Long Vacation
Encyclopedia
Long Vacation is a Japanese television drama
series from Fuji Television
, first shown in Japan
from 15 April to 24 June 1996. Takuya Kimura
and Tomoko Yamaguchi
played the lead characters. The series enjoyed high ratings and was the earliest of a series of hit productions starring Kimura. It features music by Cagnet
.
This is the beginning of a romance between Sena and Minami, although they are far apart in age and interests. Minami and Sena confide in and console each other about their relationship problems and their lack of success in life.
Minami meets a professional photographer, Sugisaki, who proposes marriage. Finally Sena has a chance of winning a piano competition and going to Boston, joining the symphony orchestra.
The characters in the series have something in common--if not jobless, they can do no better than secure a temporary job. This is a portrayal of a time when Japan was plagued by deep recession, when its people suffered profound depression from constant failure to earn a stable income. The series portrays how relationships are made and broken, and explores how people come to depend on each other for solace.
Japanese television drama
, also called , are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including murder romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, and many others...
series from Fuji Television
Fuji Television
is a Japanese television station based in Daiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, also known as or CX, based on the station's callsign "JOCX-DTV". It is the flagship station of the Fuji News Network and the ....
, first shown in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
from 15 April to 24 June 1996. Takuya Kimura
Takuya Kimura
, nicknamed , is a Japanese singer and actor. He is also a member of the Japanese idol group SMAP. Most of the TV dramas he starred in produced high ratings in Japan...
and Tomoko Yamaguchi
Tomoko Yamaguchi
is a Japanese actress and singer from Tochigi. She is the lead actress for the classic j-drama Long Vacation, which features her starring alongside with Takuya Kimura.She has been married to Toshiaki Karasawa since 1995.-External links:...
played the lead characters. The series enjoyed high ratings and was the earliest of a series of hit productions starring Kimura. It features music by Cagnet
Cagnet
Cagnet is a "soulful pop and R&B" group that has become very successful in Japan due to their contributions to drama soundtracks like "Long Vacation" and "Love Generation"...
.
Summary
Minami and Sena meet when Sena's apartment-mate, Asakura, jilts Minami on their wedding day. Minami learns from Sena that Asakura has left, whereabouts unknown. Sena allows Minami to move into the apartment, since she is penniless, having given all her money to Asakura, and cannot pay the rent on her apartment.This is the beginning of a romance between Sena and Minami, although they are far apart in age and interests. Minami and Sena confide in and console each other about their relationship problems and their lack of success in life.
Minami meets a professional photographer, Sugisaki, who proposes marriage. Finally Sena has a chance of winning a piano competition and going to Boston, joining the symphony orchestra.
The characters in the series have something in common--if not jobless, they can do no better than secure a temporary job. This is a portrayal of a time when Japan was plagued by deep recession, when its people suffered profound depression from constant failure to earn a stable income. The series portrays how relationships are made and broken, and explores how people come to depend on each other for solace.
Cast
- Takuya KimuraTakuya Kimura, nicknamed , is a Japanese singer and actor. He is also a member of the Japanese idol group SMAP. Most of the TV dramas he starred in produced high ratings in Japan...
as Sena Hidetoshi (瀬名秀俊) - Tomoko YamaguchiTomoko Yamaguchiis a Japanese actress and singer from Tochigi. She is the lead actress for the classic j-drama Long Vacation, which features her starring alongside with Takuya Kimura.She has been married to Toshiaki Karasawa since 1995.-External links:...
as Hayama Minami (葉山南) - Yutaka Takenouchi as Hayama Shinji (葉山真二)
- Takako MatsuTakako Matsu, born , is a Japanese actress and pop singer/songwriter born on June 10, 1977 in Tokyo, Japan. The style of her music is often laid-back and relaxing.- Profile :* Interests: Watching movies and stage plays...
