Maki Takahashi
At the age of 10, Shin Tamura’s happy family life was torn apart when his policeman father was sentenced to death and imprisoned for murder. Now, some 30 years later, Shin is determined to prove his father’s innocence by solving the mystery at the heart of the case. Finding himself transported back in time, Shin must uncover the shocking truth, change the past, and restore his family’s happiness.
Mizuno Asumi is a doctor at the University Hospital. Her only objective in life is to avenge the death of her father, a death caused by immoral and negligent doctors.
Hako was senteced to 7 years in prison on a robbery charge for the host she loved. Ayaka killed her husband to protect their son from domestic violence. These two women became acquainted in prison and forged strong bonds. After they are released from prison, they stay together and begin new lives in the old district of Yanaka in Tokyo while carrying pasts that no one must not know.
On Ishigaki Island, conflict brews over a large-scale bridge construction project. One day, Yajima (Sho Aoyagi), a public official from the Ministry of Environment, is sent to Ishigaki Island. Yajima announces to his colleagues that he is absolutely opposed to the bridge construction project and that he wil become a coral ranger who protects the coral reef there. This surprises his colleagues.
"Fuyu no Sakura" is described as a pure love story with similarities to the popular Korean drama "Winter Sonata" (titled "Fuyu no Sonata" in Japan). Kusanagi plays a gentle glass craftsman in Yamagata who has no experience in love. Imai plays an older housewife with a husband and daughter who goes on a trip alone to Yamagata, hoping to see sakura trees blooming in winter. She gets into an accident, but is saved by Kusanagi. He ends up tending to her, and the two are soon drawn to each other.
