Atsu-hime

Details

Title: 篤姫
Title (romaji): Atsu-hime
Title (English): Princess Atsu
Format: Renzoku
Genre: Jidaigeki
Viewership ratings: Avg: 24.5%, high: 29.2% (Kanto)
Episodes: 50
Broadcast network: NHK
Broadcast period: 2008-Jan-06 to 2008-Dec-14
Air time: Sunday 20:00

Synopsis

The 47th NHK taiga drama is a life story of Atsu-hime who was born in Kagoshima Prefecture, then called Satsuma, and became the wife of Tokugawa Iesada, the 13th shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate. She accedes to the highest rank in Ooku, the inner palace of the Edo castle where women related to the reigning shogun resided. Iesada dies soon after their marriage and Atsu-hime assumes the name Tenshoin at the age of 23. She exerts herself for the Tokugawa clan and for the nation during the upheaval in the Meiji Restoration, headed by those from Satsuma.

In 1835, Shimazu Tadatake, head of the Imaizumi-Shimazu family of Satsuma clan, and Oyuki are blessed with a long-awaited daughter, Okatsu, who later becomes Atsu-hime. She grows up as a tomboy, full of wonders, yet warm-hearted. Meanwhile, as Satsuma clan is under going financial reform, headed by chief retainer Zusho, Tadatake is punished for being lenient with farmers. Okatsu, unable to absorb why her father is punished, charges over to Zusho.

User/Viewer Ratings

5.00

(one vote)

Cast

Correlation Chart

Main Cast

Miyazaki Aoi as Okatsu / Atsu-hime (Tenshoin)
- Nagai Honoka (永井穂花) as Okatsu (child)
- Iwamoto Chinami (岩本千波) as Okatsu (child)

Imaizumi Shimazu Family

Nagatsuka Kyozo as Shimazu Tadatake
Higuchi Kanako as Oyuki
Okada Yoshinori as Shimazu Tadayuki
- Sakai Kazuhisa (坂井和久) as Tadayuki (child)
Sasaki Sumie as Kikumoto
Umeno Yasukiyo (梅野泰靖) as Kurikawa Magoroku
Shoji Yusuke as Takuma Harumichi
Kobayashi Asako (小林麻子) as Shino
Tanahashi Sachiyo (棚橋幸代) as Mine
Kono Yasuro (河野安郎) as Shimazu Tadafuyu
- Fujisaki Go (藤崎剛) as Tadafuyu (child)
Matsuo Katsuhisa as Shimazu Hisayuki
- Tanaka Oga as Hisayuki (child)

Satsuma Feudal Clan

Ladies-in-Waiting

Sato Aiko as Onoshima
Itaya Yuka as Hirokawa
Hidari Tokie as Takayama
Kitahara Sawako as Fujino
Matsuda Miho (松田美保) as Yuki
Oishi Yoshimi (大石好美) as Hisa

Shogunate

Shogun's Family

Sakai Masato as Tokugawa Iesachi (Iesada)
Matsuda Shota as Tokugawa Yoshitomi (Iemochi)
Hira Takehiro as Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu / Tokugawa Yoshinobu
Saiki Shigeru as Tokugawa Ieyoshi
Yoshitake Reo as Tokugawa Iesato
- Kobayashi Kaito as Tayasu Kamenosuke (young child)
- Kisaichi Yuta as Tayasu Kamenosuke (child)

Ooku

Horikita Maki as Princess Kazunomiya Chikako / Seikanin
Matsuzaka Keiko as Ikushima
Inamori Izumi as Takiyama
Takahata Atsuko as Honjuin
Wakamura Mayumi as Kangyoin
Nakamura Meiko as Niwata Tsuguko
Tsuruta Mayu as Shiga / Hokenin
Nakajima Tomoko as Shigeno
Takahashi Yumiko as Karahashi
Iwai Yumi (岩井友見) as Utahashi
Miyaji Masako as Hatsuse
Totani Tomo (戸谷友) as Tokiwai
Takemoto Satoko (竹本聡子) as Tsuchimikado Fujiko
Kodama Ai (こだま愛) as Hanazono
Abe Asami as Tokiwa
Hasegawa Manami (長谷川愛美) as Konoe Hiroko
Kawata Shinobu (川田しのぶ) as the machijoro

Shogun's Advisors

Kusakari Masao as Abe Masahiro
Nakamura Baijaku as Ii Naosuke
Tatsumi Takuro as Hotta Masayoshi
Shirai Akira as Ando Nobumasa
Matsuzawa Kazuyuki as Matsudaira Tadakata
Shiga Kotaro as Kuze Hirochika
Sakuragi Kenichi (櫻木健一) as Wakisaka Yasuori
Tanimoto Hajime (谷本一) as Manabe Akikatsu
Nishida Seishiro (西田聖志郎) as Itakura Katsukiyo
Ijuin Hachiro (伊集院八朗) as Ogasawara Nagamichi
Sato Masahiro as Matsudaira Yasuhide

