• Title: 風のガーデン
• Title (romaji): Kaze no Garden
• Also known as: Garden Wind / Garden Breeze
• Format: Renzoku
• Genre: Human drama
• Episodes: 11
• Viewership ratings: 15.7 (Kanto)
• Broadcast network: Fuji TV
• Broadcast period: 2008-Oct-09 to 2008-Dec-18
• Air time: Thursday 22:00
• Theme song: Nocturne by Hirahara Ayaka

Let’s begin with the premise of a rather successful and well-liked anesthesiologist whose personal life is a disaster. As an unreconstructed womanizer, he and women got along as famously as bees and flowers. Keep that in mind as it will become important later.

Eight years ago, his wife committed suicide after getting wind of his latest affair. His children turned against him, his father turned against him, and he was told to get out of town and never come back. He’s not seen any of them since.

Now in the present time, he’s been diagnosed to have pancreatic cancer, which has advanced to a level of 4b. What this means is that he has passed the point of having any kind of surgery or chemotherapy. He’s now on a countdown toward his own death.

Doesn’t sound very promising does it?

I must say that having read a similar plot synopsis about this Japanese TV Series on DramaWiki, I was in no hurry to watch it.

Life is short enough, and taking on an 11 week series of this kind, seemed to be not what I wanted to do.

But after a series of circumstances that need not be detailed here, I found myself watching Kaze No Garden. Despite the fact that this drama is cloaked in death, there is much to admired in this series. In fact, watching it was very rewarding, so I am very glad that I did.

The lead, Dr. Sadami Shiratori (played by Kiichi Nakai) worked in the operating room at a famous Tokyo hospital and was around death on a near daily basis. His own father, Teizo Shiratori is also a doctor, and was played by one of Japan’s favorite character actors, Ken Ogata, who himself passed away recently in real life. Called Grandfather as he raised the estranged children of his wayward son, he practiced medicine in a small town on Hokkaido, Japan’s most northern island. His practice was limited only to terminal patients…in their own homes. He cared for them and helped both them and their families prepare for the ‘final journey’.

That’s the background. But much of this series was shot on location in and near Furano, Hokkaido, Japan – a real place known for its beautiful flowers, and forests. Every chapter was named for a specific flower. Even if you are not a florist or a horticulturist, or even a keeper of bees, you will find the many images and scenes involving flowers (with or without the bees) breathtaking.

Dr. Shiratori’s son, Gaku (14), played by Ryunosuke Kamiki, was a prodigy about flowers. He was able to name any flower, in English, in Japanese, and even in flower language. In each episode, named after a specific flower, he would impart some lore and legend about some flowers that grew in this wondrous garden.

His daughter, Rui (21), was played by the beautiful Meisa Kuroki, ran their flower business. She too was quite knowledgeable about flowers. Visually, she is as pretty as any flower.

The series was beautifully and lovingly shot amidst the splendors of this spectacularly gorgeous area. As we work towards Dr. Shiratori’s final moments, we are not burdened by his misdeeds. Instead we are able to immensely enjoy the fact that he was able to reconcile his differences with his family before leaving this world.

This is simply a beautiful to watch TV series. If you’re living in a Northern climate these days, you’ll find this series will take you a warmer place spiritually if not physically. Highly recommended.

You may buy the DVD of this series, with English, Chinese, and Malay subtitles, from the California based Japanese Drama store. Here is your link:

http://www.jpdorama.com/JapaneseEng/dvdbox/Kaze.asp

Star of Japanese TV Drama series, movies, and former gravure idol, Kyoko Hasegawa made a lot of news in the spring of 2008 after signing to appear in a spy-thriller movie called Rain Fall.

Her co-star was to be one of western filmdom’s leading villains – Gary Oldman. Also starring in the lead role of John Rain, an American-Japanese covert operations agent and spy-extraordinaire, was Japanese actor Kippei Shiina. This film’s plot is about a hit-man who after one of his assassinations, determines to protect the daughter of his victim.

