nishijima while her first husband Kawasaki Shounosuke will be played by Hasegawa Hiroki. Gouriki will act as Yae's childhood friend Hyuga Yuki who is six years younger than her while Kuroki Meisa will be playing Nakano Takeko who is good at everything and a rival of Yae. Kuroki will be giving birth to her first child this autumn so she is expected to join the filming after that. Nishida will be playing Saigo Tanomo, the chief retainer of the Aizu Domain while Matsushige will be Yae's father Yamamoto Gonpachi and Fubuki as Saku, Yae's mother. Hasegawa Kyoko will act as Kakuma's wife Ura while Yae's younger brother is played by Kudo Asuka.
Source: Oricon