This week TBS celebrates its 50th anniversary with a new version of "Seishun no Mon (The Gate of Youth)," one of the great publishing successes of the postwar era. Written by Hiroyuki Itsuki, the seven-volume novel, originally published in 1969 and 1970 in serial form, went on to sell more than 20 million copies in book form and has been adapted several times for movies and TV.
TBS focuses on the "Chikuho" volume. Part One (Monday, 9 p.m.), takes place in 1939 at the bustling Goho mining company, which works the huge Chikuho coal mine in northern Kyushu. The strong-willed head of the miners, Juzo (Etsushi Toyokawa), falls in love with Tae (Kyoka Suzuki), a waitress at a drinking establishment. She eventually moves in with him and becomes a mother to Juzo's young son, Shinsuke, whose real mother is dead.
Their happiness is short-lived. There is a major accident at the mine and many workers, including a large number of forced laborers from Korea, are put at risk. Juzo confronts the executives of the company who brush aside his concern. Japan is at war, and these men are expendable. Replacements are not difficult to find. Juzo decides to sabotage the operation.