{"rewrite":{"id":"r_8366a53126d757099802255d","clusterId":"c_d7f4fa878f840a8a5949205f","slug":"rena-matsui-stars-in-nhk-night-drama-blue-flower-forest-of-vessels","model":"deepseek-v4-flash","headline":"Rena Matsui Stars in NHK Night Drama Blue Flower, Forest of Vessels","summary":"NHK announced production of the night drama \"Blue Flower, Forest of Vessels,\" a live-action adaptation of Yuki Kodama's manga, starring Rena Matsui. The 32-episode series, each 15 minutes long, will air on NHK General from Monday to Thursday at 22:45 starting in fall 2026. Matsui plays Aoko Baba, a pottery painter in Hasami-cho, Nagasaki Prefecture, whose work is challenged by a Finnish ceramic artist named Tatsuki. The story follows their relationship as they create vessels together. Most filming takes place on location in Hasami-cho. Matsui took up pottery for the role, saying she felt the clay fit into her hand and imagined Aoko's excitement. Yoko Izumisawa writes the script, and Hiroe Fukagawa directs. Kodama, a Nagasaki native known for \"Kids on the Slope,\" said she is thrilled to see her work adapted faithfully. The drama will also stream on NHK ONE.","whyItMatters":"This marks the first live-action adaptation of a Yuki Kodama manga since \"Kids on the Slope\" in 2012, and NHK's night drama slot continues its recent trend of adapting literary and manga romances set in regional craft communities.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eMatsui, a former SKE48 and AKB48 member who also writes novels, took up pottery to prepare for the role. She said she felt the clay fit into her hand and imagined Aoko\u0026#39;s daily excitement. The drama is set in Hasami-cho, Nagasaki Prefecture, a town known for Hasami-yaki pottery. The story follows Aoko Baba, a pottery painter at a local kiln, and Tatsuki, a Finnish ceramic artist who arrives and declares his vessels do not need painting. The original manga ran in Monthly Flowers from 2018 to 2022.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eExecutive producers are Mamoru Inoue (LesPros Entertainment) and Satoshi Endo (NHK). Producers are Kyohei Morinaga and Nanami Honda, both of LesPros Entertainment. The series will stream on NHK ONE with simultaneous and catch-up viewing. Kodama, a Nagasaki native, said seeing her work adapted feels like having her wheel-thrown vessels painted and fired in a kiln. She added that she is thrilled to see actors\u0026#39; real performances bring Aoko, Tatsuki, and other characters to life.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Rena Matsui learned pottery for the role, but the drama's central tension is not her skill, it is the clash between Japanese Hasami-ware tradition and a Finnish artist's methods.","twitterPost":"Matsui learned pottery for the role, but the drama's conflict is between Japanese Hasami-ware tradition and a Finnish ceramicist.","threadsPost":"Rena Matsui learned pottery for her role in Blue Flower, Forest of Vessels, but the drama's real engine is the collision between Hasami-ware tradition and a Finnish ceramic artist's perspective. The location filming in Hasami-cho grounds that conflict in a real place.","newsletterBlurb":"Rena Matsui stars in NHK's night drama \"Blue Flower, Forest of Vessels,\" a live-action adaptation of Yuki Kodama's manga about a pottery painter and a Finnish ceramic artist. The 32-episode series begins airing in fall 2026, with most filming on location in Nagasaki Prefecture.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Eiga Natalie\",\"url\":\"https://natalie.mu/eiga/news/677347\",\"title\":\"NHK Night Drama \\\"Blue Flower, Forest of Vessels\\\" to Air This Fall, Starring Rena Matsui in Live-Action Adaptation of Yuki Kodama's Manga\"},{\"source\":\"Comic Natalie\",\"url\":\"https://natalie.mu/comic/news/677366\",\"title\":\"Yuki Kodama's \\\"Blue Flower, Vessel Forest\\\" to be dramatized on NHK's Night Drama this autumn, with Reina Matsui as Aoko\"},{\"source\":\"Cinema Today\",\"url\":\"https://www.cinematoday.jp/news/N0155453\",\"title\":\"Rena Matsui Stars in NHK Night Drama \\\"Blue Flower, Vessel Forest\\\" Production Begins, Playing a Porcelain Painter\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":10995,"outputTokens":1181,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1782185310,"createdAt":"2026-06-23T03:23:38.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-06-23T03:25:24.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-23T03:25:24.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_d7f4fa878f840a8a5949205f","canonicalTitle":"松井玲奈主演、NHK夜ドラ「青の花 器の森」制作開始　絵付け職人役に","representativeArticleId":"a_9fab780e0dbdb4f212a2be41","sourceCount":4,"writtenSourceCount":3,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":false,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[\"Aohana: Utsuwa no Mori\"],\"work_titles\":[\"Aohana: Utsuwa no Mori\"],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[\"Rena Matsui\",\"Yuki Kodama\"],\"type\":\"announcement\",\"domain\":\"other\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-06-23T03:00:00.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-06-23T04:14:52.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-23T05:24:46.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Anime News Network","url":"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-06-23/yuki-kodama-ao-no-hana-utsuwa-no-mori-manga-gets-live-action-series/.238825","title":"News\nYuki Kodama's Ao no Hana Utsuwa no Mori Manga Gets Live-Action Series"},{"source":"Eiga Natalie","url":"https://natalie.mu/eiga/news/677347","title":"NHK夜ドラ「青の花 器の森」今秋放送、松井玲奈主演で小玉ユキのマンガをドラマ化"},{"source":"Comic Natalie","url":"https://natalie.mu/comic/news/677366","title":"小玉ユキ「青の花 器の森」がNHKの夜ドラで今秋ドラマ化、青子役は松井玲奈"},{"source":"Cinema Today","url":"https://www.cinematoday.jp/news/N0155453","title":"松井玲奈主演、NHK夜ドラ「青の花 器の森」制作開始　絵付け職人役に"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":["Aohana: Utsuwa no Mori"],"work_titles":["Aohana: Utsuwa no Mori"],"studios":[],"people":["Rena Matsui","Yuki Kodama"],"type":"announcement","domain":"other","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["Rena Matsui stars as Aoko Baba, a pottery painter in Hasami-cho, Nagasaki Prefecture, in the NHK night drama 'Blue Flower, Forest of Vessels.'","The 32-episode series, each 15 minutes long, airs on NHK General from Monday to Thursday at 22:45 starting in fall 2026.","Matsui took up pottery to prepare for the role, saying she felt the clay fit into her hand and imagined Aoko's excitement.","The drama is a live-action adaptation of Yuki Kodama's manga, which ran in Monthly Flowers from 2018 to 2022.","Most filming takes place on location in Hasami-cho, and the series will also stream on NHK ONE."]}