Asuka

(1999)

The 61st NHK Asadora Drama is Asuka. Set in Kyoto in the home of a traditional Japanese candy-maker, Asuka is the story of one young girl's dream to one day walk in her father's shoes and become a top candy-maker in the male-dominated world of wagashi (Japanese confectionery). Asuka grows to be a healthy, adventurous young girl with a deep curiosity and, a desire to become a candy-maker like her father. This NHK drama is one of the best in years with an excellent cast, a well-developed story based on extensive research into the traditional worlds of candy making and the tea ceremony in Kyoto, and beautiful scenery and settings in Kyoto and the surrounding areas.

Seasons

149

Episodes

Ended

Status

October 4, 1999

First Aired

IMDb

Networks: NHK G

Genres: Drama

Loading episode ratings...

This may take a moment for shows with many seasons.

Loading episode ratings...

Season 1

149 episodes • 1999

#	Episode	Air Date
1	Episode 1	Oct 4, 1999
2	Episode 2	Oct 5, 1999
3	Episode 3	Oct 6, 1999
4	Episode 4	Oct 7, 1999
5	Episode 5	Oct 8, 1999
6	Episode 6	Oct 9, 1999
7	Episode 7	Oct 11, 1999
8	Episode 8	Oct 12, 1999
9	Episode 9	Oct 13, 1999
10	Episode 10	Oct 14, 1999
11	Episode 11	Oct 15, 1999
12	Episode 12	Oct 16, 1999
13	Episode 13	Oct 18, 1999
14	Episode 14	Oct 19, 1999
15	Episode 15	Oct 20, 1999
16	Episode 16	Oct 21, 1999
17	Episode 17	Oct 22, 1999
18	Episode 18	Oct 23, 1999
19	Episode 19	Oct 25, 1999
20	Episode 20	Oct 26, 1999
21	Episode 21	Oct 27, 1999
22	Episode 22	Oct 28, 1999
23	Episode 23	Oct 29, 1999
24	Episode 24	Oct 30, 1999
25	Episode 25	Nov 1, 1999
26	Episode 26	Nov 2, 1999
27	Episode 27	Nov 3, 1999
28	Episode 28	Nov 4, 1999
29	Episode 29	Nov 5, 1999
30	Episode 30	Nov 6, 1999
31	Episode 31	Nov 8, 1999
32	Episode 32	Nov 9, 1999
33	Episode 33	Nov 10, 1999
34	Episode 34	Nov 11, 1999
35	Episode 35	Nov 12, 1999
36	Episode 36	Nov 13, 1999
37	Episode 37	Nov 15, 1999
38	Episode 38	Nov 16, 1999
39	Episode 39	Nov 17, 1999
40	Episode 40	Nov 18, 1999
41	Episode 41	Nov 19, 1999
42	Episode 42	Nov 20, 1999
43	Episode 43	Nov 22, 1999
44	Episode 44	Nov 23, 1999
45	Episode 45	Nov 24, 1999
46	Episode 46	Nov 25, 1999
47	Episode 47	Nov 26, 1999
48	Episode 48	Nov 27, 1999
49	Episode 49	Nov 29, 1999
50	Episode 50	Nov 30, 1999
51	Episode 51	Dec 1, 1999
52	Episode 52	Dec 2, 1999
53	Episode 53	Dec 3, 1999
54	Episode 54	Dec 4, 1999
55	Episode 55	Dec 6, 1999
56	Episode 56	Dec 7, 1999
57	Episode 57	Dec 8, 1999
58	Episode 58	Dec 9, 1999
59	Episode 59	Dec 10, 1999
60	Episode 60	Dec 11, 1999
61	Episode 61	Dec 13, 1999
62	Episode 62	Dec 14, 1999
63	Episode 63	Dec 15, 1999
64	Episode 64	Dec 16, 1999
65	Episode 65	Dec 17, 1999
66	Episode 66	Dec 18, 1999
67	Episode 67	Dec 20, 1999
68	Episode 68	Dec 21, 1999
69	Episode 69	Dec 22, 1999
70	Episode 70	Dec 23, 1999
71	Episode 71	Dec 24, 1999
72	Episode 72	Dec 25, 1999
73	Episode 73	Jan 4, 2000
74	Episode 74	Jan 5, 2000
75	Episode 75	Jan 6, 2000
76	Episode 76	Jan 7, 2000
77	Episode 77	Jan 8, 2000
78	Episode 78	Jan 10, 2000
79	Episode 79	Jan 11, 2000
80	Episode 80	Jan 12, 2000
81	Episode 81	Jan 13, 2000
82	Episode 82	Jan 14, 2000
83	Episode 83	Jan 15, 2000
84	Episode 84	Jan 17, 2000
85	Episode 85	Jan 18, 2000
86	Episode 86	Jan 19, 2000
87	Episode 87	Jan 20, 2000
88	Episode 88	Jan 21, 2000
89	Episode 89	Jan 22, 2000
90	Episode 90	Jan 24, 2000
91	Episode 91	Jan 25, 2000
92	Episode 92	Jan 26, 2000
93	Episode 93	Jan 27, 2000
94	Episode 94	Jan 28, 2000
95	Episode 95	Jan 29, 2000
96	Episode 96	Jan 31, 2000
97	Episode 97	Feb 1, 2000
98	Episode 98	Feb 2, 2000
99	Episode 99	Feb 3, 2000
100	Episode 100	Feb 4, 2000
101	Episode 101	Feb 5, 2000
102	Episode 102	Feb 7, 2000
103	Episode 103	Feb 8, 2000
104	Episode 104	Feb 9, 2000
105	Episode 105	Feb 10, 2000
106	Episode 106	Feb 11, 2000
107	Episode 107	Feb 12, 2000
108	Episode 108	Feb 14, 2000
109	Episode 109	Feb 15, 2000
110	Episode 110	Feb 16, 2000
111	Episode 111	Feb 17, 2000
112	Episode 112	Feb 18, 2000
113	Episode 113	Feb 19, 2000
114	Episode 114	Feb 21, 2000
115	Episode 115	Feb 22, 2000
116	Episode 116	Feb 23, 2000
117	Episode 117	Feb 24, 2000
118	Episode 118	Feb 25, 2000
119	Episode 119	Feb 26, 2000
120	Episode 120	Feb 28, 2000
121	Episode 121	Feb 29, 2000
122	Episode 122	Mar 1, 2000
123	Episode 123	Mar 2, 2000
124	Episode 124	Mar 3, 2000
125	Episode 125	Mar 4, 2000
126	Episode 126	Mar 6, 2000
127	Episode 127	Mar 7, 2000
128	Episode 128	Mar 8, 2000
129	Episode 129	Mar 9, 2000
130	Episode 130	Mar 10, 2000
131	Episode 131	Mar 11, 2000
132	Episode 132	Mar 13, 2000
133	Episode 133	Mar 14, 2000
134	Episode 134	Mar 15, 2000
135	Episode 135	Mar 16, 2000
136	Episode 136	Mar 17, 2000
137	Episode 137	Mar 18, 2000
138	Episode 138	Mar 20, 2000
139	Episode 139	Mar 21, 2000
140	Episode 140	Mar 22, 2000
141	Episode 141	Mar 23, 2000
142	Episode 142	Mar 24, 2000
143	Episode 143	Mar 25, 2000
144	Episode 144	Mar 27, 2000
145	Episode 145	Mar 28, 2000
146	Episode 146	Mar 29, 2000
147	Episode 147	Mar 30, 2000
148	Episode 148	Mar 31, 2000
149	Episode 149	Apr 1, 2000

