The 12th episode of the NHK Asadora drama series "Kaze,Kaoru " (NHK General, Monday-Saturday 8:00 AM, etc.), starring Ai Mikami and Juri Kosaka , aired on April 14th. In this episode, viewers' attention was drawn to Fumiko Yanagawa, a shop employee at "Mizuho-ya," played by Chikako Uchida.
Rin (played by Mikami) begins working at Mizuho-ya, a shop that sells foreign books and imported goods. Many foreign customers frequent the shop, but Rin cannot speak any foreign languages. After the shop owner, Shimizu Usaburo (played by Bando Yajuro), lends Rin an English dictionary, she is determined to "do whatever I can for my daughter and to make a living."
Rin was diligently studying English vocabulary while cleaning the shop. Seeing this, Fumi was impressed and said, "She's doing a great job." Usaburo replied, "I thought that a daughter of a samurai family would almost certainly not stick with it, but she seems to be quite an interesting find."
When Fumi asked, "Rin-san... is of samurai lineage?", Usaburo replied, "She's still unwilling to reveal her origins, social status, or identity. A mother and daughter with a complicated past. There's bound to be some kind of reward." Fumi muttered, "Women with complicated pasts work hard, huh..."
Upon hearing this, Usaburo said, "A person's true character is revealed not by their name or title, but by their demeanor and the way they live," and then, saying, "Fumi, you are beautiful," he left. Fumi remained silent, a troubled and meaningful expression on her face.
This marks Uchida's first appearance in a Asadora in 11 years, since "Mare" in the first half of 2015. In addition to playing a colleague of the protagonist Tsumugi (Haruna Kawaguchi) at the CD shop where she works in the Fuji TV drama series "silent" (2022), she has been active in a wide range of dramas and films. In recent years, she has appeared in the 2024 NHK drama "Owakare Hospital," the sequel "Owakare Hospital 2" which aired in March of this year, and the 2025 film "Night Flower."
On social media, comments included: "I wonder if Fumiko has some kind of secret... I'm curious...", "What is the relationship between Usaburo and Fumiko?", "Who is Fumiko?", "Fumiko is no ordinary person", and "She has a mysterious aura." Other comments included: "The staff at Mizuho-ya had a real presence!", "The shop assistant was Uchida Megumi. No wonder she's so beautiful", "It's Akane from 'Owakare Hospital'", "Her acting in 'Owakare Hospital' was great, so I have high expectations", and "I thought I'd seen her somewhere before, it's the Tower Records shop assistant from Silent!"
