On Monday nights, office ladies vanish from the streets—
The reason this strange phenomenon began to occur was, as it turned out, the scripts themselves.
Postwar television dramas were brought to life by a diverse array of screenwriters. And amid the painful process of economic growth, people began to find their hopes reflected on the screen.
However, as the Japanese economy stagnated, the overwhelming popularity of these dramas began to wane. Even so, screenwriters continued to boldly forge ahead, searching for new forms of expression.
The series “The Century of Screenwriting.” In this fifth installment, we provide a comprehensive overview of the lineage of postwar Japanese television drama screenwriting—
The drama “The Homeless Child” by Shinya Takatsuki and Toshihachi Ito (1994)
“If you feel sorry for me, give me money!”
The Beginning of TV Dramas
Along with Japan’s postwar economic growth, televisions became widespread in households. Of course, the initial reasons for purchasing them were things other than dramas—such as the Crown Prince’s wedding or Rikidōzan. However, dramas gradually carved out a place for themselves within the medium of television.
In the early days, TV dramas were a trial-and-error process; unlike today, they were actually broadcast live. It might be more accurate to say they were simply broadcasting stage plays. It is often said that television dramas rely more on sound than films, and I suspect this is partly why.
As mentioned previously, the ability of professional screenwriters to craft scripts made the mass production of visual works possible. This strength would truly come into its own during the era of television dramas.
Family Dramas
The mainstream genre in the postwar era was the “family drama.” A notable example is *Arigatō* (1970), written by Yumie Hiraiwa and produced by Fukuko Ishii.
From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, the “Big Three”—Taichi Yamada, Satoshi Kuramoto, and Kuniko Mukoda—emerged. Satoshi Kuramoto is famous for *From the North*, and Kuniko Mukoda for *Daikon no Hana*. Other notable works from this era include *3-nen B-gumi Kinpachi-sensei* (1979–) and *Oshin* (1983).
Trendy Dramas
The late 1980s marked the dawn of the “trendy drama” era. While defining this genre is difficult, it can generally be described as works aimed at young people that incorporate romantic storylines. The pioneer of this genre was Toshio Kamata’s (1986) *Summer Story of Seven Men and Women*. This period began to overlap with the image and reputation of the so-called “Monday 9 PM” time slot.
This era was led by Yuji Sakamoto and Shinji Nojima, winners of the first and second Fuji TV Young Screenplay Awards. Representative works include Sakamoto’s *Tokyo Love Story* (1991) and Nojima’s *The 101st Proposal* (1991). The latter is the series that gave birth to Tetsuya Takeda’s iconic line, “I won’t die.”
Also making her debut was Eriko Kitagawa, a master of love stories. Her representative works include *Tell Me You Love Me* (1995) and *Long Vacation* (1996).
Furthermore, Yumiko Inoue, who has made significant contributions across multiple genres, emerged with *Kirakira Hikaru* (1998) and *The White Tower* (2003). She is still active today, serving as the director for *Emergency Interrogation Room* (2014–). Other heavyweights such as Shizuka Oishi and Keiichi Okada also left their mark on the era.
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After the Bubble Economy Collapsed
When the bubble burst in the real world, two things happened to TV dramas. Production budgets became genuinely scarce. Furthermore, the trendy dramas that were produced began to drift away from everyday life, becoming nothing more than figments of a dream.
It was during the 2000s that Kankuro Kudō emerged. Coming from a theater background, he initially felt like an outsider but was eventually accepted. However, starting in the 2010s, he gradually came to lead the mainstream of TV drama.
Behind this shift was the widespread adoption of DVDs. In other words, television was no longer just something watched during family gatherings. While Kudokan’s works did not consistently achieve high ratings, their strong DVD sales gave him an advantage in production.
Because Kudokan has been a screenwriter for so long, he has a large body of work. Notable works include his de facto debut, *Ikebukuro West Gate Park* (2000), *Kisarazu Cat’s Eye* (2002), *Tiger & Dragon* (2005), *Gomenne Seishun!* (2014), the NHK Taiga drama *Idaten* (2019), and *Futekisetsu nimo Hodoga Aru!* (2024).
Another screenwriter with a background in theater is Koki Mitani. *Furuhata Ninzaburo* (1994–).
Yuji Sakamoto took a break from screenwriting for a while but later made a comeback (in contrast, Shinji Nojima has fallen out of favor). He has produced ambitious works such as *Quartet* (2017), *anone* (2018), and *Omameda Towako and Her Three Ex-Husbands* (2021).
The Present Day
By this era, the leading television network for dramas shifted from Fuji TV to TBS. The *Hanzawa Naoki* (2013, 2020) series, based on the novels by Jun Ikeido and written by Hiroyuki Yatsu and others, recorded historically high ratings. Many people likely still remember both seasons.
Additionally, starting in the late 2010s, Akiko Nogi gained strong popularity with works such as *We Married as a Job* (2016), *Unnatural* (2018), and *MIU404* (2020).
In the 2020s (the present), Kudo, Nogi, and Sakamoto can be considered the top three. Following them are Eriko Shinozaki, known for *Kurosagi* (2022) and *Unmet* (2024); Tsutomu Kuroiwa, known for *Grand Maison Tokyo* (2019) and *TOKYO MER* (2021); Other notable names include Yoshiko Morishita of *JIN* (2009) and *Stepmother and Daughter’s Blues* (2018), and Naoko Adachi of *You and Me on the G String* (2019).
In Conclusion
The format of a “serialized” drama consisting of 10 to 11 episodes of 45 minutes each can be said to be a first in the history of screenwriting. After all, the standard format up until then had been single-episode productions.
Within this context, the structure of 10-episode series and popular genres have evolved in unique ways. However, the impact of television dramas on the spread of screenwriting has been immense. It is for this reason that the latter half of the 20th century could truly be called the “Century of Screenwriting.”
Hanzawa Naoki
Hanzawa Naoki: “If you get hit, hit back—double the payback(Baigaeshi)!”
Next time, the final episode of “The Century of the Screenplay.” As the modern world becomes increasingly globalized, what has become of the role of the screenplay? We’ll also take a look at the history of screenwriting and consider where it is headed. Stay tuned!
*1 Since this episode would have been quite lengthy focusing solely on TV drama screenplays, and since we felt that TV dramas should be the main focus when discussing screenplays, we have omitted the postwar history of theatrical playwriting. If you’re interested in that, please visit the Waseda University Theater Museum.
Translated by DeepL and checked by FK.
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