Asian Drama

In the turbulent last days of the Edo period, Kawai Tsugunosuke, a Japanese samurai serving the Makino clan of Nagaoka, dreamt of independence from the restraints of vassalship. Despite his progressive views and his desire for his estate to remain neutral during the Boshin Civil War, he was bound by loyalty and duty to the clan and was compelled to choose sides.

Adapted from the novel "Toge: Saigo no Samurai" (峠 最後のサムライ) by Shiba Ryotaro (司馬遼太郎).

Reiko, a 28 year-old office girl, wants to marry her boyfriend, 35 year-old Kenta who works in the same office. However, the situation becomes quite complicated when the young woman is promoted to manage a major project. Reiko is left feeling lost and helpless before this unexpected move by the company president. Did her father have a secret agreement with the president? Will the future hold any happiness for her?

This drama is adapted from a Japanese television mini-series. In the story, an industrialist learns of a medical condition which will greatly shorten his life. He is on a trip to Europe at the time, and a glimpse of a Japanese woman in that setting causes him to fantasize about her as the personification of his impending death. As his dialogue with his imagined mortality continues, he actually meets the living woman who is the template for his fantasy, and together they tour rural churches. Gradually he comes to some kind of peace about the diagnosis. When he returns to Japan, he is met with a series of challenges which profoundly test the lessons he has learned.