# The Emperor's Cook

The Emperor's Cook (Japanese: 天皇の料理番, Hepburn: Tennō no Ryōriban) is a 2015 Japanese television drama based on the novel Tennō no Ryōriban by Hisahide Sugimori, depicting the life of imperial cook Tokuzō Akiyama. It premiered on TBS on 26 April 2015, starring Takeru Satoh in the lead role. The 1st episode is 108 minutes, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th episodes are 64 minutes long. The series was well received by the public, earning the highest viewership rating in its time slot during its run time.

## Plot

Tokuzō Akiyama is a good-for-nothing young man living in the countryside, who gets easily absorbed in activities he finds interesting, but quickly loses interest and moves on, creating trouble for his family. He is married off to a merchant household to teach him discipline, and his wife gradually grows to love his personality. Tokuzō, however, falls in love again: this time with cooking. As he delivers goods to the army kitchen, the army chef introduces him to cutlet, which prompts Tokuzō to learn the craft. On a whim, he decides to leave his wife to study cooking in Tokyo. Amid hardship and humiliation, the young man who never felt compelled to stick to a job, keeps his dream to become the emperor's cook at only 25 years of age.

## Cast

* Takeru Satoh - Tokuzō Akiyama
* Haru Kuroki - Toshiko Takahama
* Kenta Kiritani - Shintarō Matsui
* Tasuku Emoto - Tatsukichi Yamagami
* Saki Takaoka - Ume Morita
* Gajirō Satō - Sennosuke Morita
* Sei Ashina - Kayano
* Ryū Morioka - Kurasaburō Akiyama
* Anna Ishibashi - Mitsuko Takahama
* Yoshiyuki Tsubokura - Okumura
* Jinta Nishizawa - Masashi Sasaki
* Daisuke Kuroda - Araki
* Takeshi Ōnishi - Sekiguchi
* Mamoru Watanabe - Sugiyama
* Hirotaka Ōkuma - Fujita
* Yūji Kido - Suzuki
* Ryōhei Suzuki - Shūtarō Akiyama
* Tetsuya Takeda - Professor Shōgo Kirizuka
* Hideaki Itō - Sergeant Yūkichi Tanabe (Cook of the 36th Infantry Regiment)
* Yumi Asō - Okichi (Shūtarō's lodging house landlady)
* Masaya Kato - Takeshirō Iogi (Chef to the British Minister to Japan)
* Yōjin Hino - Kinnosuke Takahama
* Satoko Ōshima - Harue Takahama
* Jun Miho - Fuki Akiyama
* Tetta Sugimoto - Shūzō Akiyama
* Kaoru Kobayashi - Kamaichi Usami (Chef of the Peer's Club)
* Hiromi Go - Japanese Ambassador to France Shin'ichirō Awano
* Noémie Nakai - Simone
* Kazuyuki Asano - Viscount Hayato Fukuba (Director of the Imperial Cuisine Division, Ministry of the Imperial Household)
* Kazue Itoh - Takigawa (Lady-in-waiting of Empress Teimei)
* Emi Wakui - Empress Teimei
* Zen Kajihara - Emperor Showa
* Sapphira Van Doorn - Françoise

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Original air date | Ratings (%) |
| 1 | "〜時代を超える人間の愛と命の感動物語〜 どうしようもない男が百年前に見た料理への果てなき夢…" | Yuichiro Hirakawa | April 26, 2015 (2015-04-26) | 15.9% |
| 2 | "料理はまごころ" | Yuichiro Hirakawa | May 3, 2015 (2015-05-03) | 11.4% |
| 3 | "あいしてるの決断" | Shingo Okamoto | May 10, 2015 (2015-05-10) | 12.0% |
| 4 | "愛し君よサラバ" | Yuichiro Hirakawa | May 17, 2015 (2015-05-17) | 12.7% |
| 5 | "おさな夫婦の結末" | Yuichiro Hirakawa | May 24, 2015 (2015-05-24) | 14.5% |
| 6 | "愛と命の果てパリ" | Yuichiro Hirakawa | May 31, 2015 (2015-05-31) | 14.1% |
| 7 | "パリと差別と結婚" | Yūji Nakamae | June 7, 2015 (2015-06-07) | 14.9% |
| 8 | "パリでの卒業式" | Yūji Nakamae | June 14, 2015 (2015-06-14) | 15.3% |
| 9 | "皇居編〜ザリガニと御即位の御大礼" | Yuichiro Hirakawa | June 21, 2015 (2015-06-21) | 16.7% |
| 10 | "皇居編〜関東大震災と家族の決意" | Daisuke Yamamuro | June 28, 2015 (2015-06-28) | 16.1% |
| 11 | "皇居編〜最愛の人と最後の晩餐" | Yuichiro Hirakawa | July 5, 2015 (2015-07-05) | 16.8% |
| 12 | "完結〜料理番の人生敗戦の料理番がGHQに起こした愛の奇跡" | Yuichiro Hirakawa | July 12, 2015 (2015-07-12) | 17.7% |

## Production

The drama was filmed in various locations in Japan (including Fukushima, Ibaraki, Kobe, Okayama) and in France. Takeru Satoh took cooking classes to portray the character and did the cooking scenes without a stand-in.

## Accolades

Awards :
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Nominees | Result |
| 85th Television Drama Academy Awards | August 12, 2015 | Best Drama | The Emperor's Cook | Won |
| 85th Television Drama Academy Awards | August 12, 2015 | Best Actor | Takeru Satoh | Won |
| 85th Television Drama Academy Awards | August 12, 2015 | Best Supporting Actress | Haru Kuroki | Won |
| 85th Television Drama Academy Awards | August 12, 2015 | Best Supporting Actor | Ryohei Suzuki | Won |
| 85th Television Drama Academy Awards | August 12, 2015 | Best Script | Yoshiko Morishita | Won |
| 85th Television Drama Academy Awards | August 12, 2015 | Best Directing | Yuichiro Hirakawa, Shingo Okamoto, Yuji Nakamae, Daisuke Yamamuro | Won |
| 8th International Drama Festival in Tokyo | October 21, 2015 | The Grand Prix | The Emperor's Cook | Won |
| 8th International Drama Festival in Tokyo | October 21, 2015 | Best Actor | Takeru Satoh | Won |
| 8th International Drama Festival in Tokyo | October 21, 2015 | Best Actress | Haru Kuroki | Won |
| 8th International Drama Festival in Tokyo | October 21, 2015 | Best Supporting Actor | Ryohei Suzuki | Won |
| 24th Hashida Awards | May 10, 2016 | Best Actor | Takeru Satoh | Won |
| 24th Hashida Awards | May 10, 2016 | Best Supporting Actor | Ryohei Suzuki | Won |
| 24th Hashida Awards | May 10, 2016 | Best Drama | The Emperor's Cook | Won |