It was announced on February 13 that actress Honoka Matsumoto will be appearing in the NHK morning drama "Blossom" in the second half of 2026. This will be Matsumoto's first appearance in a morning drama in nine years, since "Hiyokko" (first half of 2017).
In "Hiyokko," Matsumoto played the bespectacled character Nabatame Sumiko, who moved to Tokyo from Fukushima at the same time as the heroine Mineko (Arimura Kasumi) and spent time with her at the radio factory and the girls' dormitory, illuminating the first half of the "Tokyo Arc" and attracting a lot of attention.
In this film, she plays Iwata Ume, a childhood friend of the main character, Hana Tama (played by Ishibashi Shizuka). Ume is a neighbor of the Hana family and the poster girl for "Iwataya," a store that sells vegetables and household goods. She is the only daughter of cheerful parents and is a laid-back person.
Matsumoto commented, "I will be playing Ume, the childhood friend of the main character, Tama-chan. This is my first morning drama in nine years, and I have received a lot from the work 'Hiyokko', and I have a strong attachment to the morning drama stage, so I am very emotional to be able to appear in it again. I hope to be able to play Ume-chan, who lives a strong life in her hometown of Iwakuni, in a different way from Tama-chan. I look forward to working with you!"
"Blossom" is the 115th serial TV drama. The protagonist, Tama Hano, is based on the author Chiyo Uno, who continued to seek freedom throughout the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa eras. She leaves her hometown of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and, through encounters with fascinating people, seizes her dreams and plunges into the turbulent Taisho and Showa eras.
