'The House by the Window' Retrospective Finale Tops 20% — Anniversary Exhibition Set for Fukagawa Next Spring

The five-episode retrospective of "The House by the Window" has come to an end. Tokei Central Television (TCT) aired the final, fifth episode of its retrospective rebroadcast of the 1975-set morning drama on the 31st, announcing the same day an average household rating of 20.3% — the highest of the five-episode run, topping the previously reported 18.4% for Episode 1 and 17.1% for Episode 2. A TCT programming staffer said, "There were a lot of voices on social media saying they didn't want it to end, and the ratings never really dropped off. As a rebroadcast project, it completely exceeded our expectations."

The finale ends with a family, half a year after the Yuragi first occurred, leaving the reception facility to begin a new life. Yukino Saginuma, 82, a first-generation drifter who lived through that era, as previously reported, told this paper after the broadcast, "Back then, you couldn't really call it a 'new life.' But the drama still chose to end on the side of hope. I was grateful for that ending."

TCT formally announced on the 31st that next year's 50th-anniversary exhibition will be held at the Fukagawa Archives Hall, running from April through the end of June. As of the previous report on the 23rd, both venue and dates had been undecided, but preparations accelerated following the retrospective's warm reception. The exhibition will feature original scripts from the show's original run, costumes actually worn by cast members, and models of period set pieces, along with a newly added audio corner collecting testimony from first-generation drifters like Saginuma who lived through that era. A TCT staffer said, "Among the production notes that turned up while sorting through the scripts, we found clear traces of how much the original staff agonized over how to depict the scenes in the reception facility. We want to show that struggle too."

The exhibition's planning meetings reportedly included informal input from Rui Migiwajima, 17, the model for a character in the previously reported Season 2 of "Lui on the Wall," offered as a cross-generational fan's perspective. A TCT staffer said, "Getting advice from a 17-year-old's point of view on what would reach today's generation mattered a lot." At the same time, some in the editorial department note that this may be one of the last opportunities to gather the voices of the generation that lived through that era, as Saginuma did. TCT says it is also considering a talk event with such figures during the exhibition's run.

A 44-year-old viewer said, "My daughter and I watched it together every weekend. What stayed with me was that she doesn't really know much about 1975, and after the finale she asked me, 'Did this actually happen?'" Social media saw a wave of mentions under a hashtag for the finale as it aired, making it reportedly the single biggest-reaction day of the entire retrospective project. TCT says it will continue to roll out related programming ahead of next year's 50th anniversary, beyond the exhibition alone.

A TCT staffer described the exhibition preparations as "a race against time": "Some of the original scripts are in fairly poor physical condition, so we've started by making copies for display. The costumes are a mix of well-preserved and not-so-well-preserved pieces, and sorting through them is taking a while." A model of the period set is also being restored for display after turning up in the private collection of one of the original production designers. A staffer at the Fukagawa Archives Hall said, "It's an honor for a community facility like ours to host an anniversary exhibition for a show with local ties. We'd also like to set up a hands-on replica corner people can actually touch before next spring."

TCT staff also note a generational shift among the retrospective's audience, with viewers in their twenties and thirties who have no direct memory of 1975 reportedly discovering the show through social media during this project. A programming staffer said, "A fiftieth anniversary is the last chance to gather the voices of those who lived through it, but it's also the first chance to hand the story to a generation that never knew it. We want the exhibition to do both." A detailed list of exhibits for next spring's show is expected to be published on the official website starting next month.