The female cast for NHK's 2012 taiga drama "Taira no Kiyomori" has been revealed!

At a special press conference on May 26th, it was revealed that actress Kato Ai will play the role of Kiyomori's first wife Takashina Akiko, with Fukada Kyoko acting as Kiyomori's second wife, Taira no Tokiko, and Takei Emi acting as his concubine, Tokiwa Gozen.

Other characters include Narumi Riko as Taira no Shigeko, Wakui Emi as Fujiwara no Muneko, Tanaka Rena as Yura Gozen, Dan Rei as Fujiwara no Tamako, Ryo as Horikawa no Tamako, and Matsuyuki Yasuko as Fujiwara no Nariko.

"The motivation's gone up," said Matsuyama Kenichi - the star of "Taira no Kiyomori" - at the press conference. "Our duties are quite weighty because of how wonderful our male and female cast are, but we'd like to give it our all."

The drama tells the story of Taira no Kiyomori, who is raised by a warrior clan and eventually establishes the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan . Filming for "Taira no Kiyomori" begins in August to prepare for its premiere in January 2012.

Check out photos from the press conference below!

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Source: Oricon