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 27 : Making Peace With My Father
December. 05,2021
Kuroi Akio had always hated his father. Keijiro was physically strong, but a shell of a man who needed help with everyday tasks. At the age of 20, Keijiro faced the horrors of war. Photos taken just after he joined the army show him full of energy. What changed him? What did he experience on the battlefield? Three decades after his death, Akio set out on a journey to retrace his father's footsteps. We focus on one man's efforts to heal the scars it left behind.
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Episode 26 : Fond Farewell for a Beloved Train
November. 21,2021
In March 2021, the Akita Rinkai Railway Line made its last run and a familiar sight disappeared from the streets of Akita Prefecture. The freight line was only 5.4 kilometers long and operated just 3 days a week. After supporting local industry for 50 years, it couldn't adapt to the times. We look at the railroad's final days, interviewing the workers who kept it running safely, and the residents for whom the train and its familiar whistle were important features of everyday life.
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Episode 24 : Crisis in “Japan's Kitchen”
November. 07,2021
The Toyosu Market plays a key role in Japan's rich food culture. Through its doors pass vast quantities of fish and seafood, some of which are bought by Tokyo's most renowned restaurants. But the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many of those establishments to close, and left wholesalers struggling. We follow the efforts of one 4th-generation tuna merchant to keep his business afloat, while meeting the needs of his employees and their families.
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Episode 21 : Shared House, Shared Lives
October. 03,2021
People with severe mental and physical challenges often live in isolation from the world around them, at home or in medical facilities. A unique living arrangement in Fukuoka City is trying to change that. The 4 residents live in a shared house called Hatake no Ie or "House of Fields." Caregivers and others come to help them, and are captivated by their smiles. This is a story of a small house where a variety of people interact and cultivate important insights and relationships.
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Episode 19 : The Unorthodox Karuta Champion / Ruludaisy: Drag Queen Farmer
September. 05,2021
This program brings you the stories of 2 dedicated individuals and their everyday struggles and triumphs. Kumehara Keitaro, champion of the Japanese card game Karuta, has a highly unusual style that's taken him to the very top. But he falls into a slump right before a key championship match. Will he succeed and keep his title? Organic farmer Ishigooka Daisuke is an agriculturalist by day and a drag queen by night. We take a look at the way he balances these roles, switching with ease between high heels and rubber boots.
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Episode 17 : Building Robots, Fostering Happiness
August. 15,2021
A group of engineering college students in Japan had a challenging assignment: to build a robot that makes people happy for a prestigious national competition. The COVID-19 pandemic threw many obstacles in their way, including tight schedules and limits on group work. Under these difficult conditions, they began to grow apart. How will they tackle the theme and work as one? What does happiness mean to each of them? This program takes a behind-the-scenes look at a robot contest unlike any other.
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Episode 15 : Rediscovering Ainu Heritage: Part 2
July. 10,2021
Since long ago, the indigenous Ainu people had lived in harmony with nature, following their own unique culture. But when Japanese settlers began to arrive in their ancestral homeland - now known as Hokkaido - the Ainu had to adapt to the Japanese way of life and began losing their unique culture. Now, a new generation of Ainu brings to light their difficult history and reclaims their language and customs.
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Episode 14 : Rediscovering Ainu Heritage: Part 1
July. 03,2021
Since long ago, the indigenous Ainu people had lived in harmony with nature, following their own unique culture. But when Japanese settlers began to arrive in their ancestral homeland - now known as Hokkaido - the Ainu had to adapt to the Japanese way of life and began losing their unique culture. Now, a new generation of Ainu brings to light their difficult history and reclaims their language and customs.
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Episode 11 : A Legendary Chef's Last Lessons
May. 23,2021
For 25 years, Murabayashi Shingo has been a legend in the kitchen of a high school cooking class. An outstanding teacher and harsh taskmaster, he's helped generations of young cooks gain the skills they need to thrive in the high-pressure kitchens of the finest restaurants. As he nears retirement, his students get one more chance to learn from him, creating perfect Osechi, the traditional New Year's feast. With blood, sweat and a few tears, his last class learns what it takes to succeed.
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Episode 10 : Why Did She Pose in a Bikini?: Challenges of an "Ostomate" Doctor
May. 16,2021
Ostomates are people who, owing to illness or disability, need a bag attached to their abdomen to collect bodily waste. Currently, there are around 210,000 ostomates in Japan, but not many people know about them. Emma Otsuji Pickles is determined to change that. She has posed for photos in a swimsuit and has negotiated an agreement with a pouch maker to be their ostomate model. This program follows her efforts to give ostomates encouragement and create a better environment for them by becoming an open "cool" figure herself.
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Episode 9 : A Place for Every Child
May. 02,2021
Galapagos is a welfare facility in Saga Prefecture that provides after-school services for special-needs children. It even accepts children with problematic behaviors who have been refused by other facilities. The founder Koyanagi Yukari is determined that no child will ever be turned away. The program spends a month looking at the challenges and joys faced by the children and their parents.
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Episode 5 : Rescuing Pre-Disaster Memories
March. 06,2021
When people leave a town behind, what happens to its memories? The coast of Okuma Town is home to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, which melted down after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Residents were forced to evacuate but not all of them have been able to return. As long abandoned structures are demolished, a dedicated team is working to salvage and preserve the everyday objects that capture the community's long, rich history.
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Episode 4 : Analog Buddies in a Digital Age
February. 13,2021
Nagano Haruki and Okuda Sho, 17-year-old high-school boys in central Japan, have been writing to each other about once every 2 weeks since 2017. It started when Haruki developed a hard-to-cure eye condition and transferred to a school for visually impaired students. Separated from his best friend, Sho wrote a letter to Haruki so they could stay connected. Now, they both have smartphones, and send text messages to their other friends, but the 2 boys communicate exclusively by letter. We wanted to know why.
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