Written by Koharu Terauchi, it was inspired by the life of Haruko Isomura (1877-1918), a pioneer female newspaper reporter of the Meiji and Taishō eras.
Like its predecessor, Oshin, an English-subtitled version of the serial, described as a "high-class soapie", was broadcast in Australia on SBS, under the title Rin, in 1988.
Together she and her mother scrape up enough money for her to attend a Christian girls' school in Sendai, Miyagi.
After her husband's business fails, and while juggling raising a family, she succeeds in becoming Japan's first female newspaper reporter.
Like a previous asadora early morning drama Oshin (1983), and a subsequent taiga evening drama Inochi (1988), Hanekonma reflected women’s history and was developed by NHK to appeal to female audiences.