The first episode of the NHK Taiga drama " UNBOUND " (General TV, Sunday 8pm and others), starring actor Ryusei Yokohama, "Arigatayama no Kangarasu", will be broadcast on January 5th with an extended 15 minutes. This is the first time that this long-running Taiga drama will depict the mid-Edo period. Here, we will introduce Tanuma Okitsugu, played by Ken Watanabe .
Tanuma Okitsugu was a reformer who aimed to bring about a "new era" for the shogunate and an "absolute authority."
Through his talent and ability to execute, he rose from his origins as a foot soldier to become a feudal lord of the Sagara Domain in Totomi (now Makinohara City, Shizuoka Prefecture) with a stipend of 57,000 koku. Realizing the limitations of the shogunate's financial management based on rice, he made a major shift in policy to one that emphasized commerce, believing that the economy only gets going by moving money. Edo boomed, centering on merchants.
He also began creating a "new Japan" by draining Lake Inban, developing Ezo, and actively recruiting talented people into the shogunate.
"UNBOUND" is the 64th taiga drama, depicting the life of Tsutaya Juzaburo(or "Tsutajyu" for short), who is said to have built the foundations of Japan's media industry and pop culture. The script was written by Yoshiko Morishita, who is known for "Drama 10 'Ooku'" which was broadcast on NHK two years ago and became a big hit.
