The production and lead actor announcement press conference for the NHK Asadora drama "Blossom" for the second half of 2026 was held at the NHK Osaka Broadcasting Station on May 29th, and it was revealed that actor Shizuka Ishibashi will play the lead role in the series. Production manager Murayama Shunpei responded to an interview after the press conference and spoke about the "amazingness" of Ishibashi's acting.
Murayama, upon seeing Ishibashi's performance as the protagonist who becomes a surrogate mother in the drama series "Swallows Won't Come Back," which began airing on the same station in April last year, said, "I got the impression that she is the kind of person who really digs deep into the character's perspective, or in other words, the character's perspective, and what it is that the character values as she interacts with them."
Ishibashi was cast through an offer rather than an audition, and will play the main character, Hana no Tama, who is modeled after the writer Chiyo Uno.
In the past, Asadora have aired such as "Imotakonankin" (2nd half of 2006), starring Fujiyama Naomi and based on the novelist Tanabe Seiko.
Ishibashi will be taking on the role of a female writer in "Blossom."
Murayama praised Shizuka's acting, saying, "Even in her other works (other than 'The Swallows Will Not Return'), she expresses herself not only with her facial expressions but also with everything, even her fingertips."
"The protagonist experiences important encounters and partings in various scenes, and each emotional fluctuation has meaning, and these emotions pile up one after the other, which I think is the strength of a Asadora that can be produced in just six months. I really hope to be able to make this a dense six-month Asadora," she appealed.
"Blossom," the 115th serial TV drama, is based on the story of Chiyo Uno, a writer who continued to seek freedom throughout the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa eras. The protagonist, Hano Tama, leaves her hometown of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, and meets fascinating people, which brings her dreams back to life and propels her into the turbulent Taisho and Showa eras. The script is written by Sakurai Tsuyoshi, known for "Your Goods Are Here" and "Boogie Woogie."
