A talk show for the NHK Taiga drama "Hikaru Kimi e" starring Yoshitaka Yuriko was held in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture on November 17th, where Kishitani Goro, who plays Fujiwara Tametoki, appeared with Uchida Yuki, the chief producer (CP), who is in charge of production. He talked about the epic "return line" in the 32nd episode, "For Whom Do You Write?"
At the end of the episode, Mahiro (Yoshitaka), who has become a wife to Akiko (Mikami Ai), bows to her father Tametoki before leaving the house, saying, "I'm off now."
Tametoki tells Mahiro, "You have been recognized by the Emperor and serve the Empress. You are the pride of our family," and "I pray that you will use all of your talent to write a wonderful story and be of use to the Emperor and the Empress."
Tametoki then said in a tearful voice, "I'm glad you're a woman," and Mahiro also smiled with tears in her eyes.
Regarding Tametoki's latest line, "I'm glad you're a woman," after previously saying "If only you were a man," Uchida said, "Kuramoto Kazuhiro, the historical researcher, said, 'That's a wonderful line.' I thought that this was where the feelings of father and daughter come together. It's really wonderful that Tametoki looks a little tearful."
Kishiyama reflected, "Everything in the relationship between Mahiro and (Tametoki) up to now was in order for Tametoki to say this line. He was glad to be the father of this child, and although he was clumsy, the way he raised her after her mother passed away might have been right. Mahiro's actions all made Tametoki the right choice."
Before the talk show, Kishitani visited Kehi Shrine.
"To You" is the 63rd taiga drama. The story is set in the aristocratic society of the mid-Heian period, and the protagonist is Murasaki Shikibu (Mahiro), who later wrote "The Tale of Genji," said to be the world's oldest novel written by a woman. The screenplay was written by Oishi Shizuka, who is writing a taiga drama for the second time since "Koumyou ga Tsuji" in 2006, and depicts the glittering world of Heian aristocrats and the life of a woman who lived, wrote, and loved with all her heart.
