NHK's daily, 15-minute asa-dora (morning drama) is always about a plucky female, and this season the plucky female turns out to be a real person. The protagonist of "GeGeGe no Nyobo" (GeGeGe's Wife; M-Sat., BS2 at 7:45 a.m. and NHK-G at 8 a.m.) is Fumie Mizuki, the wife of cartoonist Shigeru Mizuki, who created one of Japan's most beloved characters, the adolescent yokai (ghost/monster) GeGeGe no Kitaro.

The drama opens in 1939 when elementary school-age Fumie (Kazumi Kikuchi), the third daughter of a kimono salesman in the town of Yasuki, Shimane Prefecture, is returning home after visiting her aunt. On the road she encounters a ghost and a strange-looking boy.

When she turns 10, Fumie becomes involved in a family dispute over her older sister Yukie's wedding that demonstrates her unusual fortitude, which will come in handy later in life when she herself decides to marry.