If you are a fan of wagashi, here is one good TV drama for you:
Ando Natsu
The theme song is Tada, Arigato by Monkey Majik!
The heroine, Ando Natsu, is played by Kanjiya Shihori, who played Miwa in the TV drama, "Bartender".
和菓子のファンには、いいテレビドラマがあります：
あんどーなつ
主題歌はMonkey Majikの「ただ、ありがとう」です。
主人公の安藤奈津は、貫地谷しほりさんが演じています。「バーテンダー」で美和を演じている方です。
Great, I happily managed to watch all bartender parts while ignoring my husband, the weather, the garden, the laundry and such unnecessary things. Sadly enough there are still the job duties, but from tomorrow on I will enjoy a few days of easter break. So I may skip the easter decoration doing. Who the hell needs coloured easter eggs, lamb shaped cakes and floral arrangements (these are overrated), when there are wagashi related dramas to watch.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much
Kiki
Kiki: Oh, please don't ignore your husband (laugh)!
ReplyDeleteThank you Hiroyuki for one more advice. Thanks to your recommendations I'll soon be a walking encyclopedia of the Japanese food ;-)
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, I had to check 5 minutes ago what wagashi was ;-) so this series will be more than useful...
I am so happy to discover this huge world of food-related Japanese films! On Saturday I even forgot to have my dinner while watching Osen. Watching food was enough.
Thank you so much! I didn't know 'Bartender' and 'ando natsu'. They look both fabulous ^-^
ReplyDeleteMay I add 'Lunch Queen' and 'My little Chef' which I both enjoyed a lot (I might be biased because I'm a big fan of Hiroshi Abe).
I love Ando Natsu too! It gives people insight of all the labor, craftsmanship and love that goes into each morsel! You definitely can't just gobble them up. You have to take time and admire the art and craft before the indulgence! Hence Japanese philosophy, Eat with your eyes first!
ReplyDeleteI think I've watched all the food related dorama on Mysoju.com! I guess I did a lot of 'husband ignoring'! 笑！
ReplyDeletetorwen: Thanks for additional titles. I haven't watched them real-time, so I will watch them when I have free time.
ReplyDeleteIf you are a fan of Hiroshi Abe, then you must have watched Ten-Chi-Jin, too!
okasan: You, too?! (laugh)
ReplyDeleteSissi: As for me, watching food makes me hungry!
ReplyDeleteAs I thought: with wood, glue and catguts you can build a violin but not every violin sounds like a strativarius.
ReplyDeleteSame goes with sugar, beans and rice. I enjoyed the ando natsu series very much. Especially the story about the (I guess) riceflour starter. Had some trouble with my sour dough starters too - and yes they are alive, best if they have survived for years. Wild beasts but weak. The series is really heart warming and one can learn something about culture and traditions. Highly recommended.
Well, my poor husband got a special treatment for his patience: played a nice match Jiànzi today. Good after a huge calorie intake. Snacked quite a lot of sweets watching the series - I wonder why.
Kiki: You have a point there. I often find that just a little bit of care can make a big difference in cooking. At the professional level, utmost care must go into every creation.
ReplyDeleteYou are referring to the "sakadane" 酒種 in episode 5, which they make with rice porridge, the kouji 麹 (rice malt), and rice. Talking about sakadane makes me want to have saka manju!
深夜食堂 shinya shokudo (Midnight Diner) is another really good drama about food. The story is about a diner that only has 1 item on his menu, however, he will take requests. The story is about the owner and his customers of different walks of life. At the end of each episode it will explain the food that was served in the story.
ReplyDelete*Poor Sissi san's husband will be ignored for awhile! :)
@okasan-san: shinya shokudo - cute! I have to stop reading this blog or I will be in trouble soon.
ReplyDelete@hiroyuki-san: It takes devotion to become a master but furthermore you must really enjoy what you are doing. Coooking related: these and respecting the products too, everything will turn out fine. The japanese seem to be very strict concerning becoming a master. 15 years and not good enough. But if you shape your skills for 50 years who may match you? We had an interesting documentation series about traditional handcrafts in germany. They inteviewed the few masters left (from knife sharpening master to wooden shoe maker, all very old men without apprentices to follow up). It was called "the last ones of their kind". Somehow very sad. But they could easily fit into the japanese way.
okasan: Thanks for another suggestion. I have included shinya shokudo in the list I have created.
ReplyDeleteKiki: My father apprenticed as a carpenter at the age of 15. This apprenticeship system itself was abolished after the Second World War, but there are still some young people who enter the world of, say, sushi, right after graduation of high school. I think going on to a culinary school is more popular these days, though.
ReplyDeleteOkasan, thank you for one more suggestion. Until today my husband has been on a long business trip, so I was very happy: these series made me feel less lonely. He still doesn't know my new hobby :-)
ReplyDeleteHowever now that he comes back, I hope he'll enjoy the series as much as I do! Otherwise he risks to be ignored indeed ;-)
Hiroyuki, in Europe so many professions disappear... It's so sad. Especially in the food-related world (luckily living close to France I don't have to worry too much).
@Sissy: Is your husband into sports? Mine is addicted to NHL icehockey. I managed to watch the series during his time to watch the NHL-matches :-). As for handcrafts professions: true, they are vanishing. Products from china are way cheaper. They even produce cookoo watches too. My grandfather was a full fledged master of confectionery (best in sugar modelling on country level) no one followed his path on his advice and he closed his highley recommended traditional shop/cafe/bakery after getting to old. His children got better working conditions and payment after graduating from universities. Handcraft has lost his social status and products don't sell well enough.
ReplyDeleteKiki, my husband isn't into sports at all. Yesterday I talked to him and, actually, he is quite excited to start watching the series! We shall see. He is also very fond of the Japanese cuisine, so I hope he'll like it as much as I do.
ReplyDeleteSugar modeling sounds extraordinary. I can't imagine how sad it must have been for your grandfather.
The only handcraft which I see flourish in Switzerland is the extremely expensive hand-made watches production and, luckily for me, chocolate confectionery... Everything depends on the clients. Chocolate shops don't seem to disappear, even though they sell chocolates 10 x more expensive than in supermarkets. I only wish their clients had the same approach to bread, meat and everything they eat. On the other hand, comparing to some European countries, it's already a lot! I suppose in Japan the traditional handcraft professions are in general still more appreciated than in Europe, even though some of them sadly disappear.