The Emperor's Cook
The Emperor's Cook (Japanese: 天皇の料理番, Hepburn: Tennō no Ryōriban) is a 2015 Japanese television drama based on the novel Tennō no Ryōriban by Hisahide Sugimori, depicting the life of imperial cook Tokuzō Akiyama.[2][3] It premiered on TBS on 26 April 2015, starring Takeru Satoh in the lead role.[4] The 1st episode is 108 minutes, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th episodes are 64 minutes long. The series was well received by the public, earning the highest viewership rating in its time slot during its run time.[5]
| The Emperor's Cook | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Tennō no Ryōriban |
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Hisahide Sugimori |
| Based on | Tennō No Ryōriban (novel, based on the life of Tokuzo Akiyama, the Emperor's cook) |
| Written by | Yoshiko Morishita |
| Directed by | Yuichiro Hirakawa, Shingo Okamoto |
| Starring | Takeru Satoh Haru Kuroki Kenta Kiritani Tasuku Emoto Ryohei Suzuki Hideaki Itō Hiromi Go Kaoru Kobayashi |
| Ending theme | "Yume Miru Hito" by Masashi Sada |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Original language | Japanese |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Akihiko Ishimaru |
| Production locations | Fukushima, Ibaraki, Kobe, Okayama, Paris[1] |
| Running time | 54 min (Japan) |
| Production company | TBS |
| Distributor | TBS |
| Release | |
| Original network | TBS |
| Original release | April 26 – July 12, 2015 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Plot
Tokuzō Akiyama is a good-for-nothing young man living in the countryside, who gets easily absorbed in activities he finds interesting, but quickly loses interest and moves on, creating trouble for his family. He is married off to a merchant household to teach him discipline, and his wife gradually grows to love his personality. Tokuzō, however, falls in love again: this time with cooking. As he delivers goods to the army kitchen, the army chef introduces him to cutlet, which prompts Tokuzō to learn the craft. On a whim, he decides to leave his wife to study cooking in Tokyo. Amid hardship and humiliation, the young man who never felt compelled to stick to a job, keeps his dream to become the emperor's cook at only 25 years of age.
Cast
- Takeru Satoh - Tokuzō Akiyama
- Haru Kuroki - Toshiko Takahama
- Kenta Kiritani - Shintarō Matsui
- Tasuku Emoto - Tatsukichi Yamagami
- Saki Takaoka - Ume Morita
- Gajirō Satō - Sennosuke Morita
- Sei Ashina - Kayano
- Ryū Morioka - Kurasaburō Akiyama
- Anna Ishibashi - Mitsuko Takahama
- Yoshiyuki Tsubokura - Okumura
- Jinta Nishizawa - Masashi Sasaki
- Daisuke Kuroda - Araki
- Takeshi Ōnishi - Sekiguchi
- Mamoru Watanabe - Sugiyama
- Hirotaka Ōkuma - Fujita
- Yūji Kido - Suzuki
- Ryōhei Suzuki - Shūtarō Akiyama
- Tetsuya Takeda - Professor Shōgo Kirizuka
- Hideaki Itō - Sergeant Yūkichi Tanabe (Cook of the 36th Infantry Regiment)
- Yumi Asō - Okichi (Shūtarō's lodging house landlady)[6]
- Masaya Kato - Takeshirō Iogi (Chef to the British Minister to Japan)
- Yōjin Hino - Kinnosuke Takahama
- Satoko Ōshima - Harue Takahama
- Jun Miho - Fuki Akiyama
- Tetta Sugimoto - Shūzō Akiyama
- Kaoru Kobayashi - Kamaichi Usami (Chef of the Peer's Club)
- Hiromi Go - Japanese Ambassador to France Shin'ichirō Awano
- Kazuyuki Asano - Viscount Hayato Fukuba (Director of the Imperial Cuisine Division, Ministry of the Imperial Household)[6]
