Japan’s Hirokazu Kore-eda to Direct Family Drama Series ‘Asura’ for Netflix

Japanese art-house star Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters, Monster) is re-teaming with Netflix to write and direct Asura, a contemporary remake of a classic Japanese family drama series from the late 1970s. Starring popular actresses Rie Miyazawa, Machiko Ono, Yu Aoi and Suzu Hirose, the show has already finished production and will launch on Netflix on Jan. 9. 

Kore-eda and his team have approached the series as a tribute to the influential Japanese TV writer Kuniko Mukoda, who scripted the original Like Asura and several other landmarks in the early days of the J-drama genre.

“With great respect for Mukoda and her influence on his career, Kore-eda infuses Asura with his unique vision, highlighting the independence and complexity of women,” Netflix said in a statement.  

Notes Kore-eda: “What makes Kuniko Mukoda’s dramas so rich are the superficial poison exchanged in conversation and the love hidden behind those cruel words. The four actors playing the sisters understand this well, so the series was very enjoyable to shoot.”

Like the original, Kore-eda’s series is set in 1979 and follows four sisters — Tsunako, Makiko, Takiko, and Sakiko — whose lives are shaken by the discovery that their aging father is having an affair. Like the “asura,” demigods in Buddhist cosmology, these women embody a whirlwind of emotions, clashing fiercely yet sharing moments of profound connection. As they navigate their differing views on love and life, their journey is marked by both conflict and growth.

The series was developed and produced by Yasuo Yagi, who worked with Mukoda before her death in 1981. 

“Before the 40th year since her passing, I revisited her works and realized that Like Asura was central to her legacy,” Yagi says. “We focused on casting the best actors for the sisters, and with Kore-eda as director, I believe we’ve created a quintessential drama.”

Kore-eda, an Oscar nominee and Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner for his acclaimed drama Shoplifters, made his series debut with Netflix in 2023 with The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House, a gentle drama adapted from a popular manga about young girls adapting to life in a geisha house in Kyoto. That show was partly a showcase for young Japanese directorial talent, though, with Kore-eda overseeing the project but only directing the first episode. 

A sneak-peak of the Asura is below.