Nao Kosaka, a member of the idol group "Hinatazaka46", appeared in the 35th episode of the NHK Taiga drama "To You Who Shines", "Tears of the Empress", in the role of Saiin no Chujo, which aired on September 15th. Kosaka said, "I am very honored to be able to appear in a Taiga drama for the first time. When I heard about the role, I was surprised and thought, 'It can't be me,' but I wanted to play the role of Saiin no Chujo with care."
The character she played, Saiin no Chujo, is the daughter of Minamoto no Tamemichi. She serves Princess Nobuko, the 10th daughter of the 62nd Emperor Murakami. She is the lover of Fujiwara no Korenori (Takasugi Mahiro). In the 35th episode, Korenori and Saiin no Chujo are shown being separated despite calling each other "Chujo no Kimi!" and "Korenori-sama!"
Kosaka revealed her thoughts, "I hope that in that one scene, viewers can feel the forbidden love between me and Tarenori-sama, where I finally met the person I wanted to meet."
Reminiscing about the filming, she shared an episode, "I was meeting everyone for the first time, so I was nervous and I think I was quite quiet, but Takasugi-san, who I co-starred with, spoke to me kindly, which helped me to ease my tension a little and I was able to enjoy filming." She added, "The staff's passion for this work was really clear on the set, and that day made me feel even more strongly that I had to put my passion into this one scene and do my best."
Kosaka is 22 years old and was born on September 7, 2002 in Osaka Prefecture. She debuted in August 2017 as a second-generation member of Keyakizaka46, the group that preceded Hinatazaka46, and after the group changed its name, she was the center for four consecutive releases, from the debut single "Kyun" to "Doremi Sora Shido," "Konna Suki ni Natchatte Ii No?" and "Sonna Koto Nai Yo."
She is also active as an exclusive model for the women's fashion magazine (now a teen media outlet) "Seventeen" (Shueisha).
