Saito Rie’s best-seller “Hitsudan Hostess” (Hostess who communicates in writing) about a how she became the No.1 hostess in whole Ginza despite her handicap of not being able to hear anything will be turned into a dorama by TBS. It will start airing in January and feature actress Kitagawa Keiko in the starring role. This might be Kitagawa’s most difficult so far, after all she has to play a character with hardly any spoken lines. However, she is said to have obtained amazing calligraphy skills in her childhood and now she finally has the chance to put them to use by portraying Saito’s interesting life so far.
The book only got released in May this year, but it already sold over 115,000 copies. Her life became a big topic in the publishing world and even already spawned a manga as well as another book related to her story. Born in Aomori, Saito lost her ability to hear at the age of 1. Her parents have been very strict and during junior high school she eventually became a juvenile delinquent and ran away from home several times. She started working in a local club and many customers were charmed by her unique way of communicating. Later she moved to a bigger club in Ginza, Tokyo and become one of the most popular hostesses in that area.
Kitagawa read the book as well and was very touched. “I’ll study everything about how you have to live as a deaf person, from your way of communicating, your facial expressions to all other kinds of habits. I’ll put my everything into this role.” During her childhood she made calligraphy and writing in general to one of her specialties. “I’m very familiar with expressing yourself through letters and the way you write them.” About being able to play as Saito very soon, she commented, “We are living in a world with really plenty of people, but there will always be someone who feels lonely. That’s the time we live in these days, so I’d like everyone who ever experienced such loneliness to watch this dorama.”
Tanaka Yoshiko will play the role of Saito’s mother.
88news.net
