Drama: Emperor's Cook (literal title) Romaji: Tenno no Ryoriban Japanese: 天皇の料理番 Director: Yuichiro Hirakawa, Shingo Okamoto Writer: Hisahide Sugimori (novel), Yoshiko Morishita Network: TBS Episodes: Release Date: April 26, 2015 -- Runtime: Sundays 21:00 Language: Japanese Country: Japan **Plot** Tokuzo Akiyama (Takeru Satoh) is a young man living in a rural area. One day, he eats cutlet. That experience leads him to become a cook for western style food. He first goes to Tokyo and then Paris, France to learn about the culinary arts. Fighting against discrimination and prejudice, he becomes a chef at the Hotel Ritz in Paris, France. At the age of 26, he becomes the chef for the Emperor of Japan. **Notes** Based on the non-fiction novel "Tenno no Ryoriban" by Hisahide Sugimori (published December, 1979 by Yomiuri Shinbunsha). The main character is based on real person Tokuzo Akiyama (1888-1974). To prepare for his role as chef, Takeru Satoh began taking cooking lessons from August, 2014 at a culinary school. He also had his hair cut for the film. Filming begins mid-December, 2014. Filming will also take place in Paris, France. **Cast** Takeru Satoh as Tokuzo Akiyama Haru Kuroki as Toshiko Takahama Kenta Kiritani as Shintaro Matsui Tasuku Emoto as Tatsuyoshi Yamagami Sei Ashina as Kayano Ryu Morioka as Kurasaburo Akiyama Kazuta Sato as Koshiro Akiyama Ryohei Suzuki as Shutaro Akiyama Tetsuya Takeda as Shogo Kirizuka Hideaki Ito as Yukichi Tanabe Yumi Asou as Okichi Masaya Kato as Takeshiro Ioki Yojin Hino as Kinnosuke Takahama Satoko Oshima as Harugo Takahama Jun Miho as Fuki Akiyama Tetta Sugimoto as Shuzo Akiyama Kaoru Kobayashi as Usami **Additional Cast Members:** Saki Takaoka - Ume Morita Gajiro Satoh - Sennosuke Morita Anna Ishibashi - Koshi Takahama Yoshiyuki Tsubokura - Okumura Jinta Nishizawa - Masashi Sasaki Daisuke Kuroda - Araki Takeshi Onishi - Sekiguchi Mamoru Watanabe - Sugiyama Hirotaka Ookuma - Fujita Yuji Kido - Suzuki