Of course that is only the bare bones of the story which has been called a Bourne-esque thriller filmed and set in Tokyo. The film opened in Tokyo on April 25th, 2009, any may still be playing in a neighborhood cineplex in a Tokyo suburb, but I can’t really offer any more about this film as I haven’t seen it. I don’t believe it was released in the US, and there’s no available DVD at this time. [Edit: August 5th - just announced- A Blu-Ray and Standard DVD of Rain Fall will be released on October 7th, 2009.]

So then, instead of wasting our time discussing a film, that neither most of you nor I can watch at the moment, I’ll provide you with this link to the film’s Official Website (http://rain-fall.jp/), so you may have a more detailed look at the movie if you like.

Here, we’ll just move on and look at the movie’s female lead – the beautiful Kyoko Hasegawa. I’ve seen her in a number of Japanese TV dramas series, and we will use those to give you a better look at her.

The first J-TV series that I’ve seen with Kyoko Hasegawa is called See You in Kowloon. This series was broadcast in the spring of 2002. This is a tale of 5 people in their 30′s whose paths cross in Kowloon forming a love story, or should I say, some intersecting love triangles. Kowloon which is across the harbor from Hong Kong Island,  is the setting for the story. Hasegawa plays the 2nd female lead in the role of Jasmine.

It was an OK story but Kyoko as Jasmine looked good, albeit young, and looking even better were the multiple on-location settings all over Hong Kong and Kowloon.Having been to Hong Kong many times, and when I;m there I usually book a Kowloon hotel, so this was a familiar setting for me.

Our second Kyoko TV series is called Wonderful Life and was broadcast during April-June 2004. It stars Takashi Sorimachi as Kirishima, Japan’s most famous baseball player. Kirishima is a playboy, and an arrogant, self-centered jerk. He’s used up all his chances, and now finds himself washed-up as a ballplayer, unemployed, his wife and child have left him, besides that, he’s broke with collectors from the loan-sharks on his tail. Enter Hasegawa as Mizuki, a girl who is studying to become a lawyer. Her little brother plays for a young boys’ baseball team that is about to be disbanded. On a whim, she writes to Kirishima, offering him the job as coach.

It’s a heartwarming story about redemption and baseball, with romance mixed in making it a drama fit for the whole family. Kyoko plays her role of  Mizuki as a wholesome, principled, and determined woman, but she’s far too pretty to pass as the ‘plain-jane’ the producers intended.

Our next look at Hasegawa-san is in the series called M no Higeki or The Tragedy of M. Kyoko stars with the talented Japanese actor Goro Inagaki. The broadcast period was Jan-March 2005. This is a puzzling story that is about the human heart. Mix hate, jealousy, revenge, and anger along with love and you have the ingredients of this story.

In simpler terms, Mamoro’s (Inagaki) life begins to seriously unravel after a chance meeting with Misa (Hasegawa) on a Tokyo commuter train. He has no idea as to why any of this has happened to him, as watches his life spirally downward and getting steeper and steeper as every day passes.

Hasegawa plays the mysterious Misa whose character arc swings between being a glamorous, sophisticated and desirable woman to one who is both frightening and terrified. It’s a great dramatic thrill ride.

Ok what’s next?

Let’s move on to April to June 2006. Kyoko starred in a tasty number called Delicious Proposal. She plays Suzuko Shiraisi, the head chef of a small French restaurant. Her leading man is Keisuke Koide and he’s the son of the CEO of a huge conglomerate. He’s a honcho himself having his own division to run. But his father has advised him that his division is expanding its restaurant chain. The target? Suzuko’s french restaurant. They’re taking over this restaurant with the intent to close the exusting ‘brand’ and re-open it with their own brand-name. His job is to oversee the orderly transition of the restaurant and its staff.

Will the Chef and the Chief attract each other or be repelled. Will Eiko Koike, another former gravure idol, who plays the supporting role as the roommate of Suzuko  get enough screen time to show off her ample assets?

As I said, the title is Delicious Proposal, and this is really a tasty treat to watch.

