“The Ghostwriter’s Wife” Begins at Last
2025/8/6
(Note: The following article was written at the end of July.)
NHK's morning drama series based on Irishman Lafcadio Hearn (known as Koizumi Yakumo in Japan) and his wife Setsu, will finally begin on 29 September. We hope that the series will make Hearn’s achievements better known in Japan, and that the drama will also be broadcast in Ireland to further increase interest in Japan.
There have been several Hearn-related events recently. The 10th anniversary of the beautiful Lafcadio Hearn Gardens in Co. Waterford was celebrated. You can follow in his footsteps as you tour the various gardens. (There is also a tea room, which had not been given a name. After consulting with Bon Koizumi, mentioned below, it was decided to name it ‘Yakumo-tei’.)
The first trailer for “The Ghostwriter’s Wife” was released when Taoiseach Micheál Martin visited the Irish Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. Irish viewers who were at the screening of the trailer were fascinated. Tommy Bastow, who will be playing Lafcadio Hearn, (and whose grandfather is Irish) joined in the fun.
Separately, Chief Producer Mr Kuniomi Hashizume took us on a tour of NHK Osaka, where the drama was filmed. Compared to when I met Tommy in Ireland in February this year, his Japanese had become more fluent, and once the cameras were rolling, he had the air and power of a man from the Meiji era. The studio site is modelled on Hearn's actual home in Matsue, and I visited Matsue a few days after my stopover at NHK Osaka. Bon Koizumi, great-grandson of Hearn and director of the Koizumi Yakumo Memorial Museum, together with his wife showed us the memorial museum and Hearn's former residence. The set in the drama was, indeed, very similar. Although the drama has not yet been broadcast in Matsue, many tourists have already visited the drama locations.
The mayor of Matsue, Mr Akihito Uesada, to whom I paid a courtesy visit, spoke enthusiastically of his wish to take this opportunity to further deepen the relationship between Matsue and Ireland. We, too, would like to cooperate as much as possible. We hope that the drama will gain popularity and become a powerful tailwind for the promotion of relations between Japan and Ireland.
NHK's morning drama series based on Irishman Lafcadio Hearn (known as Koizumi Yakumo in Japan) and his wife Setsu, will finally begin on 29 September. We hope that the series will make Hearn’s achievements better known in Japan, and that the drama will also be broadcast in Ireland to further increase interest in Japan.
There have been several Hearn-related events recently. The 10th anniversary of the beautiful Lafcadio Hearn Gardens in Co. Waterford was celebrated. You can follow in his footsteps as you tour the various gardens. (There is also a tea room, which had not been given a name. After consulting with Bon Koizumi, mentioned below, it was decided to name it ‘Yakumo-tei’.)
The first trailer for “The Ghostwriter’s Wife” was released when Taoiseach Micheál Martin visited the Irish Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. Irish viewers who were at the screening of the trailer were fascinated. Tommy Bastow, who will be playing Lafcadio Hearn, (and whose grandfather is Irish) joined in the fun.
Separately, Chief Producer Mr Kuniomi Hashizume took us on a tour of NHK Osaka, where the drama was filmed. Compared to when I met Tommy in Ireland in February this year, his Japanese had become more fluent, and once the cameras were rolling, he had the air and power of a man from the Meiji era. The studio site is modelled on Hearn's actual home in Matsue, and I visited Matsue a few days after my stopover at NHK Osaka. Bon Koizumi, great-grandson of Hearn and director of the Koizumi Yakumo Memorial Museum, together with his wife showed us the memorial museum and Hearn's former residence. The set in the drama was, indeed, very similar. Although the drama has not yet been broadcast in Matsue, many tourists have already visited the drama locations.
The mayor of Matsue, Mr Akihito Uesada, to whom I paid a courtesy visit, spoke enthusiastically of his wish to take this opportunity to further deepen the relationship between Matsue and Ireland. We, too, would like to cooperate as much as possible. We hope that the drama will gain popularity and become a powerful tailwind for the promotion of relations between Japan and Ireland.
