It’s not long until award-winning director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Netflix original series is released on the streaming platform on January 12 2023 and we couldn’t be more thrilled. Titled 'The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House’, the upcoming show is a nine-part series adapted from a popular manga called ‘Kiyo in Kyoto: From the Maiko House’ by Aiko Koyama. The name might ring a bell if you’ve been following the animated mini-series available for free on NHK.
Set in the geiko (a more common term for geisha in the ancient capital of Japan) district of modern-day Kyoto, the story follows a teenager called Kiyo who moves into a maiko (apprentice geisha) house to work as a makanai (live-in cook). As a slice-of-life manga that revolves around food, the series is a cheerful and upbeat story with surprisingly insightful tidbits about life in a maiko house as well as some mouthwatering visuals of Kiyo’s homemade cooking.
Nana Mori plays the part of Kiyo, while Natsuki Deguchi takes the role of Sumire – Kiyo’s childhood friend who happens to be a maiko at the same house Kiyo is in. Meanwhile, ‘Shoplifters’ star Mayu Matsuoka will appear as Yoshino – a character who Kore-eda says he created specifically for the actress to play.
In his own words, Kore-eda – who won the Palme D’Or in 2018 for his film ‘Shoplifters’ – said that the project is unlike anything he’s ever done before. Still, the director has included some memorable scenes featuring delicious-looking meals in films like ‘Shoplifters’ that left audiences salivating, so it makes sense that he was asked to spearhead this upcoming series.
'The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House' will be released on Netflix on January 12 2023.
This article was published on January 19 2022 and updated on November 21 2022.
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