Fujiki Mitsuhiko is the scriptwriter for the NHK morning drama series " Bakebake " (General TV, Monday to Saturday 8am and other times), starring Akari Takaishi . He spoke about the thoughts he put into the script, the "beer hunt" episode in episode 36 (broadcast on November 17th), and the highlights of week 8.
◇The story behind the creation of the catchphrase "This world is sad, but wonderful."
" 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.
Fujiki, who is writing the script for a Asadora for the first time, revealed, "A Asadora is 125 episodes of 15 minutes each. The longest script I have written so far was a night drama with 32 episodes of the same 15 minutes. Even then I thought, 'That's long,' because I had never written a serial drama of the usual length before."
"I didn't even know if I was suited to serial dramas, and the length of a Asadora was something I had never experienced before. When I first heard about the role, I thought it would be difficult, but since I accepted, I'm going to do my best. Since I actually started writing, I haven't really felt the length of the writing that much. I'm not the type to write with a clear vision, so I have to repeatedly meet with the staff to discuss the content for each week before writing."
How did the film's catchphrase, "This world is sad, but wonderful," come about?
"I didn't originally think of it as a catchphrase. When Hashizume, the production manager, submitted the proposal for ' Bakebake,' he asked me to write a single page explaining what the story of ' Bakebake' was, and this phrase was the main heading for what I wrote on it. The main plot of the drama hadn't been decided yet, so I was drawn to Yakumo Koizumi's ghost stories, and the word 'regretful' came to mind, and I remember writing it without giving it too much thought."
Regarding the lifestyles of Toki (Takaishi) and Heaven (Tommy Bastow), he explained, "They have something in common in that they were poor, estranged from their parents, and suffered a series of unfortunate experiences."
"When these two meet, their feelings change from 'envious' to 'wonderful.' I wrote that line hoping to capture the spirit of ' Bakebake' in one sentence. Not just Toki and Heaven, but everyone in this story has things they envy. But even so, I wrote it with the hope that the characters would never forget to smile, and that somewhere deep down they would see the world as wonderful and continue to live their lives."
◇ Week 8: Focus on the "Skip" episode
In the 36th episode, which aired on November 17th, Toki was asked by Heaven to buy some beer, resulting in a comical exchange. Fujiki said of this scene, "When I went to Matsue for an interview, I heard that Yakumo had bought beer at a pharmacy, so I really wanted to use that."
"If Toki, a maid, was asked to buy beer, she obviously wouldn't know anything about it, so I thought about how she would go about buying it, and that's how I came up with this episode about searching for beer. For me, it's a classic episode."
Regarding the highlights of the eighth week, he said, "This week there will be an episode where all the characters practice skipping together."
"There is no historical record of Yakumo ever skipping, so this is just my imagination. I thought it would be even better if Toki and Heaven's friendship grew closer as they enjoyed moving their bodies together. 'Beer' had a bit of a play on words, so I wanted to use a Western method of physical activity, and it occurred to me that people in Japan at that time probably didn't skip."
"I thought it might be difficult to do it in kimono, but I wrote it first, thinking I'd try it out and then leave it up to the directors. They said it could be done (in kimono), so I really wanted everyone to try skipping. Skipping is difficult and it's hard to get the hang of it, but once you get the hang of it, it's a fascinating movement that you can do for the rest of your life. I think it becomes an interesting scene when grown adults, fantastic actors, do it."
◇What can we look forward to in the future?
When asked what to look forward to in the future, he said, "I'm currently writing a detailed story about how Toki and Heaven end up together."
"For Toki, this was a completely foreign person he had never seen before. It was more than just a difference in values; they started out knowing nothing at all. I think Heaven was also scared, coming to Japan for the first time, a place she knew nothing about. How will these two accept someone who is completely different from herself? Yakumo, Heaven's model, also calls herself 'open-minded,' and they open their hearts, try to understand each other, and make compromises."
He also appealed, "As the title ' Bakebake' suggests, many things will continue to 'transform' in the future."
"I would be happy if people could watch the things that make them sad or unfortunate turn into something wonderful little by little. And when there's a week where nothing happens, I would be happiest if people thought, 'Oh, it's interesting even though nothing is happening.'"
