December 2013

Research on TV Producers: Running through the “Vernal Days” of Television
[ Part II ] Naoya Yoshida (NHK)

A Treasure Box Found by the Eternal TV Kid

Haruki Kito

Even though Naoki Yoshida produced various successful TV documentaries and dramas and was known as a maestro already in the pioneer days of television, the TV producer did not lose the luster in his eyes into the 1970s; he kept pursuing possibility of television as a top runner. With the expressions used in his works having already transcended program genres, Yoshida took on the challenge of an even bigger project that would keep evolving across time and space—a documentary series Mirai e no isan (Legacy for the Future). The series vividly depicted the rise and fall of civilizations, setting in “ruins” in a Latin American jangle, a Middle Eastern desert, and the like. This project was launched to commemorate the 50th anniversary of broadcasting in Japan, and the series involved 30 teams of research crews, who were dispatched all over the world, and televised 20 episodes in total. As a result, the title brought NHK a side income equivalent of the total direct production cost.

This program is said to have paved the way for a documentary series NHK Tokushu (predecessor of NHK Special) that started in 1976. As the series became “more spectacular,” what did Yoshida pursued and think with his creativity? And what is the origin of his creation?

Haruki Kito, former NHK News Department producer, who worked with Yoshida in an NHK Tokushu (Special) series Nijuisseiki wa keikoku suru (Warning for the 21st Century), explores the secret of Yoshida’s creation, by reviewing his programs and more than ten books he wrote and carefully picking out words of Isao Tomita and Toru Takemitsu, musicians, and Ryotaro Shiba, writer, who were Yoshida’s “sworn allies” involved in his program production for many years.

The NHK Monthly Report on Broadcast Research