Saka no Ue no Kumo (TV series)
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Saka no Ue no Kumo |
| Country of production | Japan |
| original language | Japanese |
| Year (s) | since 2009 |
| Production company |
NHK 21st Century |
| length | about 90 minutes |
| Episodes | 13 in 3 seasons |
| genre | Dorama |
| Theme music | Stand Alone by Sarah Brightman |
| idea |
Hisashi Nozawa Takeshi Shibata Mikio Satō |
| production | Takeshi Shibata Mikio Satō Taku Katō |
| music | Yuzo Toyama |
| First broadcast | November 29, 2009 (Japan) |
| occupation | |
Saka no Ue no Kumo ( Japanese 坂 の 上 の 雲 ) is a Japanese dorama television series by NHK , which was broadcast from November 29, 2009 to 2011. The television series consists of 13 episodes, each 90 minutes long. The first season with five episodes was broadcast in 2009, while the 2nd season (broadcast in 2010) and 3rd season (broadcast in 2011) each had four episodes. Most of the scenes were shot in Japan and only one season 2 episode was produced in Latvia . The television series is based on the novel Saka no Ue no Kumo by Shiba Ryōtarō , which was adapted by Hisashi Nozawa .
The title song is called "Stand Alone". It was composed by Joe Hisaishi , the text is by Kundo Koyama . The song was sung by the British soprano Sarah Brightman .
action
The television series is set during the Meiji period in Japan and focuses on three characters from the city of Matsuyama : Akiyama Yoshifuru , his brother Akiyama Saneyuki , and his friend Masaoka Tsunenori, better known as Masaoka Shiki . The plot follows the life of the main characters from their youth through the First Sino -Japanese War to the Russo-Japanese War .
production
- Template: Ryōtarō Shiba
- Screenplay: Hisashi Nozawa
- Music: Joe Hisaishi
- Historical research: Yasushi Toriumi
- Narrator: Ken Watanabe
- Production manager: Yasuhiro Kan
- Casting: Mineyo Satō
actor
Akiyama family
- Masahiro Motoki as Akiyama Saneyuki
- Hiroshi Abe as Akiyama Yoshifuru
- Shirō Itō as Akiyama Hisataka
- Keiko Takeshita as Akiyama Sada
- Takako Matsu as Akiyama Tami
Masaoka family
- Teruyuki Kagawa as Masaoka Shiki
- Miho Kanno as Masaoka Ritsu
- Mieko Harada as Masaoka Yae
- Ichiro Shinjitsu as Ōhara Kanzan
- Yūto Uemura as Katō Tsunetada
Navy members and their families
- Takahiro Fujimoto as Takeo Hirose
- Tsurutarō Kataoka as Yashiro Rokurō
- Tetsuya Watari as Tōgō Heihachirō
- Kōji Ishizaka as Yamamoto Gonbei
- Masao Kusakari as Katō Tomosaburō
- Hiroshi Tachi as Shimamura Hayao
- Masaya Kato as Arima Ryokitsu
- Akira Nakao as Hidaka Sōnojō
- Kisuke Iida as Takarabe Takeshi
Army members and their families
- Kōji Matoba as Nagaoka Gaishi
- Hideki Takahashi as Kodama Gentarō
- Tōru Emori as Yamagata Aritomo
- Masakane Yonekura as Ōyama Iwao
- Akira Emoto as Nogi Maresuke
- Kyōko Maya as Nogi Shizuko
- Shinya Tsukamoto as Akashi Motojirō
- Jun Kunimura as Kawakami Sōroku
- Takehiro Murata as Ijichi Kōsuke
- Takaaki Enoki as Mori Rintarō
- Daijirō Tsutsumi as Iguchi Shōgo
- Atsushi Miyauchi as Fujii Shigeta
Politicians and their families
- Gō Katō as Itō Hirobumi
- Toshiyuki Nishida as Takahashi Korekiyo
- Naoto Takenaka as Komura Jutarō
- Ren Ōsugi as Mutsu Munemitsu
- Shin'ya Ōwada as Inoue Kaoru
- Toshiki Ayata as Katsura Taro
More people
- Shirō Sano as Kuga Katsunan
- Kenzō as Kojima Ichinen
- Yukiyoshi Ozawa as Natsume Sōseki
- Julian Glover as Alfred Thayer Mahan
- Marina Aleksandrova as Ariadna
Episode overview
1st season: 1868–1900
| Season # | Episode # | title | Director | Audience rating | Broadcast date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Shōnen no Kuni ( 少年 の 国 ) | Takeshi Shibata | 17.7% | November 29, 2009 |
| 1 | 2 | Seiun ( 青雲 ) | Takeshi Shibata | 19.6% | December 6, 2009 |
| 1 | 3 | Kokka Meidō ( 国家 鳴 動 ) | Takeshi Shibata | 19.5% | December 13, 2009 |
| 1 | 4th | Nisshin Kaisen (日 清 開 戦 ) | Takeshi Shibata | 17.8% | December 20, 2009 |
| 1 | 5 | Ryūgaku Sei ( 留学生 ) | Ryuji Isshiki | 12.9% | December 27, 2009 |
2nd season: 1900–1904
| Season # | Episode # | title | Director | Audience rating | Broadcast date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 6th | Nichiei Dōmei (日 英 同盟 ) | Mikio Satō | 14.7% | 5th December 2010 |
| 2 | 7th | Shiki, Yuku ( 子規 、 逝 く ) | Mikio Satō | 15.0% | December 12, 2010 |
| 2 | 8th | Nichiro Kaisen (日 露 開 戦 ) | Takafumi Kimura | 14.7% | December 19, 2010 |
| 2 | 9 | Hirose, Shisu ( 広 瀬 、 死 す ) | Takafumi Kimura | 9.7% | December 26, 2010 |
Season 3: Russo-Japanese War
| Season # | Episode # | title | Director | Audience rating | Broadcast date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 10 | Ryojun Sōkōgeki (旅順 総 攻 撃 ) | Taku Kato | 12.7% | December 2011 |
| 3 | 11 | 203 Kōchi ( 二 〇 三 高地 ) | Taku Kato | 11.0% | December 2011 |
| 3 | 12 | Tekikan Miyu ( 敵艦 見 ゆ ) | Takafumi Kimura | 11.1% | December 2011 |
| 3 | 13 | Nihon-kai Kaisen (日本 海海 戦 ) | Taku Kato | 11.4% | December 2011 |
The first season was released on March 15, 2010 on 5 DVDs, the second season in spring 2011 on 4 DVDs and the third season in spring 2012 on 4 DVDs.
Awards
The series was nominated for Best Drama at the 38th (2010) and 39th (2011) Emmy Awards for two consecutive years .
Soundtrack and books
Soundtrack
- Saka no ue no kumo Original Soundtrack, December 18, 2009, EMI Music Japan
Books
- NHK Special Drama, Historical handbook, Saka no ue no kumo (October 30, 2009) ISBN 978-4-14-910729-5
- NHK Special Drama guide, Saka no ue no kumo Part1 (October 30, 2009) ISBN 978-4-14-407160-7
- NHK Special Drama guide, Saka no ue no kumo Part2 (October 25, 2010) ISBN 978-4-14-407173-7
Web links
- Saka no Ue no Kumo in the Internet Movie Database (English)