Psychiatrist Irabu series

Kūchū Buranko (空中ブランコ, Flying trapezes) is a Japanese short novel and a title of a collection of short stories written by Hideo Okuda (奥田 英朗, Okuda Hideo), and is the second volume of "Seishinkai Irabu sirīzu (精神科医・伊良部シリーズ, The Psychiatrist Irabu series)".

Kuchu Buranko is also the TV drama, stage play and Japanese animated television series which were produced based on this novel.

Prize

Kuuchuu Buranko is the 131st Naoki Prize winners (the first half of 2004).

Short stories contained in this book

• Kūchū Buranko (空中ブランコ, Flying trapezes) (the first publishing: "All Yomimono", January, 2003 issue)
• Harinezumi (ハリネズミ, Hedgehog) (the first publishing: "All Yomimono", July, 2003 issue)
• Gifu no Zura (義父のヅラ, The wig of the father-in-law) (the first publishing: "All Yomimono", October, 2003 issue, "Kyōju no Zura (教授のヅラ, The wig of the professor)" was retitled and was corrected)
• Hot Corner (ホットコーナー, Third base) (the first publishing: "All Yomimono", April, 2003 issue)
• Joryū Sakka (女流作家, Woman writer) (the first publishing: "All Yomimono", January, 2004 issue)

Characters

Ichiro Irabu

Irabu is a doctor of the Irabu general hospital neurology, and he is white, fat like the pig, and likes to give the injection. He is a mama's boy, audacious, small-child-like, and an unreasonable person.

Mayumi

Mayumi is a nurse of neurology and is an assistant of Irabu. She is taciturn and is blunt. She is a beauty and glamorous. She likes gaudy outfit.

Kohei Yamashita

Yamashita is a leading character of "flying trapeze." He is a member of circus troupe and is a leader of a flying trapeze team. He comes to fail in the jump of the flying trapeze repeatedly, and visits psychiatry on his wife's and members' advice.

Seiji Ino

Ino is a leading character of "Harinezumi." He is an underboss of yakuza "Kioi family." Since he has such a serious trypanophobia that he cannot use chopsticks, he uses a spoon at meals. He consults psychiatry on his common-law wife’s advice.

Tatsuro Ikeyama

Ikeyama is a leading character of "Gifu no Zura." He is a university lecturer and is a doctor of neurology working in the hospital attached to the university. He is Irabu’s alumnus in the medical department. He has obsessive-compulsive neurosis. He is agonized with the impulse of wanting to strip off the wig of the father-in-law.

Shinichi Bando

Bando is a leading character of a "Hot Corner." He is a pro-baseball player and is ten-years veteran third baseman. He suffered from yips, and he leaves the first team by pretending to be injured.

Aiko Hoshiyama

Hoshiyama is a leading character of a "Joryū Sakka." She is a popular novelist. She has suffered from the symptom of psychogenic vomiting and recovered completely once. But she relapses into that symptom again, and she consults psychiatry.

TV drama

This is the special drama which Fuji Television produced and broadcast on May 27, 2005.

The cast

• Ichiro Irabu (Hiroshi Abe)
• Mayumi (Yumiko Shaku)
• Kohei Yamashita (Masato Sakai)
• Hiromi Yasukawa (Hitomi Sato)

She is a character of Vol. 1 "In The Pool."

• Seiji Ino (Kenichi Endo)
• Elly (Sachiko Kokubu)
• Uchida (Seiji Iinuma)
• Yoshimatsu (Yutaka Matsushige)

The staff

• Planning： Akihiro Arai, Kenichiro Yasuhara（Fuji Television）
• Script： Hiroshi Hashimoto
• Producer： Shizuo Sekiguchi, Fumi Hashimoto（Kyodo Television）
• Direction： Masanori Murakami（Kyodo Television）
• Production： Fuji Television, Kyodo Television

Stage play

The stage play version was performed from April 20, 2008 in Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space.

• Sponsor: TV Asahi, Dentsu
• Planning and Production: Atelier Duncan, Dentsu

The cast

• Ichiro Irabu (Hiroyuki Miyasako)
• Mayumi (Eriko Sato)
• Kohei Yamashita (Kenji Sakamoto)

The staff

• Script: Yutaka Kuramochi
• Direction: Masahiko Kawahara

TV anime

The TV anime version is going to be broadcasted in Fuji Television "noitamina" from October, 2009.

The staff

• Director: Kenji Nakamura
• Character design & Chief anime director: Takashi Hashimoto
• Production: TOEI ANIMATION

External links

• TV dorama Official Shueisha Manga site Template:Ja icon
• 'Stage play Official site Template:Ja icon
• TV anime Official site Template:Ja icon