as Okusawa Ryoko (奥沢涼子) - Izumi InamoriIzumi Inamoriis a Japanese actress signed to Burning Production.-Biography:Izumi Inamori was born and grew up in the city of Kagoshima. After graduating from the local high school, Inamori went to University of Texas at Arlington to study English abroad...
as Koishikawa Momoko (小石川桃子) - RyōRyo (actress)is a Japanese model, actress and former singer whose birth name is .-Movies:* Goemon *The Witch of the West is Dead * Welcome to the Quiet Room * Canary * CASSHERN...
as Himuro Rumiko (氷室ルミ子) - Leo Morimoto as Professor Sasaki (佐々木教授)
- Ryōko HirosueRyoko Hirosueis a Japanese actress and pop star, best known in the West for her roles in the Luc Besson-produced Wasabi and the Academy Award-winning Japanese film Departures. She also starred in a comedy series Yasuko to Kenji in 2008.- Early life :...
as Saito Takako (斉藤貴子) - Kosuke Toyohara as Sugisaki Tetsuya (杉崎哲也)
Characters
- Hidetoshi Sena (24)…An ambitious pianist with dreams of the big time. After graduating from music school, he teaches at a children's piano school for a small income. He lives in an apartment with a baby grand piano in the living room. Sena practises for piano competitions throughout the series. Despite his seemingly very adept technical ability and Sasaki's high opinion of Sena's playing, Sena constantly meets with failure. The reason for this becomes clearer as the story unfolds. Momoko calls him "Ayrton" because his surname resembles that of former motor-racing world champion Ayrton SennaAyrton SennaAyrton Senna da Silva was a Brazilian racing driver. A three-time Formula One world champion, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time...
. He suffers many harsh remarks from arrogant student Takako, but still helps her in her struggle with life.
- Minami Hayama (31)…An independent and uninhibited 30-year-old woman. Once in demand as a fashion model, she now works as a small-time model on increasingly infrequent jobs. She is unlucky in love; her fiance elopes with a younger girl on their wedding day. Through a series of circumstances, Minami comes to stay in Sena's house. Their deepening relationship is a main thread of the drama.
- Shinji Hayama…Minami's younger brother. A loafer and notorious womanizer, he is also a talented pianist who is later revealed to have had a promising piano career. He comes to Tokyo with his girlfriend Rumiko, relying on pachinkoPachinkois a type of game originating in Japan, and used as both a form of recreational arcade game and much more frequently as a gambling device, filling a niche in gambling in Japan comparable to that of the slot machine in Western gambling. A pachinko machine resembles a vertical pinball machine, but...
winnings to foot the bill. He later buys a bar and runs it with her.
- Ryoko Okusawa…A very talented pianist but shy with a sheltered upbringing. She is a student in the same music school that Sena graduated from, and considered a future star. Sena develops a crush on her but she seems indifferent towards him. Shinji briefly seduces her but later leaves her.
- Momoko Koishikawa…Minami's junior in the modelling company, and a close friend of Minami. Despite her ditzy manner, she sometimes makes insightful observations and offers useful advice.
- Rumiko Himuro…Shinji's girlfriend.
- Professor Sasaki…Sena's mentor and former professor. He often encourages Sena to enter piano competitions.
- Takako Saito…A child prodigy who is taught by Sena for a brief time. Initially, her attitude towards Sena is disrespectful.
- Tetsuya Sugisaki…A dashing professional photographer who later falls for Minami.
Ratings
| Episode | Date | Rating (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | 15 April 1996 | 30.6 |
| 02 | 22 April 1996 | 28.3 |
| 03 | 29 April 1996 | 29.0 |
| 04 | 6 May 1996 | 27.6 |
| 05 | 13 May 1996 | 27.9 |
| 06 | 20 May 1996 | 25.5 |
| 07 | 27 May 1996 | 27.7 |
| 08 | 3 June 1996 | 29.9 |
| 09 | 10 June 1996 | 29.1 |
| 10 | 17 June 1996 | 28.6 |
| 11 | 24 June 1996 | 36.7 |