NHK Documentaries

In late 2020, Takada Kenzo died from complications of Covid-19. Shy but exuberant, Paris's top designer was known for fun. We honour a legend, with Koshino Junko, Shimada Junko, and Jean Paul Gaultier.

In the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake, bodies yet to be identified were designated with serial numbers. Retired police officer Abe Shuichi took it upon himself to recover the names of these unknown victims. Following the disaster, affected families needed to search for relatives by examining photographs of corpses, taking a great emotional toll. Abe, an expert in police likenesses, volunteered to use his forensic skills to help ease the pain of grieving families.

Presenting a wide range of programmes from news, current affairs, documentaries.

Summer, 2020. Nomura Yuki, the 20-year-old scion of a family dedicated to the Japanese performance art of Kyogen, prepares to take a huge step forward in his professional development. After rigorous training under the watchful eyes of his father Mansai and grandfather Mansaku, he will debut the challenging solo piece "Nasu no Yoichi," in which he plays 4 different characters. Mansai must ensure the family's viability while seeking a way forward as a live performer in the era of COVID-19. With the weight of tradition on his shoulders, can Yuki live up to the Nomura name?

Located just 3 kilometers from the crippled nuclear plant, Futaba is the only evacuated town in Fukushima Prefecture whose residents have yet to return. Although other municipalities are recovering and welcoming back their residents, Futaba remains deserted. From the 60s to the 80s, the town flourished on so-called nuclear money, with its people enjoying steady jobs and government subsidies. This documentary depicts 10 years of Futaba residents' nuclear exile and the true cost of atomic energy.

Sano Toemon has spent much of his life trying to understand and preserve Japan's iconic cherry trees. Entrusted with restoring a cherry tree that's collapsed, he carefully observes its roots and listens to the particular sounds it makes to understand its condition and what it needs. Even at over 90 years old, he examines unique blossoms from new, crossbred varieties and keeps detailed records. This program listens to the words of a man who is filled with respect and love for all living things.

For decades before he was killed in 2019, Dr Nakamura Tetsu devoted his life to aiding the Afghan people. Young Japanese people who assisted his efforts reflect on how that experience changed their lives.

On March 11, 2021, a new form of prayer was born at Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto Prefecture. Dancer and actor Mirai Moriyama dedicated his performance to the Buddhist temple upon completion of its large-scale renovation, done every 200 years. The motif he chose was Kusozu, a 1,000-year-old illustration of the decaying process of a corpse. He conducted fieldwork at sacred sites around Kyoto, with the aim of reinterpreting what he felt there. What did Moriyama create? Director Kosai Sekine documented the process. (Performance organized by PERROTIN / Film produced by NION)

The documentary follows an 800-year-old family-run temple in Kyoto as it struggles to balance tradition with process in order to thrive in the 21st century.

Renowned architect Kengo Kuma is known for unique designs that reinterpret traditional Japanese aesthetics, and aim to re-balance the relationship between humanity and the environment.

In the series "2030" we tackle the critical choices facing humanity over the next decade. In this episode, we explore the revolutionary gene-editing tech now giving humankind the freedom to redraw the blueprint of biological life itself. We investigate not only the tremendous potential the technology holds, whether in the fight to eliminate diseases or in transforming agriculture to adapt to unprecedented climate extremes, but also probe the inherent risks involved and the potential for widespread abuse, dangers that could take our future down a very dark, dystopian path.

People in Namie loved their hometown sake, Iwaki Kotobuki. The brewery, however, was one of the places in Fukushima prefecture devastated by the earthquake, but the owner never lost hope of restoring production.

Sunflower blossoms turn to face the sun. Evoking these flowers in its name, a home for war orphans called Koyoryo was established in Nagasaki after the city was devastated by the atomic bomb. The orphanage director Mochida Chiyo kept extensive notes on her educational programs. Where the orphans were tainted by theft and violence, Chiyo bathed with them and poured herself into teaching them independence. In time, the children came to cherish her as their "Mother." Having matured, they left the home and took jobs, but what awaited them was bias and discrimination. Now, 60 years later, the former residents reunite. We examine the fates of these orphans from the wasteland of war.

Mount Omine in central Japan has long been considered the spiritual heartland of the ascetic tradition known as Shugendo. Japan-based American journalist David Caprara lives at the foot of the mountain. One day he comes across a rusty airplane engine in a local museum. It once powered a US heavy bomber B-29 Superfortress which was used in air bombings during World War II. Intrigued, Caprara begins a quest to track down the story behind the engine. With the help of experts in Japan and the US, he obtains key wartime documents that confirm the B-29 had crashed after a bombing raid on Osaka on June 1, 1945 and that 4 airmen survived only to become prisoners of war. He also meets elderly people who witnessed the events. Caprara eventually pieces together the fate of the American fliers and the stories of those whose lives crossed theirs on the revered mountain.

Enjoy a fun holiday concert as the NHK Symphony Orchestra and blossoming international conductor Keitaro Harada mix Olympics and Music, introducing kids to some of the greatest music ever written.