Shogun's Retainers

Kitaoji Kinya as Katsu Rintaro (Kaishuu)
Katsuji Ryo as John Manjiro
Fujiki Takashi as Kugai Inaba-no-Kami
Kobayashi Katsuya as Kimura Settsu-no-Kami
Suzuki Soma (鈴木綜馬) as Enomoto Takeaki
Nomura Shinji (野村信次) as Fukaya Morifusa
Honda Shin (本多晋) as Kawaji Toshiakira
Yoshimitsu Ryota as Inoue Kiyonao
Yoshimi Yukihiro (吉見幸洋) as Iwase Tadanari
Tokui Yuu as Ito Genboku

Other Clansmen and Patriots

Lords

Emori Toru as Tokugawa Nariaki
Yajima Kenichi as Matsudaira Yoshinaga (Shungaku)
Morita Junpei as Date Munenari
Shimura Togo as Matsudaira Katamori
Kon Takuya (今拓哉) as Yamanouchi Yodo
Happa Ikki (八波一起) as Toda Mitsuhisa

Retainers

Obayashi Takeshi as Nagano Shume (Yoshitoki)
Suzuki Junpei (スズキジュンペイ) as Kido Takayoshi
Okamoto Koei (岡本高英) as Ito Shunsuke
Yoshino Yasuomi (吉野容臣) as Inoue Monta
Nakayama Masei as Hashimoto Sanai
Sato Akira (佐藤旭) as Utsugi Rokunojo
Toyoshima Minoru (豊嶋稔) as Nagaoka Kenmotsu
Akazaki Hikaru (赤崎ひかる) as Ugai Kichizaemon
Azuma Takeshi (東武志) as Kusaka Genzui
Nihashi Susumu (二橋進) as Miyoshi Shinzo
Furumoto Shinnosuke (古本新乃輔) as Goto Shojiro

Other Patriotic Figures

Tamaki Hiroshi as Sakamoto Ryoma
Ichikawa Mikako as Oryu
Takahashi Choei (高橋長英) as Gessho
Sato Masayuki (佐藤政之) as Hirano Kuniomi
Amahara Masamichi (天原まさみち) as Nakaoka Shintaro

The Imperial Family

The Konoe Clan

Shunputei Koasa (春風亭小朝) as Konoe Tadahiro
Hoshi Yuriko as Muraoka
Mikami Ichiro (三上市朗) as Konoe Tadafusa
Hayakawa Yuri (早川ゆり) as Ikuhime
Yamamoto Ikuko (山本郁子) as Kameoka

Nobles

Kataoka Tsurutaro as Iwakura Tomomi
Kimura Gen as Ohara Shigetomi
Isobe Tsutomu (磯部勉) as Kujo Hisatada
Mitsueda Akihiko (光枝明彦) as Takatsukasa Masamichi
Era Jun as Takatsukasa Sukehiro
Wakamatsu Yasuhiro (若松泰弘) as Anegakoji Kintomo
Kanzaki Tomotaka as Nakamura Tadayasu
Kohama Masahiro as Sanjo Sanetomi
Toriki Motohiro (鳥木元博) as Hirohashi Mitsushige (buke tenso)

Other Cast

Foreign Figures

Nino A (ニーノA) as Matthew Perry
Blake Crawford (ブレイク・クロフォード) as Townsend Harris
マキシム・ツェリッシェフ as Henry Heusken
Christopher Mae (クリストファー・メイ) as Charles Lennox Richardson
Haruka Orth (ハルカ・オース) as Margaret Borradail
Garthe Nelson (ガース・ネルソン) as William Marshall
Dennis Longley (デニス・ロングリー) as Woodthope Clark
Ian Moore (イアン・ムーア) as captain of the Morrison
Sasaki Yohei (佐々木洋平) as Shozo
Kitayama Yuichiro as a Jusaburo

Other Figures

Maro Akaji as the shadow
Croquette (コロッケ) as the newsboy Taisuke
Mitani Masato as the newsboy Senkichi

- Minor Cast & Guests

Production Credits

Original writing: Novel Tenshoin Atsu-hime by Miyao Tomiko (宮尾登美子)
Screenwriter: Tabuchi Kumiko
Chief producer: Sano Motohiko
Director: Sato Mineyo, Okada Takeshi, Horikirizono Kentaro (堀切園健太郎), Watanabe Yoshio, Uesugi Tadashi, Matsukawa Hirotaka (松川博敬)
Music: Yoshimata Ryo
Narrator: Naraoka Tomoko (奈良岡朋子)

Recognitions

12th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix (Annual): Best Actress - Miyazaki Aoi
59th Television Drama Academy Awards: Best Actress - Miyazaki Aoi
1st Tokyo Drama Awards: Best Period Drama
1st Tokyo Drama Awards: Best Supporting Actor - Sakai Masato
12th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix (Jul-Sep 2008): Best Actress - Miyazaki Aoi
12th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix (Oct-Dec 2008): Best Actress - Miyazaki Aoi

Notes

When the first episode aired January 5, 2008, Miyazaki Aoi, at 22 years, 1 month became the youngest lead artist in an NHK taiga drama. The record was previously held by Takizawa Hideaki (Yoshitsune, 2005) at 22 years, 9 months.
According to the Kagoshima Regional Economic Research Institute, the economic effect Atsu-hime generated for the prefecture totaled 26.2 billion yen (approx. USD$275.5 million). source

External Links

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