Aya Ueto to star in drama based on blind musician (co-starring Keisuke Koide)
Actress Aya Ueto (24) will star in a Fuji TV drama special titled "Ai wa Mieru ~ Zenmou Fuufu ni Yadotta Chiisana Inochi," in which she will play a blind character for the first time. The story is based on singer-songwriter Satoko Tatemichi (28), who has been blind since birth.
The drama is adapted from the book "Ai wa Mieru ~ Zenmou Fuufu no Takaramono," which covers Tatemichi's life as she developed her musical gift despite her blindness. She made her major label debut last year with the song "Takaramono." While working on her music, Tatemichi also married a blind man in 2004, and she gave birth to a son in 2006.
In the drama, Ueto's character is named Juri Tatematsu. Like Tatemichi, the character gets married and gives birth to a child, despite opposition from people around her. While raising the child, she continues pushing towards her dream of becoming a professional musician. Her blind husband, a guitarist and masseur, is being played by Keisuke Koide (26).
Ueto and Koide worked with staff from the Tokyo Metropolitan Welfare Association for the Blind, spending a month training for their parts. The two also visited Tatemichi and her husband to learn about their lives.
Fuji TV plans to broadcast the "Ai wa Mieru" drama this September.
source: TOKYOGRAPH