Related Shows

8.0

Himawari

1996

The story follows Minamida Nozomi, the charming female protagonist whose company's performance deteriorates due to the collapse of the bubble economy and who is forced to quit her job as she is prevented from getting married and starting a family. However, after her younger brother is involved in a theft incident within her family, she decides to become a lawyer. She passed the difficult bar exam and faced the harsh reality of legal training in Fukushima.

7.3

Hanako & Anne

2014

A Japanese girl from a poor family named Hanako went on an adventure to study in a girl's Christian school in Tokyo. She found her passion in English and step by step made her dream come true.

7.8

Idaten: Tokyo Olympics Story

2019

Traces Japan’s history with the Olympic games and the 1964 Tokyo Olympics for viewers before Tokyo hosts the event again in 2020. The first half tells the story of marathon runner Kanakuri Shiso, who became one of the first Japanese nationals to participate in the Olympics in Stockholm in 1912. The second half features Tabata Masaji, the coach who laid the foundations of Japanese swimming and helped bring the games to Tokyo for the first time in 1964.

10.0

Imo Tako Nankin

2006

The series takes place in 1962 Osaka. Hanaoka Machiko, 37, is single and works at a hardware store in Osaka City while doing literary work. One day, she falls ill due to overwork and falls in love with Tokunaga Kenjiro, the doctor who examines her. Kenjiro and Machiko marry. But Kenjiro, who lost his first wife to illness, lives not just with his five children, but his brother, sister, and parents. In a comical and heart-warming way, the drama depicts Machiko's struggle with the new family while pursuing her career as a novelist.

N/A

Tenka

2004

No description available.

