Toto Neechan

Japanese television series

Toto Neechan
Genre	Drama
Written by	Masafumi Nishida
Directed by	Taku Ōhara Ken Okada Hideki Fujinami Takehiro Matsuzono Man'yō Hashimoto Yūsuke Horiuchi Daisuke Andō Takashi Fukagawa
Starring	Mitsuki Takahata Hidetoshi Nishijima Tae Kimura Itsuki Sagara Hana Sugisaki Pierre Taki Kentaro Sakaguchi Mitsuhiro Oikawa Atsushi Itō Osamu Mukai Tsurutaro Kataoka Mao Daichi Toshiaki Karasawa
Narrated by	Fumi Dan
Opening theme	"Hanataba o Kimi ni" by Hikaru Utada
Composer	Koji Endo
Country of origin	Japan
Original language	Japanese
No. of episodes	156
Production
Executive producer	Masaru Ochiai
Producer	Makoto Bonkobara
Running time	15 minutes
Original release
Network	NHK
Release	April 4 (2016-04-04) – October 1, 2016 (2016-10-01)

Toto Neechan (とと姉ちゃん) is a Japanese television drama series and the 94th asadora on NHK. It premiered on April 4, 2016, and ended on October 1, 2016.^[1]^[2] The theme song is "Hanataba o Kimi ni" by Hikaru Utada.^[2]

Plot

Tsuneko is the eldest of three daughters of Takezō and Kimiko Kohashi. When her father dies while she is only in her early teens, Tsuneko takes on the role of the father of the family, which earns her the nickname "Toto-neechan" (literally "Father older sister"). She cares for and protects her family during WWII and the early postwar era, graduating from school and eventually working as an editor at a publishing house. She eventually starts her own magazine offering advice to housewives and consumers about life and raising a family. With the help of the talented editor Isaji Hanayama, the magazine becomes a huge hit. Refusing to accept advertising, it becomes a model for a new form of consumer journalism.

The story is loosely based on the life of Shizuku Ōhashi, who founded the magazine Kurashi no techō, and the editor Yasuji Hanamori.^[3]

Cast

Kohashi family

Mitsuki Takahata as Tsuneko Kohashi^[1]
- Mirai Uchida as young Tsuneko
Itsuki Sagara as Mariko Kohashi^[1]
- Kohaku Suda as young Mariko
Hana Sugisaki as Yoshiko Kohashi^[1]
- Himena Negishi and Rinko Kawakami as young Yoshiko
Hidetoshi Nishijima as Takezō Kohashi,^[1] Tsuneko's father
Tae Kimura as Kimiko Kohashi,^[1] Tsuneko's mother
Osamu Mukai as Tetsurō Kohashi,^[1] Tsuneko's uncle

Aoyagi Company

Mao Daichi as Takiko Aoyagi,^[1] Tsuneko's grandmother
Tsurutaro Kataoka as Eitarō Kumai^[1]
Takurō Ōno as Kiyoshi Aoyagi^[1]

Morita-ya

Yoko Akino as Matsu Morita^[1]
Pierre Taki as Sōkichi Morita^[1]
Kami Hiraiwa as Teruyo Morita^[1]
Rina Kawaei as Tomie Morita
Kenta Hamano as Tetsunori Hasegawa

Other characters

Junko Abe as Aya Nakada^[1]
Kentaro Sakaguchi as Takezō Hoshino^[1]
Hairi Katagiri as Chiyo Todō^[1]
Toshiaki Karasawa as Isaji Hanayama^[4]
Mitsuhiro Oikawa as Ichirō Gotanda^[4]
Tomomitsu Yamaguchi as Seiji Tani^[4]
Atsushi Itō as Shōhei Mizuta^[4]
Toshio Kakei as Kunihiko Mizuta
LaSalle Ishii as Hirofumi Ōsako
Koutaro Tanaka as Yamada
Erina Mano as Akemi Saotome
Kyōko Maya as Raicho Hiratsuka
Arata Furuta as Munenori Akabane
Miyu Yoshimoto as Tamaki Mizuta
Masato Yano
Kanji Ishimaru
Tōru Nomaguchi
Shuhei Uesugi as Hiroaki Minami

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p "『とと姉ちゃん』ヒロイン父に西島秀俊追加キャスト15人発表". Oricon Style (in Japanese). Oricon. November 6, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Utada Hikaru reveals title for 'Toto Neechan' theme song". tokyohive. 6Theory Media, LLC. March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
^ "「とと姉ちゃん」主要２人の著書、関連書". YOMIURI ONLINE（読売新聞） (in Japanese). 19 May 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "唐沢寿明、雑誌編集長役に恐縮「僕でいいのか」起用理由は"カリスマ性"". Oricon Style (in Japanese). Oricon. February 15, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.