NHK drama "Mushoran Mitsuboshi," starring actress Eiko Koike, will begin airing on May 23rd in the network's Saturday drama slot (NHK General, Saturdays at 10 PM). The drama is based on a masterpiece non-fiction book by Keiko Kuroyanagi, a currently working prison nutritionist, which depicts the little-known state of food in prisons. Koike will play the protagonist, Yoko Ginbayashi, who becomes a prison nutritionist.
"Mushoran Mitsuboshi" is a "prison social comedy-drama" that depicts the struggles of a protagonist who, after making a name for himself as a skilled Italian chef, unexpectedly ends up working as a nutritionist in a prison, and how he overcomes troubles and commotions with the prison guards and inmates inside the walls.
As Hamasaki Prison attempts to reform itself as a model prison, Jun Kunimura plays Kotaro Natori, the warden of Hamasaki Prison who takes an interest in Yoko's background and hires her; Katsuhisa Namase plays Takao Irie, the head of the General Affairs Department, who clashes with Yoko, who disregards the rules when it comes to cooking; Takashi Tsukamoto Tsukamoto plays Shunichi Saito, the strict head of the Correctional Treatment Department who works with Director Irie to maintain order at Hamasaki Prison; and Aoi Nakamura plays Kenji Sugiyama, the prison officer in charge of the kitchen who manages the inmates' cooking work.
Other cast members playing prisoners include Reo Tamaoki, Mandy Sekiguchi, Hyoroku, and Yoichi Nukumizu. Rie Tomosaka, Girolamo Panzetta, and Nao Kosaka from Hinatazaka46 will also appear. Hikohiro will be the narrator of the drama.
