Toshinori Omi:"UNBOUND" "Find Omi Toshinori" - Unexpected social media response. Even though his role was less than one line in the script, it took him two hours to get into costume, "It's tough"

Actor Omi Toshinori plays Hirasawa Tsunetomi (Toseidou Kisanji) in the NHK Ryusei Yokohama drama "UNBOUND (Berabou)" (General TV, Sunday 8pm and others), starring Yokohama Ryusei. Although his name appears in the opening credits of every episode, his appearance, which is easy to miss if you don't look closely, has become a hot topic, and viewers have started to report his appearance on social media, as if to "find Omi Toshinori". Omi revealed that he "didn't expect" such a reaction and that it was "unexpected," so we spoke to him about his appearance in "UNBOUND."

"UNBOUND (Berabou)" 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.

Omi plays Tsunetomi Hirasawa (Kizo Tosei-do), who serves as a house sitter for the Akita Satake family (what we would call a diplomat today). Due to his position, he often visits Yoshiwara to exchange information, and is nicknamed the "Horeki no Hoshi-o."

On the other hand, he published many comical works that incorporated puns, humor, and nonsense, such as fantastic fairy tales for adults and parodies of Kabuki plots, and also published kyoka poems under the name Tegara no Okamochi. He established an era as a popular writer. He is a comical writer who would later become Tsutae (Yokohama-san)'s greatest and greatest collaborator.

For Omi, Hirasawa is a role that "becomes more and more fun to play."

"I think he's a very intelligent person. He's good at his job, he's stylish, and he enjoys his hobbies to the fullest. I'm playing him with the image of a very fulfilled person, someone who enjoys life."

Hirasawa was a "passerby" in the story until he got to know the main character, Tsutae, properly in episode 12. Omi-san said, "I was so happy when I saw that it was written, 'Hirasawa passes through the gate,' which was less than a single line in the script."

"I'd like to thank the scriptwriter, Morishita Yoshiko, the production manager Fujinami Hideki, and the chief director Ohara Taku for presenting me in this way. When you appear in a taiga drama, your relatives and close friends are always happy, saying things like, 'Is Omi-san appearing? Let's see, let's see.' I think it's interesting that even though your name appears in the opening credits, you have to 'search' for your relatives and close friends."

On set, Hirasawa played the role with the intention of conveying that he was "a man who regularly frequents Yoshiwara." That's why the reaction on social media was surprising.

"I didn't expect it to cause such a stir on social media. It's a bit of a fuss every time, so it's a bit stressful. I'd be sad if it became more popular and people started thinking, 'What the heck? This is boring. I'd rather just look for it.'"

No matter how short his role, Omi-san always says, "It takes two hours to get into costume, so it's tough." Even when he didn't know if he was being filmed, he said, he continued to "do little bits of acting."

"Please don't be disappointed that the search is over. I'm having a lot of fun."

It looks like he will continue to entertain viewers for a long time to come.