The 11 new cast members for the NHK Taiga drama "Berabou - Tsutaju Eika no Yumebanashi" which will start on January 5, 2025, have been announced. In addition to comedian and illustrator Tekken, Naoko Iijima, Ryo Tamaki, Ryota Miura, Motoki Ochiai, and Shuntaro Miyao will be making their first appearance in a Taiga drama.
Tekken will play the role of Isoda Koryusai, an ukiyo-e artist who created "Hinakata Wakana Hatsumoyo", which was planned by the main character Tsutaju (Ryusei Yokohama) and published together with Nishimuraya Yohachi (Masahiko Nishimura). Tekken commented, "I especially love Taiga dramas set in the Warring States period, and I often watch them. It's impossible, but I often wondered what it would be like if I could appear in one. I was very surprised to receive an offer to appear in this Taiga drama, and I thought that I would never have such an honor again, so I decided to appear."
Regarding the character he plays, Isoda Koryusai, he said, "I thought maybe it was somehow related to me being an artist. I'm not confident in my acting, but I'm good at drawing, so I'd like people to see me drawing. I'm not good at speaking, and I'm not confident in my acting, so I'd like people to see me draw. That's why I'm currently practicing Koryusai's ukiyo-e."
Iijima will play Fuji, Tsutaju's mother-in-law; Tamaki will play Toyoshima, the new clerk at the brothel Matsubaya (played by Masanao Bokuzo); Miura will play Urokogataya Chobei, the heir to the Edo local book wholesaler Urokogataya; Ochiai will play Shimizu Shigeyoshi, head of the Shimizu Tokugawa family, one of the three branches of the Tokugawa Tokugawa clan; and Miyao will play Tanuma Okimune, nephew of Tanuma Okitsugu (played by Watanabe Ken).
Also appearing in the drama were Ichihara Hayato, Inowaki Kai, Tokui Masaru, Maeno Tomoya, and Hanafusa Mari. Ichihara will play the blind millionaire Toriyama Kengyo, Inowaki will play Shinnosuke, a ronin who works with Hiraga Gennai, Tokui will play Tohachi, the head clerk at Urokogataya, Maeno will play Katsukawa Shunsho, the master of Katsushika Hokusai and the greatest actor-painter of his time, and Hanafusa will play Horen-in, who raised Kenmaru (Terada Kokoro), who would later become Matsudaira Sadanobu.
"Berabou ~Tsutajueika no Yume Banashi~" is the 64th taiga drama, and depicts the life of Tsutaya Juzaburo, who is said to have built the foundations of Japan's media industry and pop culture. The production team bills the story as "a remarkable young man who was born with nothing - no parents, no money, no artistic talent - but became the darling of his time as 'the media king of Edo.'"
