Saka no Ue no Kumo (2009)

Original title

坂の上の雲

Directed by

Shibata Takeshi, Sato Mikio

Cast

Motoki Masahiro, Akiyama Saneyuki, Kobayashi Ren, Abe Hiroshi, Akiyama Yoshifuru, Sometani Shota, Kagawa Teruyuki, Masaoka Shiki

Genre

Japanese television drama

Country

Japan

Length

3 seasons, 13 episodes

Rating

7.7 of 10 from 14 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This is a Japanese war drama based on a novel. It follows historical events during the Meiji era, focusing on Japan's modernization and its military conflicts. The series shows the lives of key figures involved in that period.

historicalslow-burnepicsomberdetailedreflectiveambitiousaustere

What happens

Saka no Ue no Kumo (坂の上の雲; lit. 'Clouds Over the Hills') is a Japanese war drama television series which was aired on NHK over three years, from November 29, 2009, to December 2011, as a special taiga drama. The series runs 13 episodes at 90 minutes each. The first season, with 5 episodes, was broadcast in 2009, while seasons two and three, each with 4 episodes, were broadcast in late 2010 and 2011. While most episodes were shot in Japan, one of the episodes in season two was shot in Latvia. The TV series is based on the 1968 novel of the same name by Ryōtarō Shiba and adapted by Hisashi Nozawa. Executive producer Yoshiko Nishimura acquired the rights to the novel from Shiba's widow Midori Fukuda in 2001, after decades of the author refusing to let anyone adapt his controversial work for the screen. The NHK officially announced their intention to adapt the novel in 2003, though shooting would only begin in 2008. The series is the first taiga drama to be mainly set during the Meiji era, thus its production encountered more difficulties than usual in achieving an accurate depiction of its setting. It is now the most expensive taiga drama ever produced. The theme song of the drama series is titled "Stand Alone". It was composed by Joe Hisaishi, written by Kundō Koyama, and performed by British soprano singer Sarah Brightman. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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