Beautiful Life

is a drama of "Toshiba Nichiyo Gekijo (東芝日曜劇場 Tōshiba Nichiyō Gekijō)" on TBS Television. It was first shown in Japan from 16 January to 26 March 2000. Beautiful Life was a massive success, achieving a TV rating of 41.3% -- a record it held until it was eclipsed by Hanzawa Naoki in 2013 (42.2%) Cast Takuya Kimura (木村 拓哉 ) as Shuji Okishima Takako Tokiwa (常盤 貴子) as Kyoko Machida Miki Mizuno (水野 美紀) as Sachie Tamura Hiroyuki Ikeuchi as Takumi Okabe Atsuro Watabe (渡部 篤郎) as Masao Machida Takanori Nishikawa (西川 貴教 ) (T.M.Revolution) as Satoru Kawamura Koji Matoba as Kozo Miyama Chiaki Hara as Mayumi Ozawa Koyuki (加藤 小雪) as Nakajima Satsuki Characters Shuji Okishima – A hairstylist. His father wanted him to take over the Okishima hospital but he ignored his family. He becomes a Top Stylist (one of the best hairstylists in the salon where he works) and is occasionally picked up in magazines. Kyoko Machida – Works at a library. Her disease first started manifesting itself when she was 17 and since then she has had to use a wheelchair. Sachie Tamura – Kyoko's best friend who also works at the library. She often offers encouragement to Kyoko. Takumi Okabe – Shuji's assistant. He respects Shuji. Masao Machida – Kyoko's brother. He lives with his parents and works at the liquor store they own. He is close to Kyoko and is protective of her. Satoru Kawamura – A hairstylist. He works at the same shop as Shuji and is a very popular person. Kozo Miyama – A volunteer. He likes Kyoko and often comes to the library. Mayumi Ozawa – Another Top Stylist. She works at the same shop as Shuji. Plot One day, Shuji on his motorbike and Kyoko in her car meet at the crossroads—they get into a small argument over her driving. They don't have any interest in each other at that moment but at the library where Kyoko works. Shuji sees Kyoko using a wheelchair. That was how they first met. They begin to talk and Kyoko feels regarded because Shuji never looked at her as a disabled person. Gradually, her feelings change and she waits for Shuji to come to the library.