For fans of Japanese TV Dramas, Fuji Television’s Monday 9 pm time slot, affectionately known as Getsuku, is the most important time of the week. Since it's prime viewing time, and on a day when no baseball games are scheduled, Japanese TV networks have traditionally produced their best television dramas in the coveted slot. As most J-Drama fans know, the practice was initiated by Fuji Television in the late 1980s.

Since their first Getsuku drama, Announcer Puttsun Monogatari アナウンサーぷっつん物語 (Tale of an Announcer's Woes) in 1987, Fuji Television went on to produce such hits as Tokyo Love Story 東京ラブストーリー and Hyakuikkaime no Propose 101回目のプロポーズ (101st Marriage Proposal) in 1991, Long Vacation ロングバケーション in 1996, Love Generation ラブジェネレーション in 1997, HERO in 2001 and again in 2014, Pride プライド in 2004, Saiyuki (Journey to the West) in 2006 and more recently, Code Blue in 2008, 2010 and 2017.

If any of those names mean something to you, or if you have your own favorite Getsuku drama that made you a fan, and you happen to be in the Kanto area any time between now and April 8th, you'll want to see an amazing exhibit called "Fuji TV’s Secrets of Set Design: Following The Traces of 30 Years of Getsuku Dramas," now being held at the Broadcast Library in Yokohama. You'll have an opportunity to see how the sets of your favorite dramas were designed by the set designers, look at set mockups, design documents, sketches, photos, actual scripts with director's notes, props, costumes and actual set pieces reproduced, some of which you can even interact with and take pictures of.

As soon as you step inside, you'll be greeted by a giant 8 with the titles of all 126 Getsuku dramas Fuji TV has ever produced.

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Here is just a sample of what you'll find in the exhibit:

A chronological panel listing the titles of all 126 Getsuku dramas, their set designers, script writers and main actors, together with a glass case that extends the length of the wall containing all the scripts to be displayed for the first time in Fuji TV’s history.

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Materials from the 2006 drama Nodame Cantabile のだめカンタービレ, including the actual mongoose suit worn by Juri Ueno.

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Costumes from Saiyuki (Journey to the West).

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Set mockup of the tent from the 2017 drama Kizoku Tantei 貴族探偵 (The Noble Detective).

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The actual set from Kizoku Tantei, where you can take pictures sitting on the noble detective's chair..

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Another photo opportunity, this time for fans of the drama Code Blue.

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A reproduction of the collapsed tunnel set using the actual rubble “rocks” used in the scene in the final episode of Code Blue, Season 3 (2017).

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A typical sample of the drama set designer's desk with all the tools of the trade, complete with sketches and drawings on the wall.

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"Fuji Television’s Secrets of Set Design: Following The Traces of 30 Years of Getsuku Dramas" will run until April 8th (Sun.). The hours of operation are from 10 am to 5 pm, except Mondays, and admission is free. To get there, take the Minatomirai Line to Nihon Odori Station or take the Yokohama Municipal Subway (Blue Line) to Kannnai Station and walk 10 minutes. The exhibit is within the Broadcast Library, on the 9th floor of the Yokohama Information Culture Center (11 Nihon Odori, Naka Ward, Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture 231-0021 〒231-0021 神奈川県横浜市中区日本大通11).

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By - grape Japan editorial staff.