The first episode of the 2026 NHK Taiga drama "Toyotomi Brothers!" (General TV, Sunday 8:00 PM and other channels), starring actor Nakano Taiga, titled "Two Monkeys," will be broadcast on January 4th with an extended 15 minutes. The story centers on Toyotomi Hidenaga, and depicts the miracle of the Toyotomi brothers, who, together with his older brother Hideyoshi, achieve the great feat of unifying the country through their strong bond. There are only three days until the start of the series. Here, we introduce Nao, played by Shiraishi Sei.
Nao is "Koichiro's childhood friend and first love"
She is the daughter of a local lord in Nakamura, Owari, the hometown of Koichiro (Hidenaga) and Tokichiro (Hideyoshi). She is the same age as Koichiro and is his childhood friend. Although she has a tomboyish personality, she secretly adores Koichiro. She is a tragic heroine at the mercy of turbulent times.
In the first episode, "Two Monkeys," Koichiro (Nakano), born into a poor farming family in Nakamura, Owari, lives a contented life tilling the fields and living with the soil. One day, a group of bandits attacks the village, and his childhood friend, Nao (Shiraishi Sei), is about to be kidnapped. His brother, Tokichiro (Ikematsu Sosuke), returns to the village after an eight-year absence and saves him from peril.
The story goes that Tokichiro, who dreams of becoming a great success in the service of the young Sengoku warlord Oda Nobunaga (Shun Oguri Shun), asks Koichiro to become his retainer.
