"Big River Drama" (taiga dorama) of NHK and the Collective Memory in Contemporary Japan

• Main Author: Kordzińska-Nawrocka, Iwona
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Polish
• Published: Polskie Towarzystwo Orientalistyczne 2016
• Subjects: litt; lang; Big River; taiga
• Online Access: https://bibliotekanauki.pl/articles/577922.pdf; https://bibliotekanauki.pl/articles/577922

The main topic of the article is the role of public television, the NHK (Nippon hōsō kyōkai, Japan Broadcasting Corporation), takes in shaping the collective memory in contemporary Japan. The NHK, as a public institution, modelled on the British BBC, conducts a so-called “public mission”, meaning their active and creative participation in shaping social and civil attitudes as well as personality models amongst the Japanese. One of the ways in which the NHK carries out its mission is taiga dorama (“Big River Drama”), the NHK’s flagship productions released yearly since 1963. The creators of these year-long TV series design great national epics recounting historic events and portraying famous historical figures. “Big River Dramas” do not only retell historical events, but also rekindle the interest of the Japanese in their own history and culture. As the carriers of collective memory, they contribute to developing its three elements: cognitive (propagating historical knowledge amongst the society), emotional (creating certain attitudes towards history) and behavioural (developing national tourism).