Tomehane!

とめはねっ！ 鈴里高校書道部

Shodō-Club of Suzuri Highschool

Tomehane !

is a TV drama of 6 episodes that was broadcast by NHK in 2010. It is based on a manga (2006-2008) by Katsuoshi Kawai. In the manga, the main character is the male student Yukuri Ōe, who grew up in Canada, in the TV drama it is the female judoka Yuki Mochizuki.
It is about the Shodō Club at Suzuri High School. The drama deals with the art of calligraphy, Japanese history, the interests and problems of young people, differences in the generations and much more.
If you are interested in Shodō, you can learn a lot here and also observe the social interactions in Japanese society.
Tomehane! means "stop swing away". That is, the brush stops at the end of a line (tome) and swings away (hane), as in the Ki-Kanji 氣 bottom right. The title song BREAK OUT! (2010) is by TVXQ, a South Korean boy group.

Movie Data

International Title: Tomehane! Shodō Club of Suzuri High
Original title: とめはねっ！ 鈴里高校書道部 Tomehane ! Suzuri Kōkō Shodō Bu
Published: 2010
Length: 6 episodes à 43 minutes

Staff
Director: Masahiro Mori
Script: Shizuka Ouki; Katsutoshi Kawai (Manga)
Music: Shirō Sagisu

Cast
Aki Asakura: Yuki Mochizuki (Judoka)
Sosuke Ikematsu: Yukari Ōe (returnee from Canada)
Saki Akai: Kyoko Kamo (Suzuri Club)
Kaya Asano: Shiori Miwa (Suzuri Club)
Akiko: Hiromi Hino (Präsidentin Suzuri Club)
Natsuko: Yoshimi Hino (President Kugenuma Club)
Tomoya Nakamura: Ryo Teshigahara (Kugenuma Club)
Norito Yashima: Kageyama (Teacher Suzuri Club)
Riona Hazuki: Yuki Mochizuki's mother
Dankan: Gishi Ōe (Yukari Ōe's father)
Yoko Yamamoto: Eiko Ōe (Yukari Ōe's Grandma)
Hideki Takahashi: Seifu Miura (Shodō Master)

Tomehane 01

The Shodō club of the Suzuri high school has too few members and is threatened with dissolution. Fortunately, for different reasons, two first-graders at the 3-year high school join as new members: Yukari Ōe, who grew up in Canada, and the resolute and ambitious judoka Yuki Mochizuki.
In a competition against the Shodō club of the Kugenuma school, Yuki Mochizuki shows her ignorance. Can Yukuri Ōe save the situation? And what does the Shodō master Seifu Miura think about it?

Tomehane 02

The Shodō club of the Suzuri high school wants to hold a Shodō performance. Therefore, Yuki Mochizuki and Yukari Ōe receive intensive instruction from Kageyama, the club's supervisor.
1. TENSHO seal script - 2. REISHO chancellery script - 3. KAISHO regular script - 4. GYŌSHO cursive script - 5. SŌSHO grass script
The performance with the songs "jinsei raku ari" and "Southpaw" is a success. But it angers the Shodō master Seifu Miura.

Tomehane 03

The 5 members of Suzuri High School's Shodō Club are on a week-long seminar (gasshuku) in a temple complex together with 16 others from the competing Kugenuma School. Master Seifu Miura is very strict and uses his traditional teaching methods.
At the end there is a final exam. The placings decide whether the Suzuri High School can apply for the Shodō Koshien exhibition, the annual top event in Shodō in Japan.

Tomehane 04

Yuki Mochizuki is preparing intensively for the Higschool Judo Championships "Inter High" (インタ ハイ) and is also supposed to take part in the Japan National Championships. However, she does not want to give up the Shodō club. There is also a new "Performance" division in the Shodō Koshien, in which the Suzuri high school should take part on the recommendation of Miura Sensei. Everything becomes a little complicated, including the relationships between the members of the club.

Tomehane 05

The Shodō Club is preparing for a performance at the Shodō Koshien. To do this, they first watch the performance of another group as an example.
Miura Sensei harshly critizises their project which causes Kamo and Miwa to "throw in the brush". Despite intensive efforts, Ōe's father cannot find work. The origin of the ominous love letter that Yuki Mochizuki suspected Teshigawara had written is revealed. And a surprising and well-founded template for the performance at the Shodō Koshien emerges.

Tomehane 06

The Shodō Club is preparing for the performance at the Shodō Koshien with intensive training. Yuki Mochizuki is having trouble finding the right attitude for her task. In the background, her mother plans to move back to her parents' house in Shikoku. The performance will be a big challenge. The song they have chosen is "Kibō no wadachi" (希望の轍, Wheel Tracks of Hope) by the group Southern All Stars (サザンオールスターズ), which has a connection to Ōe's father and Mochizuki's mother.
Through the preparations and the performance the cohesion of the Shodō Club has become stronger and stronger. Therefore, in the end, it no longer matters whether Yuki Mochizuki follows her mother to Shikoku or not.

Title song BREAK OUT!