- Kazue Itoh - Takigawa (Lady-in-waiting of Empress Teimei)[7]
- Emi Wakui - Empress Teimei[6]
- Zen Kajihara - Emperor Showa[8]
- Sapphira Van Doorn - Françoise
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Original air date | Ratings (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "〜時代を超える人間の愛と命の感動物語〜 どうしようもない男が百年前に見た料理への果てなき夢…" | Yuichiro Hirakawa | April 26, 2015 | 15.9% |
| 2 | "料理はまごころ" | Yuichiro Hirakawa | May 3, 2015 | 11.4% |
| 3 | "あいしてるの決断" | Shingo Okamoto | May 10, 2015 | 12.0% |
| 4 | "愛し君よサラバ" | Yuichiro Hirakawa | May 17, 2015 | 12.7% |
| 5 | "おさな夫婦の結末" | Yuichiro Hirakawa | May 24, 2015 | 14.5% |
| 6 | "愛と命の果てパリ" | Yuichiro Hirakawa | May 31, 2015 | 14.1% |
| 7 | "パリと差別と結婚" | Yūji Nakamae | June 7, 2015 | 14.9% |
| 8 | "パリでの卒業式" | Yūji Nakamae | June 14, 2015 | 15.3% |
| 9 | "皇居編〜ザリガニと御即位の御大礼" | Yuichiro Hirakawa | June 21, 2015 | 16.7% |
| 10 | "皇居編〜関東大震災と家族の決意" | Daisuke Yamamuro | June 28, 2015 | 16.1% |
| 11 | "皇居編〜最愛の人と最後の晩餐" | Yuichiro Hirakawa | July 5, 2015 | 16.8% |
| 12 | "完結〜料理番の人生敗戦の料理番がGHQに起こした愛の奇跡" | Yuichiro Hirakawa | July 12, 2015 | 17.7% |
Production
The drama was filmed in various locations in Japan (including Fukushima, Ibaraki, Kobe, Okayama) and in France. Takeru Satoh took cooking classes to portray the character and did the cooking scenes without a stand-in.[1]
Accolades
| Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Nominees | Result |
| 85th Television Drama Academy Awards [9] | August 12, 2015 | Best Drama | The Emperor's Cook | Won |
| Best Actor | Takeru Satoh | Won | ||
| Best Supporting Actress | Haru Kuroki | Won | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Ryohei Suzuki | Won | ||
| Best Script | Yoshiko Morishita | Won | ||
| Best Directing | Yuichiro Hirakawa, Shingo Okamoto, Yuji Nakamae, Daisuke Yamamuro | Won | ||
| 8th International Drama Festival in Tokyo[5] | October 21, 2015 | The Grand Prix | The Emperor's Cook | Won |
| Best Actor | Takeru Satoh | Won | ||
| Best Actress | Haru Kuroki | Won | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Ryohei Suzuki | Won | ||
| 24th Hashida Awards[10] | May 10, 2016 | Best Actor | Takeru Satoh | Won |
| Best Supporting Actor | Ryohei Suzuki | Won | ||
| Best Drama | The Emperor's Cook | Won | ||
References
- "佐藤 健" (in Japanese). TBS. Retrieved 2016-09-16. trans
- 【TBS】佐藤健主演『天皇の料理番』初回は15.1% (in Japanese). oricon ME inc. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
- 26日スタート「天皇の料理番」。原作の主人公はかなりの「やんちゃ」佐藤健はどう挑むのか (in Japanese). Excite Japan Co., Ltd. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
- 佐藤健さん「天皇の料理番」 (in Japanese). The Yomiuri Shimbun. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
- "THE EMPEROR'S COOK Wins 4 Awards at the 2015 Tokyo Drama Awards!". TBS. 2015-10-26. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
- TBS official website (in Japanese)
- From the telop of Emperor's Cook episode 10
- SIS Company Inc. official profile page of Zen Kajihara (in Japanese)
- 第85回ザテレビジョンドラマアカデミー賞 (in Japanese).
- "吉田羊、熱愛報道後初公の場 関係者が制止で言及せず" (in Japanese). Oricon. 2016-05-10. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
- Official website
- The Emperor's Cook at IMDb
| Preceded by Ryūsei Wagon (18 January 2015 - 22 March 2015) |
TBS Sunday Dramas Sundays 21:00 - 21:54 (JST) |
Succeeded by Napoleon no Mura (19 July 2015 - 20 September 2015) |