Our last TV series with Kyoko is called Scandal. It began its run on October 19th of 2008. This is a drama that looks like it could be called a woman’s show but it has enough mystery as well as eye-candy to attract some male viewers. Here’s a quick plot outline:

Risako is getting married. She invites four women that she’s known separately but who don’t know each other to the wedding. After the wedding, Risako corrals these four women and challenges them to a game. They will all go to a bar and the game is that they all must go out and pick up a man, with the last one to return to the bar having to pick up the check for their drinks. At first the women are disgusted and haughtily refuse, but no one really wants to be a party-pooper so they begrudgingly agree to play.

Mind you, this is Risako’s wedding night. Well, the thing of it is, she, Risako disappears. What follows is the mystery of what happened to Risako, and beyond that, as the story unfolds, we learn more and more about these women, their lives, and the facts that the everyone involved – the wives, their husbands, and even the police detective, all have some secrets.

We are watching a group of lives that are slowly being bared and peeled away, layer by layer. At times it is riveting. Kyoko plays one of the wives, and she’s the one with small children, an overbearing husband, and financial woes on top of everything.

They’ve asked Kyoko to play this as a somewhat unglamorous house wife though you’d never know this from the glamor-packed intro. Beyond that they really didn’t try too hard to make her less noticeable.

Summary: Kyoko Hasegawa seems to be an all purpose actress. She’s done horror, dramas, rom-coms, and even mysteries and action-thrillers. She’s guaranteed to turn heads when she enters a room. Me, I love this woman, and I’m hoping to get my hands on the Rain Fall DVD as soon as it hits the shelves, anywhere.

You can buy many of Kyoko Hasegawa’s TV series from the The Japanese Drama Store which is based in California. Just use the search feature on their home page and search for Hasegawa Kyoko.

Since I know that many of you may be confined to your igloos, apartments, villas, cabins, or homes for longer periods of time than you like because of the cold weather, I am here to offer up a warm Valentine’s gift to you. Hold that thought – we’ll get to it soon enough.

Mid-February also means that basketball’s March Madness is a month away and the Pro Playoffs two months away. Baseball Spring Training camps will open in a matter of hours, and American football is, well…OVER. Golf is not available to many of you at this time because it’s tough to make par when your local golf course resembles the frozen tundra of Siberia.

That leaves Hockey as the sole major sport remaining for purposes of this article. Sorry all you futbol/soccer fans – no offense intended. Across Canada, the USA, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Japan,and other similar places – right now Hockey is King. Or maybe not – as many of you won’t even give it a thought. But what are your alternatives? Reading about the latest baseball steroids news?

But I did promise you a Valentine’s Day Gift, right? Here we go! You already know about flowers and chocolates, so you don’t need my help with that. Instead, let me offer something that you can share with her and  really enjoy too. We’re going to take a look at a Japanese Television Drama Series called Puraido or Pride in English.

This is about a Hockey team in Japan. It is not anything like Slap Shot, (hockey + comedy) with Paul Newman, or Miracle (a docu-drama taken from real life) with Kurt Russell.

The Mighty Ducks (hockey + kids) with Emilio Estevez and In The Crease (real-life hockey stars + kids) are also distinctly different. Pride is also a tender love story. So there’s your Valentine’s Day tie-in.

Pride stars one of Japan’s most popular TV stars, Takuya Kimura, as Halu (pronounced Ha-ru) Satonaka. The lead female is the very popular and beautiful actress Yuko Takeuchi who portrays Aki, an office lady.  So lets take a closer look.

Haru (it’s just easier to spell it the way it said in the story rather than the way it is written) is the Captain and inspirational leader of the Blue Scorpions. He is also the team’s best player.

He idolizes the team’s coach Anzai who has been hospitalized. Anzai has instilled in Haru the desire to win and the necessity of blocking out all other involvements. So Haru has willed himself to stay clear of women. Oh that doesn’t mean he won’t play around, it just means that he won’t let himself get involved. In his mind, if he keeps women and relationships as ‘just a game’, he’ll be fine.

Aki works for the corporation that sponsors the Blue Scorpions. She has been patiently waiting for a boyfriend who left Japan two years ago to study architecture in New York. While Aki has been loyal and hopeful, the boyfriend is MIA – not a word from him since he left two years ago.

