The Best TV Shows on NHK

Murasaki Shikibu (Yoshitaka Yuriko), the heroine of this story, wrote the bestseller 'The Tale of Genji,' transcending a thousand years during the Heian period. She weaves the story of Hikaru Genji, fueled by her love for Fujiwara no Michinaga (Emoto Tasuku), with her hidden passion and incomparable imagination. It is a tale of a woman who lived with unchanging love in an ever-changing world. (From TV JAPAN)

In 1924, a time when both steam engine trains and early Showa Era's first train stations are just beginning. In the waiting room of Asumoe Station, a small country station, a passenger finds an abandoned baby and rushes to tell the station master, Tokiwa Jiro. The news quickly spreads and soon friends of Tokiwa's along with other townsfolk are saying that this baby must be a gift, it is Tokiwa's recently departed beloved wife reborn as a baby.

Aki Amano, a high-school girl from Tokyo moves to the Sanriku Coast in the Tohoku region to become a female diver. She becomes a local idol, then returns to Tokyo to try to become a real idol, and finally returns to Tohoku to help revitalize the area after the Great East Japan earthquake.

In wartime Japan, spirited Nobu transforms from a militarist schoolgirl into Kochi’s first female reporter, as she and childhood friend Takashi endure personal loss and struggle to find their own truths amid the upheaval of the Showa era.

The 17-year-old Yatabe Mineko grew up in a family of seven in a mountain village in northeastern Ibaraki Prefecture. Her father Minoru has gone to Tokyo to work in order to earn extra money. However, her life completely changes when her father does not come back for the New Year. Mineko asks her family to let her go to Tokyo to find him and promises to send money home. In the autumn of 1964, she and two childhood friends Tokiko and Mitsuo are hired to start working at a small factory in Tokyo’s working class neighborhood. After work each day, Mineko searches for her father and gets disheartened at times. Mineko overcomes challenges and starts to lay down roots in Tokyo as she experiences many meetings and farewells amid the laughter and tears with regulars, people of the shopping street, friends, and colleagues. But will she be able to find her father?

The 74th NHK Asadora Drama is Junjo Kirari, which means something along the lines of "pure-hearted Kirari." The story is set in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture in the era around the Second World War. When the story opens in 1928, the heroine, Sakurako, is a very active seven-year-old girl. Indeed, even in the first episode she exhibits her confidence and enthusiasm. But above all else, Sakurako is interested in becoming a jazz pianist, and music features extensively in the plot.

Higa Nobuko was born and raised with her four siblings in a farmhouse in the "Yanbaru region" in the northern part of the main island of Okinawa. She aims to become a chef drawing inspiration from Okinawan cuisine. The four siblings follow very different paths, but the memories of their hometown connect their hearts and they're able to overcome their hardships as a family.

Suzume is a girl born to a family running a small restaurant in Gifu Prefecture. She loses her hearing in one ear from a disease. Encouraged by her loving parents and childhood friend, she lives through an eventful life with a tenacious spirit.

The story of Makino Mantaro (Kamiki Ryunosuke), a botanist who ran through the Meiji era (1868-1912) in full bloom, begins. Born the heir to the Tosa sake brewery Mineya, Mantaro (Yurito Mori) is a boy who loves plants and flowers and led a straightforward life. His life was colored by the many vivid encounters he had with many people. People whom Mantaro met in his hometown of Kochi, and whose way of life and words gave him a guideline for his life. "Ranman," is a drama in which charming characters bloom freely around the main character, Mantaro, just like flowers.

He lost his land, his father, and was torn from his mother. Lonely and wounded, young Takechiyo thought he'd live out his days quietly as a hostage. But fate had other plans. Inspired by Mikawa warriors, he becomes a minor lord and dives into a war-torn world ruled by monsters like Nobunaga and Shingen.Life-or-death moments, miscalculations, and no time to breathe—what will you do, Ieyasu?

Born in 1937 in Osaka as the eldest daughter, Kawahara Kimiko moves to Shigaraki with her family at the age of 9. She works to support her family from a young age. Eventually, she jumps into the male world of pottery and becomes a pioneer of female ceramic arts. After marrying her husband who is also involved in ceramics and owning her own kiln, she raises her two children while struggling to create unique ware.

A Japanese girl from a poor family named Hanako went on an adventure to study in a girl's Christian school in Tokyo. She found her passion in English and step by step made her dream come true.

Oshin is a Japanese serialized morning television drama, which aired on broadcaster NHK from April 4, 1983 to March 31, 1984. The series follows the life of Shin Tanokura during the Meiji period up to the early 1980s. Shin was called "Oshin", which is an archaic Japanese cognomen.

Phi Brain: Puzzle of God is a 2011 Japanese anime television series produced by Sunrise. The first two series aired on NHK Educational TV between October 2011 and September 2012, with a third season to begin airing in October 2013. The series is directed by Junichi Sato with script supervision by Mayori Sekijima. Hajime Yatate, the collective penname for the creative staff at Sunrise, is credited with the original story. The anime has been licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks. A manga adaptation by Yoshiki Togawa began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's Newtype Ace magazine from November 2011. A PlayStation Portable video game by Arc System Works was released on May 31, 2012.

Zenitendo is a mysterious candy store that only lucky people can reach. All the candy recommended by Beniko, the owner of the store, is perfectly suited to the buyer's troubles. However, it depends on whether the candy will be used or eaten correctly that it can bring happiness or misfortune.

In the end of Meiji era, Takei Chiyo was born in a poor family in Osaka, and was sent to a theatre tea room as a servant when she was 9 years old. There, she was attracted by the world of theatre comedy. She grows up to be an actor and marries to Amami Ippei , but the war broke out and she was forced to stay away from acting for a while. However, when she comes back again, her acting in a radio drama impresses many people and makes herself one of the leading actors in western Japan.

Come Come Everybody is a Japanese television drama series and the 105th NHK Asadora series, following Okaeri Mone.. It depicts the lives of three generations of women who have close links to the English lessons on radio which began in 1925.