Comedian Ota Hikari makes first asadora appearance in NHK drama “Kaze, Kaoru”

NHK announced that comedian Ota Hikari and actress Aida Shoko will appear in the ongoing morning drama “Kaze, Kaoru”. It is the first asadora role for Ota, who will play Endō Heizō, a homeless man living in a tenement who assists the series’ nurse protagonists. He said he had dreamed of acting in an asadora after watching the classic “Oshin” as a child and expressed gratitude for finally achieving that goal.

Aida Shoko will portray baroness Miyako Miyazawa, a rheumatoid‑arthritis patient cared for by the nurse Rin. “Kaze, Kaoru” is NHK’s 114th serial drama, set in the Meiji era and based on the real lives of pioneering nurses modeled after historical figures. The series highlights the challenges faced by women entering the nursing profession at that time.