Ryusei Yokohama drama "UNBOUND (Berabou)" (NHK General TV, Sundays 8pm and others), starring Fuka Koshiba. Hananoi is a childhood friend of the protagonist Tsutaya Juzaburo(Yokohama), and inherited the stage name "Segawa" of the legendary courtesan. In the 10th episode "The Dreams of the 'Blue Chamber Beauty'", which aired on March 9th, Hananoi is bought out as Segawa, and although she is in love with Tsutaju, she gives up her feelings and leaves Yoshiwara to become the wife of Toriyama Kengyo (Hayato Ichihara). Koshiba looked back on the "final journey" that she found most memorable.
Koshiba-san will appear as Hananoi in the first episode, "Arigatayama no Kangarasu" (broadcast on January 5th). Hananoi is a representative courtesan of Matsubaya, a long-established brothel in Yoshiwara. She was sold by her parents at a young age and grew up in Yoshiwara with Tsutaya Juzaburo.
As for her relationship with Tsutajyo, she is a good confidant who can talk about anything. As they help each other and work hard to revive Yoshiwara, Tsutajyo's Yoshiwara Hosomi becomes more popular, so she requests to take on the name of a legendary courtesan that had been lost for a long time, and becomes the fifth Segawa.
Segawa V is known as a famous courtesan in historical fact, and is a legendary courtesan whose stories of being demoted for 1,400 ryo and the tragic life that followed are passed down in plays and other media.
In the 9th episode, "Tamagiku Lantern: Hell of Love" (broadcast on March 2nd), it becomes clear that her relationship with Tsutae is not just that of childhood friends and a good confidant, but that they care for each other. However, facing up to her duties as Segawa, at the end of the episode, she decides to accept an offer of marriage from Toriyama Kengyo (Hayato Ichihara).
For many courtesans, being bought out of Yoshiwara before their contract expires is a dream and hope. That is why Inee (Mizuno Miki), the proprietress of Matsubaya, advises Segawa to fulfill his duty. However, for Segawa, it means parting ways with Tsutaju. Koshiba resonates with Segawa's feelings on her "last journey," revealing that she "couldn't look" Tsutaju in the eye as they passed each other just before passing through the main gate.
"Being bought out and being able to leave the (Yoshiwara) gates with dignity is one of the few hopes for a courtesan, but in Segawa's case, although there was a sense of liberation in not having to perform her duties any more, there was also the very complicated fact that once she left, she would never see Tsutae again. What should have been a joyful moment turned into a farewell journey. It was very painful."
Saying "Goodbye," Segawa left Yoshiwara. When she passed Tsutae, she initially made eye contact with him, but Koshiba decided on the spot that if she made eye contact with him, "I would never be able to leave the gate," so she stopped looking him in the eye.
"When I saw Daimon for the last time, rather than feeling happy that I was finally able to leave, I was filled with mixed emotions, as if I was telling myself that once I left, I would have to put aside my feelings for Tsutae and live my life as the wife of the Kengyo."
Through her decision to keep her relationship with Tsutae as a memory in her heart, how did Koshiba feel about Segawa as a person?
"Segawa is a person who wishes happiness for others above his own. No matter how hard or difficult it may be for him, or how his wishes may not be fulfilled, he is someone who will devote himself to the very end to create the world that Tsutae imagines, so I want to see Tsutae's innocence and straightforwardness, and I want to protect her, and I really think he is a person who lived a stylish life."
