Hinako Sakurai appears in the drama "The True Identity of the Skeleton"

Actress Hinako Sakurai appeared in the eighth episode (broadcast late at night on August 21st) of the drama series "Laundering" (Kantele/Fuji TV), starring Joichiro Fujiwara of the popular group " Naniwa Danshi ." She played Shirakawa Ai, a woman believed to be the true identity of the skeleton discovered by protagonist Eisuke Hiyama (Fujiwara) in a garbage-filled house provided as temporary housing by Amami Real Estate. Sakurai commented, "It was extremely difficult to play Ai, who is already deceased."

The drama is an original work written by Furuya Osho, who also wrote "Wave, Listen to Me!" (TV Asahi). Fujiwara plays Hiyama, an unsuccessful actor with the useless special ability of "hearing the voices of the dead." This socially conscious mystery follows Hiyama, who reluctantly steps into the dark side of society and struggles to empathize with the lives of those who have died untimely deaths. The story depicts the lives of people who have been cast aside by society through a part-time job where they live in haunted properties for a while, proving that they are livable without any problems and laundering the image of the rooms.

Sakurai plays Ai, who lost her parents and grew up in an orphanage. While working in the illegal entertainment industry, she is saved by a doctor, Ayumi Komori (Mitsuki Tanimura), who works to support people in poverty. After being persuaded by Ayumi, Ai also works at a support organization, but when Ayumi, who was investigating the dark side of poverty business, was targeted by a yakuza gang and disappeared, Ai is believed to have been murdered.

Regarding her appearance in this production, Sakurai revealed, "The first thing I heard from my manager was that it was an offer from Kimura Atsushi, the chief producer and director. Kimura was the director of the stage production Soreiyu (2016, 2017), in which I made my acting debut, and he is an important person to me, as he helped me get my acting career started. I was so happy to receive an offer from such a person after about 10 years. I also found out that the script was written by Furuya Osho, who was also in charge of Soreiyu, so if I could work with the two of them, I immediately said, 'I'll do it!'"

Regarding her role, she said, "She lost her parents, grew up in an orphanage, and has been selling her body since her teens to make a living. Even when it was explained to me, it was a world I could never have imagined. She is an extremely self-sacrificing girl who has given up on life, but she also has a kindness and a sense of justice that embraces those in front of her." She added, "The director told me that he wanted me to be like the swan in this work, but I didn't think it would be realistic for me to act beautifully as if nothing had happened when I was carrying something so horrific. I didn't know what to do because the character was hard to grasp, so I read through the script a lot and worried, but when I got to the set, Kimura-san was there, the same person who had brought me on stage when I first debuted and didn't know what to do. He was as enthusiastic as ever and gave me careful guidance, so all my anxiety and tension just disappeared and I felt like he was guiding me."

He continued, "We shot every cut in one go from start to finish, so it was really nerve-wracking (laughs). Normally, we shoot by alternating between test shots and the actual performance, but Kimura-san is the type of person who says, 'Let's go for the real thing!' once the actors' performances are solidified. On the other hand, he was able to film us at the very beginning when we were still sharp, and I think that fresh tension comes through in the film, so the unfamiliar atmosphere was actually a good thing. It's been a while since my heart has been beating that fast!"

The drama is broadcast on Kansai TV every Thursday at 12:15am and on Fuji TV every Thursday at 2:15am.