Natsume Soseki's novel, "Botchan," has been adapted many times over the years, but it has been 20 years since it was last done for television. To celebrate the 100th year since the writer died, Fuji TV is presenting a brand new production of the classic story (Sunday, 9 p.m.) starring Arashi's Kazuya Ninomiya as the main character, a rambunctious, emotional young man whose name we never hear since he is the story's narrator. He's simply known as "Botchan" (young master).
Botchan, who grew up in Tokyo, is characterized by his artless social skills and pugnaciousness. Like Soseki himself, he first experiences life outside the capital when he secures a teaching job at a junior high school in Matsuyama on the island of Shikoku, where most of the story is set.
Last September, the 33-year-old alpinist Nobukazu Kuriki made his fifth attempt to scale Mount Everest, the tallest peak in the world. The last time he tried, in 2012, he lost nine of his fingers to frostbite. On Monday, NHK will broadcast a documentary, "Godome no Everest E" ("To Everest for the Fifth Time"; NHK-G, 8 p.m.), which features footage from both these adventures.