8.0

Chiritotechin

2007

The 77th NHK Asadora is Chiritotechin. Location includes Fukui prefecture. This renzoku is about Wada Kiyomi (referred to as Kiyomi-B), a girl brought up in Fukui who moves to Osaka in search of her soul. In Osaka, Kiyomi-B becomes enchanted with rakugo, a Japanese traditional form of comic storytelling, and pursues a career in rakugo. In the summer of 1982, Kiyomi-B and her family move to Obama of Fukui, her father's hometown. Kiyomi-B's grandmother and uncle welcome the family, but Shotaro the grandfather does not allow Masanori to take over the Wakasa lacquer chopsticks making. One day, Kiyomi-B listens to rakugo at Shotaro's factory and becomes fond of it. Shotaro and Kiyomi-B become close through rakugo.

7.3

The Naked Director

2019

Follows the rise of Tooru Muranishi, one of Japan's most notorious directors of adult video. Adapted from a biography of the man, this series depicts the character, his art, vision and his interactions with the approving and disapproving folk around him.

7.7

Welcome Home, Mone

2021

Born in September of 1995, Momone Nagaura lived with her parents, grandfather, and sister in Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture. After failing her college entrance exams, she went to live in Tome City with an acquaintance of her grandfather's. Momone's life changes when she meets a popular weather forecaster from Tokyo, who teaches her how weather forecasts can predict the future. She decides to study to become a weather forecaster.

8.2

Anpan

2025

In wartime Japan, spirited Nobu transforms from a militarist schoolgirl into Kochi’s first female reporter, as she and childhood friend Takashi endure personal loss and struggle to find their own truths amid the upheaval of the Showa era.

N/A

Boogie Woogie

2023

Sets in the 1910s, this is the story of Hanada Suzuko, a young girl who grew up in a family that owned a bathhouse in downtown Osaka. From a young age, Suzuko loved to sing and dance, and joined the Umemaru Girls Opera Company (USK) in Dotonbori. Suzuko continued to show her talent for singing and eventually became a star of the postwar era.

7.0

Natsuzora

2019

Okuhara Natsu was born in Tokyo in 1937. In 1945, she loses both parents to war and becomes an orphan, but her father’s comrade, Shibata Takeo, takes her in and moves to Tokachi in Hokkaido. In an unfamiliar land surrounded by unfamiliar people, Natsu feels lost at first, but surrounded by Tokachi’s vast nature and its strong, yet compassionate people, she grows up to be a strong girl. When Natsu enters elementary school, she meets Yamada Tenyo who draws lovely pictures of horses. Tenyo tells her that in America, animation in which pictures move is becoming popular, Natsu’s curiosity is piqued. Upon graduating high school, Natsu goes to Tokyo to look up her brother, and takes a jump into the world of animation.

7.6

Usotoki Rhetoric

2024

Based on the manga by Ritsu Miyako, this unique drama pairs a penniless detective with a razor-sharp eye for detail with a mysterious woman who can detect lies...?! Together, they unravel complex cases where truth and deception intertwine like threads in a delicate web, all set against the backdrop of a retro-modern cityscape.

9.2

The Ghost Writer's Wife

2025

In Meiji-era Matsue, a fallen samurai’s daughter and a lonely foreign teacher connect through ghost stories and an unlikely friendship.

N/A

Eenyobo

1993

A woman works hard to become a good doctor even though she is separated from her husband.

N/A

Hirari

1992

The 48th NHK Asadora Renzoku Drama is Hirari. Story's settings includes Tokyo. Hirari is a young and energetic girl. She loves the sports, sumo, very much and would like to find a career. However, there isn't any suitable career for a female in this area. Nevertheless, she still works hard towards her dream, and at last, she gets a chance to become a sumo stable's nutrition consultant.in this field. However, there isn't any suitable career for a female in this area. Nevertheless, she still works hard towards her dream, and at last, she gets a chance to become a sumo stable's nutrition consultant.

N/A

Onna wa dokyo

1992

The 47th NHK Asadora chronicles the conflicts between a woman and her step-daughter in a hot springs town.

7.0

Kimi no na wa

1991

A story of a man and a woman who meet amid the Great Tokyo Air Raid in 1945.

N/A

Kyo, Futari

1990

The 45th NHK Asadora. Set in an old Kyoto tsukemono (Japanese preserved vegetables) store, this series depicted the conflicts between a woman, her daughter and her father-in-law. It is a story about the relationships of three generation of women in the Nakahide family.

N/A

Rinrin to

1990

The 44th NHK Asadora about a man who developed an early television system.

N/A

Wakko no kin medaru

1989

The 43th NHK Asadora about a female volleyball player who helps out the local community. Starring Azusa Watanabe.