Massan (Japanese: マッサン) is a Japanese television drama series, the 91st asadora (morning drama), broadcast daily on NHK from September 29, 2014, until March 28, 2015. It dramatizes the life of Masataka Taketsuru (played by Tetsuji Tamayama), the founder of the Nikka Whisky Distilling company. Charlotte Kate Fox plays his wife, Ellie Kameyama, based on the Scottish businesswoman Rita Taketsuru. Massan was the first NHK asadora series to feature a non-Japanese actor in a lead role.
Contents
Plot
Osaka chapter (1st week - 15th week)
When Masaharu Kameyama returns to his hometown Takehara in Hiroshima prefecture after spending two years in Scotland learning how to make whisky, he brings back with him Ellie, a woman whom he met and married there. His parents are shocked to see this blonde woman arrive as their new daughter in law. Masaharu's mother, Sanae, in particular refuses to accept the marriage. But Masashi, his father, is more forgiving, even encouraging his son to pursue his dream of making real whisky in Japan, despite the fact the family has run a sake brewery for generations.