The 18th episode of the NHK Taiga drama " UNBOUND (Berabou) " (General TV, Sundays at 8pm and others), starring actor Ryusei Yokohama , entitled "Utamaro, virtue is but a fleeting dream", was broadcast on May 11th, revealing the tragic past of Karamaru (Sutekichi, played by Sometani Shota).
" 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, known for "Drama 10 'Ooku'" which was broadcast on NHK two years ago and became a big hit.
In the 18th episode, Tsutaju (Yokohama), who was searching for the author of the blue book, has an idea while comparing several paintings by an artist named Toyoaki Kitagawa (Toranosuke Kato). He immediately visits Toyoaki, but meets a man named Sutekichi (Someya) in the tenement house.
It is soon revealed that Sutekichi's true identity is Karamaru, who was once saved by Tsutajue during a fire and began living with her but then disappeared. However, the "past" that Sutekichi tells Tsutajue is a brutal one, in which he has been forced to sell his body by his own mother since he was seven years old.
Also, during "that fire," Karamaru, who had run away alone without helping his mother, blames himself, saying, "It was a mistake to have been born in the first place!" He jumps into the river to die with Yasu (Takagi Katsuya), a "scarred man" who knows Karamaru's past, but he considers his survival to be bad luck and even goes so far as to say, "You can't help trash like me. It would be better if I just disappeared from this world." However, Tsutae extends her hand and says, "I'm just glad you're alive," and repeats, "I'll help you."
And thanks to the ingenuity of Fuji (played by Naoko Iijima), the proprietress of Surugaya, Karamaru also obtains a family register and becomes Tsutae's brother-in-law, "Yusuke." Furthermore, Tsutae gives him the name "Utamaro" as his artistic pen name... and so on.
On social media, comments such as "Karamaru's background is more incredible than I imagined," "He was selling his body from a young age...", "Wow...Karamaru is already at that age...", "This on Mother's Day," "I'm crying," and "Some pretty gruesome content today" were initially posted, but by the end, people were getting excited, with comments such as "Itsuju!!", "Utamaro is born", and "Kitagawa Utamaro is born!!" as well as comments such as "The story unfolds like a rollercoaster this time," and "The foreshadowing leading up to Utamaro's birth and the storyline were brilliant."