The title song was produced for the film. The Korean boy group TVXQ (Chinese Tong Vfang Xien Qi 東方神起, Japanese Tōhōshinki 東方神起, Korean Dong Bang Shin Ki – DBSK 동방신기 "The Rising Gods of the East") was a five-member boy band from South Korea. They are considered the founders of the second K-pop generation. In 2008 they received an entry in the Guinness Book of Records for the largest fan club, called Cassiopeia, with 800,000 official members in Korea alone. They have numerous number 1 hits in Japan. With Break Out! they broke all previous sales records of foreign artists in Japan. Since August 2010 the group consists of only 2 members, who continue to be very successful in Japan.

Text
I keep praying don't forget it - Baby we keep the faith eternally.
見つめてる 夢は今 - 夜明け前の 遠い空 - 確かめるように 照らし出すよ - 歩く道程(みちのり)と その先を。
陽は昇り繰り返し 終わりのない涙はない - いつかはそう思えるから 生きるよ。
BREAK OUT! BREAK OUT! 明日へのドア 開くカギはきっと君の手の中。
BREAK OUT! BREAK OUT! つかみとれ未来 運命なんてきっと Make yourself 君次第。

I keep praying don’t forget - Baby we keep the faith eternally.
The dream that I’m looking now - is like a distant sky before dawn - Lighting up the road - I walk on it to ascertain the journey ahead.
The sun will never stop ascending as there will be no endless tears - Because we are able to think that way someday, we are able to live on.
BREAK OUT ! BREAK OUT! The key to open the door to tomorrow is surely in your hand.
BREAK OUT ! BREAK OUT! There’s no such things as fate - The one who decides on your future -Make yourself- is you.

人生に涙あり

The song "jinsei raku ari" in episode 2 is the theme song of the TV series Mito Kōmon (水戸黄門). This ran from 1969 to 2011 and comprised 1227 episodes. The title character is the historical Tokugawa Mitsukuni, retired second daimyō of the Mito Domain. In the guise of Mitsuemon, he roams Japan with two samurai followers. An episode usually begins with an injustice committed by a corrupt official, a wealthy merchant, or a gangster. The travelers arrive incognito, discover the injustice, and investigate it quietly. The episode ends with a brawl in which the unarmed, disguised protagonists defeat a horde of samurai and gangsters. Afterward, the hero passes judgment on the villains, sets things right with comments and encouragements, and then continues his journey.

Jinsei

人生楽ありゃ苦もあるさ - 涙のあとには虹も出る - 歩いてゆくんだしっかりと - 自分の道をふみしめて。
Jinsei rakuarya kumo arusa - namida no ato ni wa niji mo deru - aruite yukunda shikkari to - jibun no michi o fumishimete
人生勇気が必要だ - くじけりゃ誰かが先に行く - あとから来たのに追い越され - 泣くのがいやならさあ歩け。
Jinsei yūki ga hitsuyōda - kujikerya dareka ga saki ni iku - ato kara kita no ni oikosare - naku no ga iyanara sā aruke
人生涙と笑顔あり - そんなに悪くはないもんだ - なんにもしないで生きるより - 何かを求めて生きようよ。
Jinsei namida to egao ari - son'nani waruku wanai monda - nan'nimo shinaide ikiru yori - nanika o motomete ikiyou yo

Life has joys and sorrows. - After tears, the rainbow appears again. - I will always go on. - I am sure of my own path.
Life requires courage. - If you give up, someone will go on. - I have been overtaken by those who came later. - If you don't want to cry, just keep going.
Life offers tears and smiles. - It's not so bad. - Living is better than doing nothing. - Let's live in search of something.

Kubō no wadachi

The Shodō Club chose this song for their performance at the Shodō-Koshien.
It was released in 1990 by the Southern All Stars (サザンオールスターズ sazan ōru sutāzu). This is a pop/rock group from Yokohama. The band has been on stage for over 40 years and still inspires young people today.
The group's pieces cover a wide spectrum. Love songs, ballads, socially critical and humorous songs are part of their repertoire. The lead singer is Kuwata Keisuke (*1956), on keyboards is his wife Kuwata Yuko, née Hara (*1956).
Kuwata Keisuke wrote the lyrics and melody for Kubō no wadachi (希望の轍, "Wheel tracks of hope").
The song appeared in the film "Jane Inamura" (1990), was the theme song for "World Caravan" by Fuji TV (1994), is the departure melody at the JR East Chigasaki Station on the Tokaido Line (2014) and was most recently used as the soundtrack for a UNIQLO advertisement for parachute pants.

Kubō no wadachi

夢を乗せて走る車道 - 明日への旅 - 通り過ぎる街の色 - 思い出の日々 - 恋心 なぜに切なく胸の奥に迫る - 振り返る度に野薔薇のような Baby love.
遠く遠く離れゆくエボシライン - oh my love is you - 舞い上る蜃気楼 - 巡る巡る 忘られぬメロディライン - oh my, oh yeah - Gonna run for today oh, oh.
風の詩(うた)よ 黄昏よ - ためらいの道 - 波の音は今宵もブルー - 愛しい君の名を誰かが呼ぶ - ため息の中にほのかなあこがれが寄りそう - 愛されるために羽ばたくような Baby love.
熱く熱くこみあげる涙に - oh my love is you - たわむれの放射線 - 揺れる揺れる 面影は哀しく - oh my, oh yeah - Be the one for tonight oh, oh.
情熱の重さは夜の凪 - さまよう夏の日は陽炎。
遠く遠く離れゆくエボシライン - oh my love is you - 舞い上がる蜃気楼 - Di di di... - oh my, oh yeah - Let me run for today.