Additionally, there are three other great looking ladies with decent sized supporting roles. Yuko, Coach Anzai’s wife is played by Yuriko Ashida (above) is friends with Haru.

Aki’s girl friends Chika played by former gravure idol MEGUMI (above),

and Yuri played by Noriko Nakagoshi (above) are worried about her. Each of them are also looking for boyfriends, so they insist that Aki go with them to a game. “You never know, you might meet someone you like, and besides that you need a night out”, is what they tell Aki. So Aki goes with them and gets her first look at Haru from the stands.

Haru has lots of female fans in the arena who wildly cheer for him.

After the game Chika and Yuri drag the somewhat unwilling Aki with them to a bar where the hockey team hangs out.

And so begins this wonderful drama called Pride. There’s lots of sub-plots and side stories to keep you involved. For example: Haru and new Coach Hyodo don’t get along

Is Yuri really the gold-digger she is purported to be -

Will Yamoto (the goalie) ever tell Yuri the truth -

What about Yoko (Coach Anzai’s wife) -

So what do you think? A series about a hockey team might not spike your interest by itself,

but if I tell you that the story contains lots of plots with beautiful women who provide lots of eye candy, as well as emotional impacts – is this enough to get you involved?

Yes, I think so. Along with the story lines – sport/hockey and romance, the series has some dynamic music sung by Queen. The series’ main theme song is I Was Born To Love You sung by Freddy Mercury of Queen.

And if this isn’t a rousing and inspiring arena type of anthem which is reprised twice in each episode, I don’t know what is.

So if you want to share a good story with your significant other, and still have your sports fix, strap on your electronic blades and glide over and order this DVD.

Web Vendor with Product Page

jpdorama.com-The TV Drama Store

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6BV5V4vei0&feature=related

Hakei, Chichiue-Sama / Dear Father
TV Series broadcast on Fuji-TV from January 11 to March 22, 2007
now available on an All Regions DVD – 3 Discs – 11 Episodes

Kagurazaka is an intriguing word. I mean it has 4 A’s, a K, and a Z. It is made up with 5 vowels and 5 consonants. A word like this would be great on a Scrabble board except for the fact that it has 10 letters and in Scrabble you only get 7 letter tiles. So forget that. As for saying this word, it is not as hard to say as it looks if you break it into syllables. Ka-gu-ra-za-ka. Easy.

Megumi Kagurazaka

For those of you who have read my columns either regularly or infrequently; you should recognize the name Megumi Kagurazaka. Back in 2003 she was discovered while working in a department store by a sharp-eyed talent agent who signed her up for gravure modeling. She had the looks, and the body to delight both serious collectors of the gravure genre, like me, and most of you, as well as many otaku or fan-boys whose interest in something, even bikini idols, could edge into an obsession. In any event, her Idol career did take off and Megumi-chan became quite popular. Between 2004 and October 2007 she appeared in at least 18 DVD’s, most of which were reviewed by yours truly. You can find some of the more recent reviews on my pages by using the search feature on the homepage.

Recently, in fact, very recently, I became aware that Kagurazaka was not only a model’s name but also a real place. I wondered if the fair Megumi was from Kagurazaka, and if she had adopted it as her stage name. That idea turned out to be incorrect. She’s actually from Okayama which is midway between Hiroshima and Osaka.  Maybe she decided to live in Kagurazaka to be based in Tokyo to pursue her dreams. But the reality is that I don’t know for a fact, or even for a wild guess, whether her real name is Kagurazaka or not.

Anyway, after achieving success in the IV (Idol Video) world, her true desires surfaced. Megumi aspired to do more than be a model for photo-books and travel to various Asian beach resorts where, accompanied by film crews and staff of assorted DVD production houses, she would appear in a plethora of bikini bathing suits, and sometimes less than that, in front of digital video cameras. Her real desire was to become an actress in the lucrative world of TV Drama Series or movies. And to that end, in 2007, she would abandon the world of gravure modeling.

Her last Idol DVD was called Undress, was released in October of 2007. Unfortunately this DVD was more hype than anything else. Her producers, knowing this was to be her last Idol DVD, leaked out the word that Megumi would appear completely nude in this DVD. This news spread to otakus all over Japan, and following that, in the natural progression of things, this news hit the Internet, even reaching me in the USA.

