В центъра на събитията е кланът Уесуги и връзката между господаря Уесуги Кагекацу и неговия васал Наое Канецугу. Водачът на клана е болезнено срамежлив и почти не изрича и дума, а Канецугу прекарва голяма част от времето си в страдание.

这是NHK的第48部大河剧。兼续自幼与未来的主君上杉景胜一起生活，他受上杉谦信教诲，认为取得天下是小事，唯有贯彻“义”而活才是大事。在织田信长统一天下的过程中，年轻的兼续头戴“爱”字头盔，为保护越后人民而战，就连对手丰臣秀吉都十分赞赏他。这部作品里不仅有男人间的友情，也有兼续和妻子阿船互相扶持的感人爱情，在动荡的战国时代，这位伟大的武士守护着爱人的幸福，贯彻着自己的信念，让人们在只顾利益的混乱时代中的看到一个亮点。

Tenchijin is the 48th NHK Taiga drama. It airs on NHK from January 4, 2009 every Sunday from 20:00 to 20:44 JST to November 22, 2009 spanning 47 episodes. The story centers on the life of the 16th century samurai Naoe Kanetsugu.

Production began on April 27, 2007. The story is based on the novel Tenchijin by Masashi Hisaka and was adapted for screen by scriptwriter Eriko Komatsu. The series' music composer was Michiru Oshima.

The protagonist of the drama, Naoe Kanetsugu, was taught by Uesugi Kenshin in his youth that to conquer the world is a trifling matter, but what matters is to live one's life with righteousness. After Uesugi's death, Naoe supports Uesugi Kagekatsu, who holds the destiny of Echigo province.