Taiga drama
Taiga 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. 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
- Kamakura-dono no 13-nin
List of series
| # | Romanised Name | Kanji Name | English title | Start | End | Starring | Supporting cast | Additional Notes | 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, 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 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. 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 | 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 |
| Saka no Ue no Kumo | 2 | 4 eps | 5 December 2010 | 26 December 2010 | Masahiro Motoki Hiroshi Abe Teruyuki Kagawa | Miho Kanno Go Kato Hideki Takahashi Tetsuya Watari |
| Saka no Ue no Kumo | 3 | 4 eps | 4 December 2011 | 25 December 2011 | Masahiro Motoki Hiroshi Abe Teruyuki Kagawa | Miho Kanno Go Kato Hideki Takahashi Tetsuya Watari |
Fantasy taiga drama
New Big Jidaigeki
Series overviews
- 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. Kabuki actor Ichikawa Shinnosuke VII 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. 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. 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. 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.