Drama of the year - Yae no Sakura

This is the 5min preview video for the new NHK drama Yae no Sakura (八重の桜), airing on NHK sundays at 8pm.

Ayase Haruka (綾瀬はるか) stars as the title character Yae (Yaeko Yamamoto) in this period drama set at the end of the shogunate in Japan, right when Japan was changing in every way possible. The line of Tokugawa shoguns had ruled Japan in isolation for nearly 3 centuries, but the sudden appearance of American steam warships brought that all crashing down.

Of course, the forced opening of Japan by American naval commander Perry wasn't the sole reason for the collapse of the government, as this show goes into in great detail.

If you have a chance, I really think this show's worth a watch. As you can see in the promo video above, NHK has really gone all out for it. There's cannons, period firearms, armor and all kinds of cool stuff. It's also packed with talent - nearly everyone in the show seems to be a big name actor. And Yae no Sakura should be worth watching to anyone with even a passing interest in Japanese modern history.

Oh, and don't forget Ayase Haruka. She's very talented and a real cutey - even in a serious show like this her cute/crazy smile pokes out from time to time. She started out doing mostly funny comedies but has shown her acting ability in a lot of serious work lately, including the very good Ichi, a retelling of the Zatoichi tale of the blind swordsman written for a female lead. Her sword fighting in that is pretty damn good, and IMO her movie is just as good as Takeshi Kitano's Zatoichi.