Expectations were high, and this led to high sales figures for the DVD upon its release. But most of us who bought it or watched it were quite disappointed. Our hopes of seeing Megumi Kagurazaka totally nude were almost completely dashed. She did in fact appear totally naked, but all we saw were a few brief seconds, and a rear view at that. Blink and you might have missed it. So Megumi’s departure from the world of Gravure Idols left a sour taste in those of us who had supported her career by buying her DVDs.

Megumi has gotten work acting in feature films, like Spy Girls (above) but I’ve not seen any of them. But if you’re so inclined, you can have a peek at her acting career by checking her page on the AsiaMediawiki.com website .

And that brings us back to Kagurazaka itself. As recently as early November of this year, only a few weeks ago, when I was in Tokyo, I was still unaware that Kagurazaka was an actual neighborhood in Tokyo. This was unfortunate because Kagurazaka is a very popular area for foreign tourists like me. What’s more, I might have gotten there in a just a few minutes from Shinjuku, where my hotel was, via the JR (Japan Rail) Sobu Line.

Okay, I can see the question forming in your heads. If I hadn’t heard of Kagurazaka when I was in Tokyo, and only minutes away from it, how do I know of it now?

The answer to that is the Japanese TV Drama Series, Hakei Chichiue-Sama which translates to Dear Father. This TV series was shot on location almost entirely in Kagurazaka. As I watch many of Japan’s best TV series by means of subtitled DVD’s, you know I was going to buy this one immediately once I discovered it and read about Kagurazaka as the location in the Plot Summary. In short, by discussing this DVD, you will see and learn about Kagurazaka, the place, as well as something about this TV Series.

Kagurazaka is a popular neighborhood. It has many cafes and restaurants. There’s a decidedly French presence in the area due to the proximity of a major school, the Lycee Franco-Japonaise de Tokyo located in Kagurazaka. In fact, the theme song of Hakei, Chichiue-Sama is a very French styled song called Paper. Edith Piaf, the French chanteuse will certainly come to mind but this song is sung in Japanese by a Japanese singer.

Kagurazaka is also home to some of the finest Japanese restaurants, not only in all of Tokyo, but in the Kanto region as well. These elegant restaurants must be booked in advance, referrals are often needed to secure a booking, and they do not accept walk-ins from the street, nor do they accept solo diners. Some are located on small side streets, or alleys, often accessible only on foot. And one more thing, there are still some geisha houses in Kagurazaka.

And there you have the nexus of Hakei, Chichiue-Sama and Kagurazaka. This series is about the struggles both for and against the transition of Kagurazaka from being a small neighborhood that maintained its aura by means of its history and old world charm.  Its lovely narrow side streets, with geishas still working there, and the fine traditional restaurants found there are only a part of it’s uniqueness and quaintness. As Kagurazaka struggles to both stay as it has been while becoming a community of high rise buildings that would add little charm and mostly block the sun, real life and this fictional story may overlap. These events are told through the story of one family owned restaurant called Sakashita, that was being sold-off to a construction company in order to be torn down and the land used to build a high-rise business/apartment complex.

This happens all over the world. Some call it gentrification. Some describe it as out with old, and in with the new. Whatever you call it, the net result is usually that the face of the community changes as older businesses close, rents go through the roof, and as younger people move in, older people are displaced. When the Starbucks, and other international retail chains arrive, they would replace the Ma and Pa small businesses. Therefore as these changes occur, you can be sure that this ‘progress’ aka gentrification which goes hand in hand with making a profit at the expense of the locals, comes only after great struggles. And this was the case in this drama too.

 Let’s now have a look at some of the characters in the story and a look at Kagurazaka itself. The lead character is the 23 year old Ippei.

He’s an apprentice chef at Sakashita. He’s worked at the restaurant for 6 years. He lives in a small flat that’s barely big enough for one person, but he has been asked to share his room with the new trainee just hired by the restaurant. His name is Tokio.

