To Heal the Heart

Based on the life of a pioneer researcher of PTSD in Japan, the series depicts his mission to stand by those deeply hurt by tragedy. An Kazutaka, an avid reader who loves to play jazz piano, grapples with his identity after learning that his parents were born in Korea. Entering medical school with his close friend Yuasa, he blossoms into a fine young man and meets Shuko, the love of his life. Guided by his teacher Professor Nagano, he decides to specialize in psychiatry despite the vehement opposition of his father, Tekkei. In January 1995, his world is shattered when the Great Hanshin Earthquake strikes Kobe.

Immediately after the earthquake, Kazutaka begins working in a clinic that looks like a field hospital. With a keen sense of inadequacy, he visits evacuation shelters and struggles to do what he can as a psychiatrist. He's asked by an old acquaintance who works as a newspaper reporter to write a serial column on what the aftermath of the disaster looks like from the inside. While Kazutaka grows closer to his suffering patients, his father Tekkei's business begins to falter.

Two months after the earthquake, Kobe is rapidly rebuilding. And yet, many victims are being left behind. Among his emotionally traumatized patients, Kazutaka encounters Kataoka Kokoa, who suffers from severe mental illness. After examination, it becomes clear that Kokoa has multiple personalities. Kazutaka does all he can to treat her even as he discovers that his father Tekkei's business has slid into bankruptcy.

Five years after the earthquake, Kobe is well on its way to recovery. Kazutaka accepts a post in a newly built hospital and zealously pursues ideal psychiatric treatments. But then, he's diagnosed with cancer. Should he quit working and focus on his own treatment, or continue to see patients? The odds of healing naturally are 1 in 500. With two children and a third on the way, Kazutaka searches for effective treatments and finally discovers what it truly means to "heal the heart."