The spin-off drama "Yamada Todoroki Law Office," based on the NHK morning drama "Wings of the Tiger," will be broadcast on the general TV channel from 9:30 pm on March 20th. Ahead of the broadcast, screenwriter Erika Yoshida spoke about what she wanted to portray in the spin-off and the thoughts she put into the script.
◇ "I wanted to see Yone and Todoroki in action."
"Wings of a Tiger" is an original story based on the life of Yoshiko Mibuchi (1914-1984), Japan's first female lawyer and later a judge, with Ito Sari playing the heroine, Torako Inozume. "Yamada Todoroki Law Office" depicts the unknown episodes surrounding the establishment of the Yamada Todoroki Law Office by Torako's best friends, Yamada Yone (Doi) and Todoroki Taichi (Tozuka Junki). The story incorporates extensive backstories of Yone and Todoroki, depicting the world of "Wings of a Tiger" from the perspective of a lawyer.
The decision to produce a spin-off was made in early 2025. Yoshida reflected, "I think that for a spin-off to be made, it's only possible if the work itself is well-received or has the support of someone, so even though it's been about a year and a half since the main story ended, I'm so grateful to all the people who have continued to support me. I really felt that if you approach your work with sincerity, such wonderful things can happen, and that my attitude as a writer was not wrong."
When asked why he chose Yone as the protagonist of the spin-off, he explained, "When I created 'Tiger and Wings,' I wanted to write spin-offs for every character, so I think I could have written about any character, but among them, the characters who are in a sense counterparts to Torako were Yone and Hanae (Morita Nozomi). 'Tiger and Wings' is a legal entertainment series, so I thought that Yone would be the one whose appeal would be most strongly portrayed."
"Also, I personally wanted to see the exploits of Yone and Todoroki. Yone and Todoroki are characters that are relatively well-described in the main story, but I thought it would be meaningful to write about things that Torako doesn't know, which in turn means that the viewers don't know. I wanted to write about what had actually happened before Yone reached out to them, leading up to the two of them teaming up in the midst of chaos immediately after the war."
◇What is the “challenge you set for yourself” in the spinoff?
This work was produced as a 72-minute special drama, and tackles serious themes head-on, such as the women known as "panpan" after the war and discrimination against burakumin.
"Presenting a story over a long period of time was something we didn't do in 'Wings of a Tiger,' so I think it was a good experience. For example, if it had been five 15-minute episodes, I think I would have been able to tell the story from a more positive, pop perspective. But then I feel like there were a lot of things that I couldn't have depicted in that part. I really wanted to write about the parts that were left out of the main story, so I'm glad it was this long."
Due to the structure of the story, there were many episodes in Torako's life that could not be depicted in the main story. Yoshida revealed, "I wanted to depict those properly. Because the story is about Article 14 of the Constitution, I set myself the challenge of seeing how much of what was left out could be included in the spin-off, such as women who sell their bodies to make a living."
"I also felt that I had to write about Article 14 of the Constitution from Yone's perspective. I love Torako, but she's a member of the privileged "majority," so there are probably things she can't see from her perspective, and I thought that Article 14 would have a different weight to her. So I wrote that part with Yone in mind."
◇ "What I really wanted to write about" in the spinoff
In order to deal with such a sensitive topic, the author conducted thorough research into the culture and situation of the time.
"When depicting the so-called prostitutes of the time, I felt that they were often portrayed in a very positive light, portraying them as cool women who lived strong lives in the world, and not showing their bitter side. I didn't want to help lighten up the portrayal of sex workers and anything related to sex... I wanted to be honest in that sense, so I did a lot of research."
Yoshida also mentioned that following the spin-off, "Wings of a Tiger" will be made into a movie, saying, "It's sad, but I think it's precisely because society isn't very peaceful, and is far from equal, that it has received so much support and has been made into a movie. In that sense, I really wanted to include the episode about the Burakumin in the spin-off."
"I felt a strong desire to write about these people, as I believe they have a background in having been supported by Article 14 of the Constitution and have been able to obtain their rights because of it. However, it's not a finished story, and it's something that is still ongoing, so how to portray it was extremely difficult. I did seek advice from experts and consulted with them on some parts. I don't think anyone other than 'Wings of a Tiger' could have written it; at least if I had written it on my own, the proposal would not have been approved. So, how to portray it was something that the whole team struggled with a lot, but I like the 'Wings of a Tiger' team for not saying no."
Finally, she shared her thoughts, saying, "Of course, the most important thing is for people to enjoy their work, but I believe in the power of entertainment, so I write every day and hope that I can be of some support to people who are going through difficult times right now, or help them speak up."
"The spin-off is still a little ways off, and the movie is even further off, but until then I hope to stay healthy and not wear myself out too much, and to raise my voice when I can. I hope you'll look forward to the broadcast," she said in a message to viewers.
