It has been revealed that actor Kenichi Matsuyama will play the role of Dazai Osamu in the drama "Drama W Koki Mitani 'Hey, Dazai'" starring Kei Tanaka . Matsuyama, who is from Aomori Prefecture, will play the role of the famous writer from his hometown.
This is the first new work in 12 years in the "One-scene, one-shot drama" series, which Mitani directed himself based on an original script. Tanaka plays Komuro Kensaku, an ordinary office worker who admires Dazai Osamu. On the way home from a wedding reception he attended with his wife Miyoko, he accidentally stumbles onto the beach where Dazai attempted suicide. Excited to be in a place associated with Dazai, Kensaku continues to walk through a dark cave, despite being stopped. There he finds a man who looks just like Dazai Osamu. The story unfolds as if Kensaku has traveled back in time to the era when Dazai lived...
The other cast members besides Matsuyama were also announced. Koike Eiko will play Yabe Tomiko, Dazai's lover who is in love with him, Miyazawa Emma will play Emma Miyazawa, Kensaku's wife, and Kajiwara Zen, the only actor to have appeared in all of Mitani's films, will play Urai Jiro, the fisherman who meets Kensaku. Kajiwara will also play Jiro's twin brother Shiro and his father Shiro Jiro, playing three roles.