Tokio is a big strapping 16 year old. He’s eager to learn and please his masters at the restaurant. But as Ippei’s roommate, we discover that he is prone to listening to the couple next door making love by holding a glass to the wall, and that he is obsessed by women’s breasts.

Ippei’s Mom is called Yukino She is now the owner of a bar, but before that, she was a geisha herself. She gave birth to Ippei as an out-of-wedlock baby, and as the story begins, Ippei still has no idea as to his father’s identity. He will pursue this as the story unwinds. Yukino is also privy to much information that is passed to her via her network of geisha friends who entertain big shots and their guests at elegant restaurants like Sakashita.

The Okami or head and owner of the restaurant is Yumeko Sakashita. She’s 79 years old, but she insists she’s ‘just’ 77. In her younger days, she too was a geisha. Long ago she became a mistress to one of Kagurazaka’s biggest politicians. We aren’t told this specifically, but you get the impression that this politician couldn’t divorce his wife to marry a geisha, so instead, he set her up with the restaurant.

Yumeko’s daughter is Ritsuko Sakashita, who is married to Tomatsu who is the second chef in the kitchen. Ritsuko is in fact the de-facto manager of the restaurant. It is she who has been secretly working to sell the restaurant to the construction company so it could be demolished. She plans to re-open a smaller Sakashita restaurant in the high-rise later on. Even her husband, as well as her mother Yumeko, were kept in the dark about these dealings.

Eri Sakashita is the beautiful daughter of Ritsuko and Tomatsu. She’s still in High School but she helps out in the restaurant. She has a beautiful figure and there are at least 3 or 4 instances in the series where mention is made of her large boobs.

The Head Chef of Sakashita is Ryuji. Not only is he the Head Chef, but he is also a confidante of the old lady Yumeko, who everyone calls Landlady which is a translation of the word okami. Ryuji is also the most centered or solid of all the characters of the drama, and is idolized by Ippei.

The last main character is the gorgeous Naomi. Naomi will serve as Ippei’s love interest despite the fact that the Sakashita family is doing it’s best to pair off Eri with Ippei. He however, only has eyes for Naomi.

She’s a bit of character herself. She works at a French Bakery in Kagurazaka and is studying to become a French Pastry Chef. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, she speaks only French. While on the other days of the week, she speaks Japanese. Her dream is to go to Paris to complete her studies.

Ippei’s dream is to go to Paris with her, and with her, he can do the only thing he hasn’t done yet to become a man. As he puts it, “With Naomi, I can conclude my youth.”

There you have it. These are the main people whose personal stories are blended in to be a part of the story of the Sakashita restaurant located in the heart of Kagurazaka. The title, Dear Father, refers to letters Ippei writes in his head to his unknown father. In reality, these un-written letters are voice overs spoken by Ippei as a technique to recap the prior episode or as the introduction to the new episode, to offer explanations as to what is going on, and to express his feelings to the viewers.

Though Ryuji is the one rock-solid character of the drama, the story is not told through him. Instead it is Ippei who is at the center of the story. We suffer with him, find our spirits soaring with him when he is with Naomi, and he is the one we are rooting for as he finds that choices involving life, love, and career are never easy, and may not work out exactly as planned.

Summary: There is one more star to this drama and that is the streets and sights of Kagurazaka itself. I’ve set this 11 episode, 3 Discs DVD drama in motion for you. I’ve given you a look at Kagurazaka and the characters in this story, and have not given you any  real ‘spoilers’. I loved this series and gave it a 4.75 rating as it is a lengthy investment of your time. But I believe it is well worth your time. Next time I am in Japan, I will surely spend time in Kagurazaka. And yes, I do miss the sexy Megumi Kagurazaka whose photos also make up a part of this article.

As for the luscious Naomi, let’s have another look at her to close out this article. The actress who played this role is Meisa Kuroki, and we hope to see more of her in the future.

If you don’t speak Japanese, you can buy this DVD at the Japanese Drama DVD Store out of California which sells Japanese language Drama DVD’s with English, Chinese and Malay subtitles.

Vendor:
Jpdorama – The Japanese Drama DVD Store