"Diamonds Sleeping in the Sea" (Sundays at 9pm) is a TBS Sunday Theatre starring Ryunosuke Kamiki. In the 8th episode that aired on December 15th, it was revealed that Asako (Hana Sugisaki) will marry Torajiro (Mizuki Maehara), which caused a buzz on social media with people saying it was too unexpected. We spoke to Maehara, who plays Torajiro.
The drama is a story of love, friendship and family spanning 70 years, set on the island of Hashima (Gunkanjima) in Nagasaki Prefecture, which developed through coal mining from the beginning of the Meiji era to the postwar high economic growth period, and in modern-day Tokyo. It is written by Akiko Nogi, directed by Ayuko Tsukahara, and produced by Junko Arai, the team behind the dramas "Unnatural" and "MIU404" (same series) and the movie "The Last Mile."
◇ Torajiro is a "great role"
When asked how he felt when he was chosen to appear in this production, Maehara said, "When I heard that a drama set on Hashima Island in Nagasaki, starring Kamiki-kun, was going to be made into a drama on Sunday Theatre, I knew I wanted to appear in it no matter what. Kamiki-kun himself had talked to the producers about me, and when I was chosen to appear in the film, I was of course happy, but I also felt a sense of responsibility that I had to work hard so that I could give back to Kamiki-kun."
Regarding his role as Tojiro, he commented, "It's a really wonderful role, and if I thought about it normally, I wondered whether I was the right person for this role. But if I thought about it too much, I would end up putting too much effort into it, so I decided to just go to the set without thinking about anything else."
Torajiro first appeared in episode 6, but he said he had read the scripts before that as well. "When I received the script after hearing only the character's name Torajiro, I was excited to find out who Izumi (Miyamoto Nobuko) was, but when I found out that Izumi was Asako and that Torajiro was Asako's husband, I had my head in my hands," he revealed.
"While I was reading, I was excited about the relationship between Teppei (Kamiki) and Asako, so I wondered how Torajiro would fit into that story, but I think everyone felt the same way, so I really wanted to play Torajiro in a great way," he said.
Maehara, who joined the filming in October, recalled, "Everyone had been filming since the summer so they had formed a team, and I was able to enter into a great atmosphere. I was nervous when I headed to the cafeteria, but the extras who were chefs in the cafeteria were all really reliable people, and they were making really detailed movements. It was fun to consult with them and decide the flow of movement in the kitchen."
He and the director and producer had talked about how "Torajiro is an honest and kind person," and Director Tsukahara suggested how he could bring out Torajiro's honesty in the few lines he had in episodes 6 and 7. "Even though the scenes in the script were short, they expanded on small moments in great detail, so it was fun to reread the script after filming," he said with a smile.
◇What is your impression of Hana Sugisaki? "Her acting is so natural"
Regarding Kamiki's role as the leader, he said, "It was the same during the Asadora(Ranman), but Kamiki-kun is always energetic and cheerful on set, just like the image of Kamiki that everyone has in their mind, so much so that it makes me a little worried. One day we went to karaoke together after filming, and even though Kamiki-kun was playing both Reo and Teppei that day, he was so energetic that I, who had only filmed one scene, was tired and told him we should go home. It was pathetic."
When asked about his impression of Sugisaki, he said, "I co-starred with Sugisaki in 'Unmet: The Diary of a Brain Surgeon' (Fuji TV), and her acting was so natural. Conversely, it felt like I was exposing the parts of myself that I was trying to cover up, so it was very nerve-wracking to be facing her. So I think that's why I'm able to concentrate so well while acting with her, and it also feels like she's patting me on the back and telling me not to take her acting so lightly."
Finally, he appealed to viewers, saying, "It's still too early to predict how the story will end, but I hope you will enjoy it until the end. Also, as someone who is originally from Nagasaki, this was the first time I had the opportunity to research Hashima in detail. Seeing Hashima for myself, I felt like the story connected directly to me. After you finish watching the drama, please be sure to visit Nagasaki. There are some delicious champon restaurants there."
