Actress Satomi Ishihara is starring as an infallible woman in "Takane no Hana" (Out of reach), being aired by the Nippon TV network at 10 p.m. on Wednesday.
Momo Tsukishima, Ishihara's character in the drama, was born to a prominent family in the art of ikebana flower arrangement. However, her confidence has been shattered because her marriage was broken off on her wedding day. Then, she meets bicycle shop manager Naoto Kazama (played by Kazunobu Mineta) at the shop where she happens to get her broken bicycle repaired.
Momo is beautiful and intelligent, and comes from a good family. Of course, she is skilled at ikebana. In short, she is a perfect woman.
There is no doubt that Ishihara is the best actress to play the heroine, but, she said, "It's very difficult for me to perform a woman who has had such ability since she was born" because "I am an ordinary person."
Ishihara, born on Dec. 24, 1986, is from Tokyo. She has appeared in many TV dramas, such as "Pretty Proofreader" (Nippon TV network) and "Unnatural" (TBS network), and in movies such as "Shin Godzilla."
Ishihara had a personal crisis seven or eight years ago as she was concerned too much about her reputation with other people. She always attributed bad things to others, but her senior's advice saved her: "What is important is what you want to be, not how you want to be looked at." Since then, she started to think about what she wants to be and stopped relying on other people.
"I want to be a brilliant person. I'll turn my efforts in that direction," she resolutely thought at the time.
"Takane no Hana" depicts a mismatch romance between a beautiful woman and an ordinary man. The more Ishihara read the scripts by playwright Shinji Nojima, who has been involved in many hit TV dramas, the better she came to understand the emotions to put into the lines.
Nojima's scenarios "express various emotions in detail," she said. Reading his script, she got an image of Momo, "a woman who intentionally forced herself to have a lonely feeling that no one understands."
Ishihara has been eager to play in a drama written by Nojima, who is good at expressing human emotions. She thinks her eagerness pulled her into this role.
"I'll keep doing what I want to do." Surely she will shine ever brighter as an actress.
Learn more about Ishihara
Q: What is your favorite flower?
A: I like the lotus because it brings forth beautiful flowers from the mud.
Q: Do you feel it is hard to perform in kimono?
A: I have experienced performing in kimono many times and I can put on kimono by myself. So I have leeway to play the role in kimono.
Q: What do you do to keep your mind fresh?
A: I meet my friends, if only for 30 minutes. I listen to them talk about raising their children and cook with them, while not talking about my work. That way I can feel refreshed.
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