Hometown Stories
5.5
2011
Documentary
Stories about people, stories about life. Intimate portraits of people from around Japan, each leading diverse lives while enriching lives of others.
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- Cast:
- lae astra
Episode 36 : Apprentice Geisha: Making Dreams Come True
December. 16,2018
Gion, in the ancient capital of Kyoto, is Japan's largest traditional entertainment district. Every year, girls fresh out of junior high school come here dreaming of becoming maiko, or apprentice geisha. They leave home at 15 and live under the same roof with older maiko and other trainees. For a year, they receive strict training in dancing and other performing arts, and also take care of household chores. This program follows the journey of three girls hoping to debut in Gion as maiko.
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Episode 34 : Tears, Laughter and Motherhood
November. 18,2018
In the city of Osaka, there is a place where new and expectant mothers can receive support for their physical and emotional wellbeing. Hisako, a former midwife, is the person who takes care of them. With 11 children of her own and one divorce behind her, Hisako knows firsthand the struggles that come with motherhood. By simply listening to their stories - and sometimes shedding tears along with them - she helps young mothers adjust to their new roles, look toward the future, and start smiling once again.
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Episode 33 : Onikenbai: the Demon Sword Dance
November. 11,2018
Demon-like figures wearing scary masks swing their swords menacingly. It's an ancient performing art called Onikenbai or "demon sword dance." Practitioners are aging, and new blood is needed to carry on the tradition. A group of high school students in Iwate Prefecture are determined to keep the tradition alive, but teaching it to younger generations proves to be a more difficult challenge than expected.
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Episode 30 : The 100km Walk: Two Life-Changing Days
October. 14,2018
People from across Japan have been gathering in central Aichi Prefecture for some 2 decades to test themselves physically and mentally. The "100km Walking Challenge" takes participants an entire day and night to finish. Everyone has their own personal reason for signing up. One woman attends the event with her daughter, hoping to improve their relationship. One man decides to do the walk as a prayer for the safety of his estranged daughters. And an 80-year-old is participating because he wants to test his limits. What will they see beyond the finish line? We follow their two-day journey.
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Episode 27 : Pursuing the Ultimate Awa Indigo
September. 16,2018
Deep indigo blue is a traditional Japanese color. It's an indigo dye that has been made using time-honored techniques passed down from generation to generation. See how dedicated craftsmen create the raw material for the dye from the fermented leaves of the Awa indigo plant, and how master dyers make deeply textured indigo color without using any chemicals. We follow the year-long process to produce this cherished dye, the culmination of centuries of craftsmanship.
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Episode 26 : Brewing a Future for Local Tea
September. 02,2018
Genki Takahashi is a tea farmer in Sera, Hiroshima Prefecture. After university, as he worked at an established tea company from Kyoto, he became interested in making tea himself. He eventually quit his job to learn how to do just that at a tea plantation. A few years later, he decided to grow his own tea in Sera, once a famous tea production area. He now grows, processes and sells tea while helping revive abandoned tea farms, all in an effort to create a uniquely Sera tea.
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Episode 25 : Auntie's Candy Store – Sweets & Life Lessons
August. 19,2018
Children in snowy Yamagata Prefecture flock to an old-fashioned candy store to get sweets, snacks and something more. The owner, Akiko, has been running the business for 50 years, selling cheap confectionery and treats to kids of all ages. She also offers her young clientele a place to study, play games and even get advice. Her shop is like a second home for the children, whose family situations she knows well. And in her well-intentioned way, Akiko sometimes shares her wisdom with the kids as she sees them grow.
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Episode 24 : Grandmas' Goodbye to an Old Market
August. 12,2018
In the decades since the end of World War Ⅱ, the Noren Central Market has been an essential part of Okinawa Prefecture's main city, Naha. Many women, now senior citizens, have spent much of their lives working here, standing shoulder-to-shoulder through good times and bad. Ever since it opened, the market has reflected Okinawa's post-war appearance and energy. But now it's being demolished and relocated. This program takes a closer look at the women during their final days at this historic market and their new beginnings.
