Ochoyan (おちょやん) is a Japanese television drama series and the 103rd Asadora series, following Yell. It premiered on November 30, 2020 and concluded on May 15, 2021. It is based on the life of Chieko Naniwa.
Contents
Plot
Chiyo Takei (Hana Sugisaki) was born to a poor family in Osaka Prefecture’s Minamikawachi district in the Meiji era. Her mother died when she was still a child, and she lived with her father Teruo and younger brother. Although Chiyo could not be put through elementary school, she has the gift of the gab and quick wit. At the age of 9, she starts working as a servant in Dotonbori and comes across the theatre world which immediately captivates her. Chiyo’s desire to become an actress grows stronger by the day. She eventually runs away and heads to Kyoto where she throws herself into acting.
Cast
Takei's family
Hana Sugisaki as Chiyo Takei
Nono Maida as young Chiyo
Tortoise Matsumoto as Teruo Takei, Chiyo's father
Emma Miyazawa as Kuriko Takei, Chiyo's step-mother
Yūki Kura as Yoshiro Takei, Chiyo's younger brother
Hinata Aruta as young Yoshio
Dotonbori people
Ryoko Shinohara as Shizu Okada, a landlady of Okayasu theater
Jun Nagura as Sōsuke Okada, Shizu's husband
Ayaka Higashino as Mitsue Okada, Shizu and Sōsuke's only daughter
Yumi Kishida as young Mitsue
Keiko Miyata as Hana Okada, Shizu's mother
Yōko Ishino as Kiku Tomikawa, a landlady of Fukutomi theater
Hideaki Okajima as Fukumatsu Tomikawa, Kiku's husband
Takuya Inoue as Fukusuke Tomikawa, Kiku and Fukumatsu's only son
Kazuma Matsumoto as young Fukusuke
Kaoru Kusumi as Kame
Shiori Doi as Fujiko
Sawa Nimura as Setsuko
Chisa Furuya as Tama
Masumi Tange as Tsubaki
Ren Sawaki as Hodan
Kurumi Fujimoto as Ayame
Comedy people
Ryo Narita as Ippei Amami, Chiyo's husband
Tōma Nakasu as young Ippei
Motohiko Shigeyama as Tenkai Amami, Ippei's father
Hidetoshi Hoshida as Sennosuke Suganoya
Itsuji Itao as Mantarō Suganoya
Tadashi Nishikawa as Kumada
Haru Konishi as Tōko Asahina
Kamigata theater people
Nakamura Ganjirō IV as Ōyama Tsuruzō
Haruka Igawa as Yuriko Takashiro, an actress
Mayumi Wakamura as Chidori Yamamura
Rio Asumi as Ruriko Takamine
Kantarō Soganoya as Masanori Oyamada
Eiji Kochō as Appare Suganoya
Noriyuki Otsuka as Tokkuri Suganoya
Ryotaro Okawa as Yōjirō Urushibara
Kiyo Matsumoto as Kaori Ishida
Ryutarō Sakaguchi as Hyakkuri Suganoya
People from Kyoto
Kazuhiko Nishimura as Kiyoshi Miyamoto, an owner of Kinema cafe
Ai Yoshikawa as Mari Uno, a Kinema female employee
Junko Abe as Yōko Wakasaki, an aspiring actress
Kurara Emi as Kiyoko Yabuuchi, a member of "Chidori Yamamura Ichiza"
People in movie theater
Ryuya Wakaba as Shinji Kogure, an assistant director
Seiji Rokkaku as Heihachi Katagane, the chief of Tsurukame studio
Shibuya Tengai III as Moriya, a security guard
Jun'ya Kawashima as George Honda, a director
First Summer Uika as Mika Honda, an actress
Akari Kizuki as Yayoi Tōyama, an actress
People from Kawachi
Koichi Kurokawa as Tatsuo Kobayashi
Yoshikazu Kiuchi as Mr. Tamai
Mitsuo Sagawa as Minegishi, president of a glass factory
Others
Muga Tsukaji as Ataro Hanaguruma
Ōshirō Maeda as Kanji Matsushima
Kichiya Katsura as Kurogo (also as narrator)
Production
The filming began on April 2, 2020, but on April 7, NHK decided the suspension of shooting for the new series after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe proclaimed a one-month state of emergency for Tokyo and other prefectures. The shooting was resumed on June 24. Since then, it has been recorded in accordance with NHK "Drama Production Manual for Preventing New Coronavirus Infection", and although the recording schedule has been significantly delayed, it has not considered changing the script or shortening the broadcasting period. The series announced that it will premiered on November 30, after previously being delayed from original on September 28 due to the pandemic.