It was announced on June 4th that actress Yuumi Kawai will star in the NHK Asadora drama series "Hon no Mokichi" for the first half of 2028. At a press conference held at the NHK Broadcasting Center in Shibuya, Tokyo on the same day, Kawai spoke about her feelings about playing the heroine in a Asadora and how she felt about receiving the offer.
Kawai, who played Ranko, the younger sister of the protagonist Nobu (played by Mio Imada ) in the first half of the 2025 season of " Anpan, " was asked about her feelings on becoming the heroine of a Asadora. She began by saying, "I'd like to say it's always been my dream, but..." and then revealed her true feelings, saying, "When I started this job at the age of 18, it was something I couldn't imagine at all, and I never really pictured myself standing there one day. I never imagined that I would be standing in this place seven or eight years later."
Reflecting on her time working with Imada on "Anpan," she revealed, "I always thought Mio-san was amazing. She was so cheerful from beginning to end, and acted like the sun in front of everyone, so I wondered if I could do the same. I had a lot of respect for her, and I also felt some indirect pressure."
She continued, "When I received the offer, I was very nervous, but now that I've been cast in this role, I'm very excited. It's something special, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of challenges I'll be able to take on."
"Hon no Mokichi" is the 118th installment of the NHK morning drama series. It tells the story of the "most estranged couple" in the history of Asadora, modeled after the poet Saito Mokichi and his wife, Teruko. Kankuro Kudo is writing the script for a Asadora for the first time in 15 years, since "Amachan" in the first half of 2013.
