The 44th episode of the NHK Taiga drama "Dear Radiance (Hikaru Kimi e)" (General TV, Sunday 8pm and others), starring Yoshitaka Yuriko, "Mochizuki no Yoru (A Night of the Full Moon)", aired on November 17th, depicting the final moments of Emperor Sanjo, played by Kimura Tatsunari. Following the advice of Sanesuke (Akiyama Ryuji), he accepts to abdicate on the condition that his son with Shoko (Asakura Aki), Atsuaki (Asa Tatsumi), becomes the Crown Prince. Afterwards, Kimura, who played the role of Sanjo, who passed away while watched over by Shoko and Atsuaki, spoke of his thoughts.
Regarding the scene of the negotiations with Michinaga (Emoto Tasuku), Kimura said, "I interpreted it as him having a lot of fun."
"At the end, he said, 'It's dark,' and there was a line that said, 'It was bright when it wasn't dark,' but I think that the position he was in was difficult, and I don't think he was enjoying it too much, but I think that he really enjoyed it. He had finally become emperor after a long period as Crown Prince, so I think that he was excited to move the politics around."
In episode 44, he proposed that his daughter marry Michinaga's son, Yorimichi (played by Watanabe Keisuke), but in the end, he ran out of options and abdicated.
"I think I gave it my all, so it can't be helped. To be honest, even if I said, 'I want to be the emperor forever,' Michinaga didn't seem to want to be my right-hand man, so I liked the line, 'Be my eyes and ears,' but he didn't do much, so after that I thought, 'It can't be helped.' I think I really entrusted it to Atsuaki. Even after I abdicate, even after I abdicate, I think I want my family to be happy."
Looking back at the end of Emperor Sanjo's life, he said, "I think he entrusted his final thoughts to him."
"It was true that Shoshi was crying, but at the end, it felt like she was looking at the invisible moon and rekindling her fighting spirit. So I think she was probably furious that Atsuaki had stepped down from his position as crown prince after she died. It was typical of Atsuaki to say, 'What are you doing?!'"
"Dear Radiance" 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.
