Daichi no Ko (1995)

Daichi no Ko 1995 / 大地の子 1995 / A Son Of The Good Earth

NHK's 70th anniversary production. Based on the book by Yamazaki Toyoko who interviewed 300 orphans before novelizing the story. In the chaos of the closing days of World War II, the four members of a Japanese family attempting to flee China become separated. The father eventually makes it back to Japan, but his wife perishes and his young son and daughter are lost. The boy escapes from his cruel first adoptive family and is taken in by a kind-hearted Chinese couple and given the name Lu Yixin. Though he thrives under their loving care, he is tortured by uncertainty over the fate of his family. To make matters worse, he is falsely denounced as a Japanese spy and sent to a labor camp at the height of China's Cultural Revolution. This engrossing drama, co-produced by NHK and CCTV (China Central Television), carries you through Lu Yixin's pains and triumphs as he struggles to reconcile two cultures.