The new cast for the NHK morning drama "Kaze, Kaoru," starring Ai Mikami and Juri Uesaka, which will air in the first half of 2026, has been announced on the drama's official website (@asadora_nhk), and it has been revealed that actor and model Tomomi Nakai will be joining the cast. Nakai, who will be appearing in an morning drama for the first time, will play Yuki Shinonome, a classmate from the training school.
Yuki, played by Nakai, is the daughter of a viscount. Inspired by Nightingale, she transfers from the girls' school she had been attending to a nursing school. She is gentle, but has a dangerous purity.
Nakai said, "I am truly happy to be able to take part in 'Kaze, Kaoru'. The character I play, Shinonome Yuki, is a girl who has a strong admiration for Florence Nightingale. Although she has a slightly nerdy and painful side to her, I feel that she is a girl who is able to cherish her own aspirations with purity because of that. I would like to experience for myself how the path to nursing opens up in Yuki's life. I am looking forward to learning and acting with the first class of nursing school students."
He continued, "A morning drama has been a big dream that I have held ever since I decided to become an actor. So when I heard that I would be appearing in this drama, I was surprised, happy, and felt a surge of many emotions. It's something that flows smoothly into your daily life every morning, yet is something that is always there, and I feel that the title of this drama is a word that symbolizes morning dramas."
"Kaze, Kaoru" is the 114th serial TV drama. Set in the Meiji era, it is a buddy drama featuring two trained nurses, Ozeki Chika and Suzuki Masa, as its two protagonists. The two graduated from the same nursing school, but struggle with how to interact with patients and doctors, and grow through clashes, eventually becoming the "strongest buddy." Migami plays the lead role of Ichinose Rin, while Uesaka plays Oya Naomi.
