Fujiki Mitsuhiko is the scriptwriter for the NHK Asadora"Bakebake " (Monday to Saturday, 8am and other times), in which Akari Takaishi plays the heroine. Up until now, he has worked on many late-night dramas, and honestly revealed his thoughts about writing a story that spans six months, saying, "I thought this would be difficult." We spoke to Fujiki, who balances raising children with writing, about what kind of thoughts he has as he faces the task of writing.
◇How did you feel when you received the offer?
" Bakebake" is based on the story of Koizumi Setsu, the daughter of a fallen samurai from Matsue, and her husband Yakumo (Lafcadio Hearn), and depicts the heroine, who loves ghost stories, going about her everyday life with her foreign husband.
"Bakebake" marks Fujiki's first full-length drama. The longest work he has written to date is "Praise the One Who Praises, the One Who is Praised" (2023), an NHK Asadora.
"I had never written a typical 12-episode, one-hour drama before, and had mostly written late-night dramas and NHK dramas. I hadn't written any dramas at all, to the point that I didn't even know if I was suited to a serial drama."
The number of episodes of a Asadora is around 125. It is about four times longer than his longest drama, "The One Who Praises, The One Who is Praised." Therefore, when Fujiki received the offer, he thought, "This is going to be tough." But still, he recalls, "Since I accepted the role, I had to do it. I felt like I had to do my best."
Fujiki also analyzes himself as "the type of person who is not good at writing a story with an eye to the future or at laying out a plot to the end."
"Once I've discussed it with the production manager and the director and the direction has been decided, I can start writing, but I find it difficult to keep the story on track for the foreseeable future."
He also said that he currently only has a vague idea of the final episode. On the other hand, when writing "Bakebake," he was conscious of shining the spotlight on the daily life of the couple, rather than on Yakumo Koizumi and his wife as great figures.
"Until the fifth week, when Heaven arrives in Japan, many things happen, such as Toki's upbringing, his marriage and separation. Spiritually, I actually want to write a story in which 'nothing happens.' But I couldn't let anything happen until the fourth week, so I wrote that because I couldn't move forward unless I depicted Toki's life up until the two met. In truth, I want to 'shine a light on the parts of life that are neither light nor shadow,' and whenever I get the chance, I'm working hard to write lots of trivial stories like 'that story.'"
◇The highlight going forward is "The atmosphere is completely different from the first four weeks"
Fujiki started writing "Bakebake" last year. She usually focuses on raising her children, and her daily routine is that of a "morning person," waking up at 4am.
"I wake up at around 4am and write nonstop until 6am. Then my child wakes up, and from then on it's time to be a dad. I drop my child off at nursery school just after 8am, start writing at 9am, and write until around 5:30pm, when I go to pick him up from nursery school. From there it's dad time again, I go to bed with my child at 9:30pm, and usually I wake up at 4am to write, or 2am if I can't make it in time. I basically stick to that pace. The first six months after my child was born were difficult and I wondered why I couldn't find time to write, but it turns out you can do it if you try."
Fujiki says, "I really love writing, so the more time I have to write, the happier I am," but having a child has brought about a big change in the way she approaches her work.
"Before my child was born, I had plenty of time, so I didn't have to get up early in the morning and I could write until any time in the night. I could even use the weekends fully. Shortly after my child was born, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and I started spending more time at home. At first, I would just try to find even five minutes to write, but I realized I couldn't write unless I made a clear decision. When my child is with me, I absolutely have to be with him. Once I made up my mind that I wouldn't be working, I started to concentrate on that time, and it became easier to go to work."
On the other hand, Fujiki says, "I have a feeling that I want to be swept away by the changing circumstances," and this idea is reflected in the writing of the script.
"I tend to accept everything that other people think. I'm not particularly stubborn about how I do things, but if there is one thing I do, it's that I strongly don't want the nuances or endings of the lines to be changed. Even if there are times when I'm asked to change the script for various reasons, I'm more of the type that says, 'If that's what people want, then I'll find a way to make it a bit more interesting.' I don't really say that I absolutely want it to be a certain way. I think it's quicker to think of an interesting way than to spend time arguing, and maybe it's also because I don't really like arguing."
Finally, when asked what to look forward to in the future, he said, "Heaven will be coming to Matsue, so the atmosphere will be completely different from the first four weeks."
"In addition to the tenement houses that have appeared in the series so far, various scenes of Matsue will also appear, and Heaven will stir up a lot of things, so I hope you will watch that. Tommy is also working very hard and is a good actor. With Heaven appearing, new cast members will also be joining the cast, including the inn staff, so I hope you will look forward to it."
