Plan spring filming: Japanese TV mini-series will feature Palouse sites

A major Japanese production company is making a television mini-series that will include extensive scenes in the rolling hills of the Palouse.

Three farmhouses on the Palouse, the University of Idaho and Spokane have all been selected by High Field Entertainment, Inc. for shooting locations.

The Japanese company plans to produce a 10 hour, five episode docu-drama depicting the Japanese internment in America during World War II. It will be broadcast exclusively on the Tokyo Broadcasting System for Japanese viewers.

High Field Entertainment is based in Los Angeles and films for Japanese companies.

In April or May, a crew of 75 to 100 Japanese and Americans will fly into Moscow for three weeks of shooting, according to location manager Mark Wygant.

The three farmhouses on the Palouse were picked for their depiction of rural America during the war years.

Crew members will be altering exteriors of the homes to reflect the time period.

“They liked the scenic beauty of the area. The scenic beauty of the area is obviously unrivaled,” Wygant said.

They are actively seeking farm equipment from the 1920s through 1940s like horses and buggies, antique tractors and automobiles.

Palouse City councilman Rick Wekenman is the local contact and has been working with them to find items reflective of the time period.

Gary Kendall has lived in his 1917 family farmhouse outside Palouse for 60 plus years. His seven-room house, which features a wrap-around porch, was picked as ideal for several scenes in the series. Kendall said he had yet to sign a contract with High Field Entertainment.

“They wanted an old vintage house on a hill with a wrap-around porch,” he said.

Twice now, Japanese film crews have visited his home, taking extensive laser measurements for the exterior remodeling. They also measured the interior so they can recreate a studio set of his home in their studio that would match Kendall’s home.

Kendall said most of the crew members converse in Japanese with some English mixed in with the U.S. members of the project.

“I can’t understand them half the time,” Kendall said of the crew speaking in Japanese.

A group of about 15 Japanese production crew members have visited Palouse twice so far. They dined at the Green Frog before going back out to their soon-to-be sets.