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Episode 18 : Mr. Grandpa in Nursery School
June. 17,2018
Retired civil servant, grandfather and nursery school teacher: Mitsutoshi Arasawa decided to get involved in childcare in his late 60's. Every day is full of surprises, but dealing with energetic and sometimes mischievous children isn't always easy. 18 months on, "Mr. Grandpa" is still struggling to adapt, but he won't give up. Why did he choose this type of work? And what keeps him motivated? Watch and find out.
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Episode 13 : A Guesthouse's Unexpected Beginning
May. 06,2018
Misato Kurogawa opened a guesthouse in a small mountain settlement in southwestern Japan. She had quit her job and moved to Imari, where she rolled up her sleeves and renovated the 70-year-old home where her grandmother had lived. She hoped that her stylish guesthouse would attract young women seeking a place to unwind from hectic city life. However, the first guests to arrive are a middle-aged French couple visiting Japan – something Kurogawa had not prepared for or expected. How will she handle this surprising development?
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Episode 11 : Forging On: Master and Apprentice
April. 15,2018
Yu Kikuchi left an engineering job in the big city to pursue his dream of making things with his own hands. Now 32, he's training to be a blacksmith in Shimanto, a rural town in western Japan. His teacher is 79-year-old Kosaku Matsumura, a master blacksmith who's nearing the end of his career. Turning his apprentice into a full-fledged blacksmith will be his final job. Passing on the traditional skills for crafting hand-forged tools presents challenges – and rewards – for both men.
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Episode 8 : Once Lost, Now Found: Student Actors' Challenge
March. 18,2018
In 2017, a high-school drama club in a disaster-hit area in Northern Japan chooses the 2011 earthquake and tsunami as the theme for a play to be performed at a national competition. Most of the students in the play didn't experience the tsunami firsthand and have avoided talking about it at school. But they take on the challenge of facing the disaster and learning about the sufferings of survivors. They hope their play will keep alive and spread the memories of what happened in their hometown.
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Episode 7 : Once Lost, Now Found: Dancing for My Future
March. 11,2018
In March 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake changed the life of Wakana Yokoyama. The tsunami following the disaster took away her grandparents and her hometown. She's tried to block out her sorrow by performing her hometown's traditional dance. However, the dance has gradually prevented her from moving forward and making a fresh start. Now, 7 years later, she's beginning to confront her feelings directly and deal with her loss.
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Episode 6 : Once Lost, Now Found: A Brother's Journey Home
March. 04,2018
Ever since that day in March 2011, Yuta Naganuma had tried to distance himself from what happened. His younger brother was among 84 students and teachers who died when a massive tsunami hit Okawa Elementary School in northeastern Japan. All told, 418 residents of the district were killed, and his hometown was destroyed. For a long time, Yuta struggled to accept his brother's death and the loss of his beloved hometown. But, finally, he finds the strength to move on, through a journey of reconciliation and remembrance.
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Episode 5 : Finding Poetry in Cancer
February. 25,2018
The shock of the first diagnosis. Fear of death. Anxiety and concern about friends and family. Cancer patients experience a range of complex emotions. Now, a Japanese hospital is helping them transform their feelings into senryu, a Japanese form of short poetry. A man expresses a lifetime of gratitude toward his wife. A woman uses humor to fight back against a serious illness. In this program, cancer patients find solace in just 17 syllables.
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Episode 2 : Living Positively with Dementia
January. 28,2018
At 51, Mayumi Yamada, a single mother with 2 adult children, was diagnosed with early onset dementia. Now, daily tasks such as dressing are getting harder. At first, Mayumi couldn't accept her diagnosis and retreated into solitude. But she learned that if she reached out, people would gladly offer help. With support from her kids and others around her, she has formed new bonds and is helping others with dementia. Her disease is progressing, but Mayumi is living life to the fullest, with a smile.
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