The 47th episode of the NHK Taiga drama "Dear Radiance (Hikaru Kimi e)" (General TV, Sunday 8pm and others), starring Yoshitaka Yuriko, aired on December 8th, depicting the "final moments" of Zhou Ming (Matsushita Kohei), who was shot through the chest by an arrow at the end of the previous week's 46th episode. Even as he was dying, Zhou Ming told Mahiro to "run away..." Matsushita, who plays the same character, revealed his thoughts, saying, "He was the one who taught me the value of life, so I think he wanted me to treasure my own life, which is why he told me to 'run away'."
Matsushita, playing Zhou Ming's final moments, reflected, "It was strange, but Zhou Ming's life up to that point appeared before my eyes like a slideshow."
"I ended up parting ways with Mahiro in that way, but I felt a sadness I'd never felt before. I think it must have been a happy thing for Shumei to be able to end his life protecting Mahiro until the very end. It was very painful, but I also felt like it was okay. I felt emotions I'd never really felt before."
Even after telling Mahiro to "run away", he confessed, "I watched over him with the thought, 'Live your life to the fullest no matter what happens,' until he left."
"They're a strange couple, aren't they, Shumei and Mahiro? As they continue to exchange lives throughout this drama, there may have been love and other special feelings, but Mahiro also interacts with many different people. But I think Mahiro's relationship with Shumei was something unique, a very special one, and I hope the viewers can sense that too."
"Dear Radiance (Hikaru Kimi e)" is the 63rd taiga drama. Set in the aristocratic society of the mid-Heian period, 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 script 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.
