is a 2015 Japanese television drama based on the novel Tennō no Ryōriban by Hisahide Sugimori, depicting the life of imperial cook Tokuzō Akiyama. It premiered on TBS on 26 April 2015, starring Takeru Satoh in the lead role. 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.
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)TBS official website (in Japanese) 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 Noémie Nakai - Simone Kazuyuki Asano - Viscount Hayato Fukuba (Director of the Imperial Cuisine Division, Ministry of the Imperial Household) Kazue Itoh - Takigawa (Lady-in-waiting of Empress Teimei) Emi Wakui - Empress Teimei Zen Kajihara - Emperor ShowaSIS Company Inc. official profile page of Zen Kajihara (in Japanese) Sapphira Van Doorn - Françoise
Episodes
Production The drama was filmed in various locations in Japan (including Fukushima, Ibaraki, Kobe, Okayama) and in France. Takeru Satoh took cooking classes and practiced knife skills for four months to portray the character and did the cooking scenes without a stand-in. The French and English lines are also spoken by Satoh without post-dubbing.
Accolades Awards Award Date of ceremony Category Nominees Result 85th Television Drama Academy Awards August 12, 2015 Best Drama The Emperor's Cook Best Actor Takeru Satoh Best Supporting Actress Haru Kuroki Best Supporting Actor Ryohei Suzuki Best Script Yoshiko Morishita Best Directing Yuichiro Hirakawa, Shingo Okamoto, Yuji Nakamae, Daisuke Yamamuro 8th International Drama Festival in Tokyo October 21, 2015 The Grand Prix The Emperor's Cook Best Actor Takeru Satoh Best Actress Haru Kuroki Best Supporting Actor Ryohei Suzuki 24th Hashida AwardsMay 10, 2016 Best Actor Takeru Satoh Best Supporting Actor Ryohei Suzuki Best Drama The Emperor's Cook
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External links