Commentary：In "Toyotomi Brothers!", Sosuke Ikematsu will be appearing! Tsuyoshi Muro is still fresh in our memory... who else will be appearing? The history of the "Hideyoshi actors" in the taiga drama

The NHK Taiga drama "Toyotomi Brothers!" will be broadcast in 2026, starring Nakano Taiga. It was recently revealed that Ikematsu Sosuke will play Hideyoshi in the Sengoku Taiga drama, which will be the first in three years to feature Toyotomi Hidenaga (Nakano), the younger brother of the "ruler of Japan." Who played Hideyoshi before Ikematsu in this long-running Taiga drama? The most recent example is Muro Tsuyoshi in "What Will Ieyasu Do?" in 2023, but I would like to trace the history of Hideyoshi actors in the Taiga drama, including Muro.

◇The first Hideyoshi in the Taiga drama will be played by Ogata Ken in "Taikoki," who will return in "Golden Days"

"Toyotomi Brothers!" is the 22nd NHK Taiga drama to be a "Sengoku-themed" drama, which began in 1963. The first Sengoku Taiga drama was "Taikoki" in 1965, with Ogata Ken playing the lead role of Hideyoshi.

The next time Hideyoshi appeared in a Taiga drama was in 1969's "Ten to Chi to." Hamada Mitsuo played the role of Hideyoshi in that drama, and then Nakamura Shizuka in "Haru no Sakamichi" in 1971, Hino Shohei in "Kunitori Monogatari" in 1973, Nishida Toshiyuki in "Onna Taikoki" in 1981, Takeda Tetsuya in "Tokugawa Ieyasu" in 1983, and Katsu Shintaro in "Dokuganryu Masamune" in 1987 all made their names in the history of Taiga dramas as "Hideyoshi actors."

All of them are actors worthy of being called "great actors." Incidentally, the "first generation" Ogata reprised the role of Hideyoshi in "Kogane no Hibi" in 1978.

◇When you think of "Hideyoshi in Taiga dramas," what comes to mind? In recent years, Kohinata Fumiyo and Sasaki Kuranosuke have also played Hideyoshi.

Looking at the taiga dramas since the Heisei era, the list includes names such as Fujioka Takuya (1989's "Kasuga no Tsubone"), Nakamura Toru (1992's "Nobunaga King of Zipangu" and 1993's "Winds of Ryukyu"), Takenaka Naoto (1996's "Hideyoshi" and 2014's "Gunshi Kanbei"), Kagawa Teruyuki (2002's "Toshiie and Matsu"), Emoto Akira (2006's "Koumei ga Tsuji"), Sasano Takashi (2009's "Tenchijin"), and Kishitani Goro (2011's "Go: Princesses of the Warring States").

Like Ogata, Nakamura and Takenaka have played Hideyoshi twice in taiga dramas, but in terms of the strength of their impressions, Takenaka, who played the lead role in the very name "Hideyoshi", wins. In fact, many viewers will think of Takenaka when they hear "Hideyoshi in a taiga drama."

In 2016's "Sanadamaru," Kohinata Fumiyo attracted a lot of attention as Hideyoshi, whose "eyes never smile," and in 2020's "Kirin ga Kuru," Sasaki Kuranosuke gained popularity by playing the tall, long-faced Hideyoshi, who rose to prominence with his natural friendliness and diligence.

◇Some have said that Muro "Hideyoshi" is the "scariest taiga drama ever."

Muro "Hideyoshi" from "What Will Ieyasu Do?" is still fresh in our memories, but in the drama he is portrayed as a man who is full of desire, who expresses it fully and pursues it with all his might. Muro himself always exudes "madness" and continues to inspire viewers with unfathomable "fear," which eventually led some viewers to call this the "scariest taiga drama ever."

What kind of portrayal of Hideyoshi will Ikematsu, who will be Muro's "successor," give us?

Matsukawa Hirotaka, production manager for "Toyotomi Brothers!", called the choice "a convincing one," and explained the reason for his casting, saying, "The role of Nobunaga had to be someone who could truly say, 'Monkey!' Height and the sense of size (with Nakano) were also requirements, and the combination of the two is important in this drama, so we placed more importance on that than anything else." There is no doubt that Hideyoshi will be in the spotlight again next year.