Author Archives: Phyllis Kihara

There is only one more episodes of the 53rd Taiga drama, Strategist Kanbe, remaining. We will air the final episode on Tuesday, January 27th, with a retelecast on Sunday, February 1st.

The next (54th) Taiga drama is titled Hana Moyu, which literally translates to “burning flower”. It is presumed that the burning flower this title refers to is Fumi Sugi, a woman who was part of the Choshu clan from Satsuma Prefecture.

Fumi was a somewhat obscure, behind-the-scenes figure in the Meiji Restoration era. She was the younger sister of Shoin Yoshida, who was a well known educator and activist who helped spur the Meiji Restoriation. Fumi was a strong supporter of her brother, and after he was imprisoned and executed, she continued to influence others to support Shoin’s teachings and philosophies.

Although Fumi was not well-known, her contributions did make a difference to modern day Japan; many of Japan’s future leaders emerged from the Choshu domain, and this can be attributed to her strong spirit and determination behind the scenes. She was truly a burning flower.

Hana moyu begins with a 1-1/2 hour episode on Tuesday, February 10th, 2015, at 8pm.

Ja, ne!

Were you one of the people who lost electricity on January 2nd? I know my home was without power for at least six hours.

Many of you told us you were not able to watch our New Year’s special, The Stork’s Nest, that night because you were without electricity. In answer to your requests, we will be re-airing the special next Friday night, January 23rd, from 8-10pm.

The Stork’s Nest is about a hospital in Kumamoto City that decided to do something to help single mothers or parents unable to raise their children who were desperate and considering abandoning their children rather than face the stigma of dishonor and shame from society.

The caring directors of the hospital converted part of the facility to accommodate people so they could anonymously deposit unwanted babies, knowing they’d be cared for. Response was overwhelming and soon mothers from across the country were coming to deposit babies at the hospital.

This drama tells the story of the creation of “Stork’s Nest” and depicts the lives of some of the mothers who came to use the “nest”.

In Japanese, kuru kuru means to go round and round. And that’s exactly what our new Kuru Kuru Japan shows are about. Shows that take you all around Japan, with a focus on the delicious foods and interesting places that can be found throughout the country.

Kuru Kuru Japan runs Monday through Friday from 6:30-7pm. If you love Soko ga Shiritai, you’ll love Kuru Kuru Japan!

Did you see Yasu last night? I’m curious to hear what you thought of it.

If you missed it last night, be sure to watch it today (Tuesday) at noon. It is a heartwarming story about the love and struggles between a father and his son.

One of the detective dramas KIKU used to air regularly was Investigator Mariko, or Inspector Mariko. This series aired on KIKU around the late 90′s through 2010. In one of my earlier blogs, I asked if this was a series you wanted to see again and the response was very positive.

So we are bringing Investigator Mariko back! We will kick off her return with a two hour special on Wednesday, September 10th (during our Autumn Specials week), and the drama (#7 in the series) will begin three weeks later on Thursday, October 2nd, at 9pm, following the conclusion of Partners 10.

Investigator Mariko is about a crime lab in the Kyoto Police Department. Mariko Sakaki, the main character, is a lab agent who practices forensic medicine using blood, hair and DNA samples in addition to traditional investigative methods to solve crimes.

Don’t miss the Investigator Mariko special on September 10th at 8pm!

More about our other Autumn specials next week.

Ja, ne!

I haven’t been blogging much lately. I was dealing with some health issues, but I’ll be posting regularly (weekly) from now on.

And just in time! Our week of Autumn Specials is coming up. This year, we’ll be airing our specials the week of September 8th through the 14th.

We’ll be putting Soko ga Shiritai on hiatus that week, and have a six-night special titled “Ill Still Love You in 10 Years” airing each night Monday through Saturday from 7-8pm that week. This is a somewhat complicated romantic drama about a woman named Rika who is unlucky in love. One day, Rika meets a man who tells her he is her husband from 10 years in the future.  He says he has traveled back in time to prevent their marriage. You’ll want to watch all six episodes to see what reason there could be for him to travel back in time to undo Rika’s happiness.

At 8pm on Monday night (9/8), is a heartwarming drama titled Yasu. This is about the unbreakable bond that forms between a father and son after a freak accident caused by the son results in his mom’s death. Yasu, the father, commits his life to raising his son alone, with the goal of shielding his son from the truth about his mother’s death.

I’ll be posting again soon with more news about our Autumn specials. But don’t make plans to go out to dinner that week; you’ll want to be at home to watch our specials!

Ja, ne!

If not, here’s a way for you to win a trip for two to Las Vegas for your mom.

For the past few years, KIKU has been running a Mother’s Day haiku contest. People send in a haiku written about their mom, and we randomly select one lucky winner to receive a Vacations Hawaii trip for two to Las Vegas.

We changed things up a bit this year. Instead of  a haiku contest, we’re asking you to tell us why your mom is ichiban (#1). And you have to do it in 30 words of less. As an example, here’s what I wrote about my mom:

“My mom is ichiban because she’s always doing things for other people. She makes intricate, hand-designed, hand-sewn patchwork quilts and gifts them to family, friends, and even strangers.” (Whew…just made the 30 word cutoff!)

If you don’t already have a gift for your mom yet, tell us why she’s ichiban and you might just win her a trip to Las Vegas. There are also five great runner-up prizes — $100 gift certificates to either Hakone or The Prince Court restaurants at the Hawaii Prince Hotel.

Even if you don’t win one of the prizes, wouldn’t your mom just love knowing why you think she’s ichiban?

Ja, ne!