This drama, which gained popularity across Japan, was written by Hashida Sugako. It is a long-running drama of about 30 years if you include all ten series and the specials.
Centring on the events happening around the married couple Okakura Daikichi (Fujioka Tatsuya, Utsui Ken) and Setsuko (Yamaoka Hisano) and their five daughters Yayoi (Nagayama Aiko), Satsuki (Izumi Pinko), Fumiko (Nakada Yoshiko), Yoko (Nomura Mami), and Nagako (Fujita Tomoko) as well as their respective in-laws and other people nearby, it continued to skilfully depict the various issues of the family and the joys and sorrows of the characters. Especially, the conflict between daughter-in-law Satsuki and mother-in-law Kimi, at the Chinese restaurant Koraku, is frequently and realistically depicted as a portrayal of the conflicts between parental home and in-laws and differences in values, garnering much sympathy from viewers such as housewives.
Despite being from the height of the modern drama period (トレンディドラマ; dramas that are about the lives of young urban people), this domestic drama gained support and was beloved for many years because the family issues depicted were universal whilst the drama’s message highlighted the importance of family bonds. It closely followed the changing times and not only incorporated changes in how families are but also sensitively responded to contemporary trends and social conditions, such as when Satsuki created the YouTube channel, Satsu Kitchen (さつキッチン), in the special episode aired on 26 September 2019, which became the final episode with Hashida’s passing.
Viewers were drawn in by the various joys peculiar to a long-running drama, such as the unchanging, steady narration by Ishizaka Koji over 30 years and the contrasting growth of Enari Kazuki that happened alongside the drama.
