Nao's starring "Hei no Naka no Biyoshitsu" documentary released

Ahead of the broadcast and streaming of WOWOW's drama series "Drama W-30: Hei no Naka no Biyoshitsu Prefecture, which served as the model for the series, before filming began. The valuable footage also includes footage of the inside of the prison, which is usually off-limits to the public.

The documentary also includes behind-the-scenes footage and unreleased footage from the film, as well as interviews with Nao, Kaho, Narumi Riko, Ken Mitsuishi, Inori Kirara, Nakajima Sena, and Yuki Saori, as well as director Matsumoto Kana.

Additionally, a 180-second promotional video was released which includes comments from Director Matsumoto as well as the contents of the documentary.

The drama is based on the novel of the same name by Sakurai Mina (Futaba Bunko), which was modeled on a real beauty salon that operates inside a prison. Set in the "Aozora Beauty Salon" where inmates cut the hair of regular customers inside a women's prison, the drama follows the protagonist, inmate and hairdresser Komatsubara Haru (Nao), as she faces the crime she committed and her future life through her encounters with various people.

"Serial Drama W-30 ' Hei no Naka no Biyoshitsu'" will be broadcast and streamed on WOWOW Prime and WOWOW On Demand every Friday at 11pm starting August 22nd. There are 7 episodes in total.

◇Comment from Director Kana Matsumoto

As the story is set in a beauty salon in a women's prison, I was able to do some research at the actual prison. I had vaguely imagined the prison to be a dark and harsh place, but it was unexpectedly bright, well-ordered and tranquil. I tried to portray as realistically as possible what I saw, heard and felt during my research. Private conversations are restricted in prison, so Haru is the main character with very few lines. Nao-san expressed the movements of emotions that are not expressed through words with great sensitivity. And thanks to the wonderful, caring actors, I think it has become a story about the relationships between people, regardless of their position, whether they are inmates, prison guards, families or customers at the beauty salon. Please watch it!

◇Story

Inside a women's prison, there is a hair salon where inmates cut the hair of regular customers. The hairdressers standing in front of the mirror are those who have committed serious crimes. Komatsubara Haru (Nao) is taken by the prison guard in charge of the salon, Sugo Fuyuko (Kobayashi Satomi), to the "Aozora Hair Salon," which still exists inside the prison today. Haru is the only hairdresser at the salon, which was created by the prison warden Hosaka Ichiro (Ken Mitsuishi) with a certain sentimental meaning for the inmates, and she cuts the hair of regular customers.

The Hei no Naka no Biyoshitsu is under constant surveillance by prison guards and has various rules. Only a very small number of inmates who have obtained their hairdressing licenses inside the prison under the guidance of beauty technician Misa Kagawa (Riko Narumi) and others can work at the salon. And then there are the general customers who visit the salon with all sorts of circumstances. Why do women of all ages get their hair cut there? Haru, who is kind and quiet, carefully cuts their hair while listening to their needs, as if to sympathize with their feelings.

As his sentence nears its end, Haru continues to ask himself whether he will be able to atone for his crimes once he has served his sentence. One day, his sister, Natsu Komatsubara (Kaho), who became a member of the perpetrator's family due to the crime she committed, visits the salon as a customer...