The new cast for the NHK Asadora drama "Kaze,Kaoru, " starring Ai Mikami and Juri Kosaka , which will air in the first half of 2026, has been announced on the official NHK Drama website (@nhk_dramas), revealing that Toranosuke Kobayashi will be joining the cast. He will play Takeuchi Kotaro, a childhood friend of one of the main characters, Ichinose Rin (played by Mikami). This will be Kobayashi's first appearance in an Asadora. "I have the impression that Asadora are enduringly popular all over Japan. I'm looking forward to enjoying the filming so that I can deliver a wonderful story to start each day," he commented.
Kobayashi is 27 years old, born on February 12, 1998. She will be starring alongside Motoki Nakazawa , who plays Chihiro in the currently airing Asadora Anpan , in the TBS Sunday Theatre drama Gekokujo Kyuji (2023). The two also co-starred in the TV Tokyo drama series I Can Hear the Sun (2024).
In " Kaze,Kaoru," he plays Torataro Takeuchi, the eldest son of the Takeuchi family, a former foot soldier born in the same village as Rin. Although he has been on friendly terms with Rin since childhood, he is keenly aware of the disparity in their upbringings.
Kobayashi commented, "Torataro is a pure-hearted boy, and has the kindness to put others before himself. Because of this, he often puts the brakes on his own feelings, and by the time he realizes it, he has been left behind. I hope to be able to watch from up close to see what kind of life Kotaro will lead in the Asadora."
"Kaze,Kaoru" is the 114th serial TV drama. Set in the Meiji era, it is a buddy drama featuring two trained nurses, Ozeki Chika and Suzuki Masa, as its two protagonists. The two graduated from the same nursing school, they struggle with how to interact with patients and doctors, and grow together through clashes, eventually becoming the "strongest buddy." Uesaka plays the other protagonist, Oya Naomi.
