Kitamura Yukiya plays Yoneda Masato, the father of the protagonist Yui (Hashimoto) in the NHK morning drama "Omusubi" (General TV, Monday to Saturday, 8:00 a.m. and others), starring actress Hashimoto Kanna. During his early career, Kitamura set a goal of "playing the father of the heroine in the morning drama," and talked about his special feelings for the morning drama and the highlights of the drama.
◇Goal at age 19: "To become an actor good enough to appear in a morning drama"
"Omusubi" is the 111th NHK morning drama. The heroine Yoneda Yui, who was born on the day the era name changed to "Heisei," interacts with a gal in Fukuoka, and then one day, a certain opportunity occurs to her to aim to become a registered dietitian in Kansai... This is a "Heisei youth graffiti." It is an original work by screenwriter Nemoto Nonji, known for the NHK drama "Shojiki Real Estate," etc.
Kitamura said with a laugh, "When I started acting at the age of 19, I set some crazy goals, one of which was to play the father of the heroine in a morning drama. I'm humble and think it's a bit of a stretch to play the love interest of the heroine."
"All jokes aside, one of the reasons may have been that my father, Kazuo Kitamura, played the father-in-law role in 'Oshin.' I also had the youthful urge to surpass my father as an actor. If I'm going to be an actor, I have to be an actor who can appear in a morning drama. It may be presumptuous, but I thought that even if my goal was high, I had to be an actor who was good enough to be a stepping stone. This time, when I was chosen to play the heroine's father, I felt a strong sense of relief. My mother was also very happy," he said with emotion.
◇With his late father, "I should have had a parent-child fight."
Kitamura's character, Masato, is a serious character who worries about his daughter. He often argues with his free-spirited father, Nagayoshi (Matsudaira Ken). Kitamura's character is a former barber who is now devoted to farming in Itoshima.
Regarding Masato, Kitamura said, "Among the characters I've played recently, he is a very earnest and normal character. He is abnormally anxious about his daughter. Because this is a drama, I think I need to show a lovable side to him so that people can sympathize with him."
"In reality, I'm a pretty laid-back and carefree person, so I tried various things on set to make that seem real while imagining whether a father would be that worried. The reason why Masato became anxious is depicted, and although it may be a bit over the top, I think people will see that he is consistent."
Regarding the relationship between Masato and his father, Eikichi, played by Matsudaira, he said, "Saito and Eikichi don't get along very well, and are a father and son who don't get along very well. They fight all the time. After consulting with the director, I decided that it would be best to make the fight scenes as flashy as possible, so I let him act wild."
"I felt that parent-child quarrels are fun and wonderful. My father has already passed away, and looking back, I never had a parent-child quarrel when he was alive. I felt a little sentimental, thinking that I wish I had had a parent-child quarrel like that, and it became an important scene for me."
◇In the evacuation shelter scene, "I felt different emotions than I expected."
The realistic depiction of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake depicted in the fifth week also became a hot topic. Kitamura said, "The evacuation shelter inside the school was recreated in a very realistic way, including the extras. I was one of the people who did my best here, gritting my teeth, so I wanted to blend in with the scenery."
In the 23rd episode (broadcast on October 30th), Nagayoshi rushed from Itoshima to a shelter in Kobe. Kitamura said, "When Nagayoshi came to the shelter and said, 'Let's go to Itoshima,' Masato was against it at first, but when we tested that scene, emotions different from what I expected came out."
"I really thought, 'I just can't do that.' I felt so sad and frustrated. I was surprised that Masato was like this. Nagayoshi saw through that side of Masato, so he asked him, 'Which would you choose, your child or him?'"
In this scene, Masato told Nagayoshi that there was no way he could go to Itoshima when Kobe, where he had been so well taken care of, was in such a difficult situation, but Kitamura explained, "In a way, Masato fled from Itoshima to Kobe because he wanted to get away from his father. I think he was just doing his best in Kobe, not knowing what to do."
"At such times, as the dialogue says, the local shopping district people welcomed him warmly and probably supported the 18-year-old saint with kindness. The saint is the type who never forgets such kindness. He is extremely loyal and values such things more than the average person, so I think he feels even more strongly that he did a terrible thing, that he did something half-heartedly, when he was forced to leave Kobe after the disaster."
Finally, he addressed the viewers, saying, "Most of the characters are kind and warm-hearted. Therefore, the heroine, who cannot refuse requests from others, gets caught up in things, and is at the mercy of others, grows up and everyday events such as parent-child fights with me, her father, are carefully depicted. And in this drama, after a bright scene, a big surge and a serious scene suddenly occur, so the development is unpredictable. I hope you will enjoy that aspect as well."
