Yuriko Yoshitaka stars in the NHK Taiga drama "Dear Radiance (Hikaru Kimi e)" (General TV, Sunday 8pm and others). The drama has only the final episode (episode 48) "Beyond the Story" to be broadcast, but there is no doubt that many great performances and memorable scenes by the unique cast have been created over the past year. Here, I would like to trace the footsteps (achievements) of Michikane Fujiwara, who enlivened the story as a villain in the early stages, and Reo Tamaki, who played the role.
Tamaki played Michikane, the second elder brother of Fujiwara no Michinaga. He was a complex character who wanted the love of his father Kaneie, but also struggled in his relationships with his older brother Michitaka and his younger brother Michinaga.
While he behaves violently, in the beginning of the series he is also depicted as trying hard to live up to his father's expectations, and his trashiness is featured throughout the series, which has become a hot topic. In particular, in the first episode, "The Promised Moon," there is a shocking scene in which Michikane stabs and kills the protagonist Mahiro's (later known as Murasaki Shikibu) mother, Chiha, and this left a big impact on viewers, with comments such as "I was speechless at Michikane's trashiness."
Tamaki-san realistically portrayed Michikane's appearance as he tries to live up to his father's expectations while being tossed about by his own desires and emotions. Naturally, Michikane's final scene in the 18th episode "Crossroads", which was his "exit episode", also attracted attention.
After killing Chiyaha, Michikane became the family's "dirty player" and was also involved in the abdication of Emperor Kazan. When Kaneie chose Michitaka as his successor, Michikane became desperate, but after being saved by Michinaga's words, he began to think about the people, and eventually succeeded Michitaka as regent, but fell ill with an epidemic...
In the end, Michikane lost his life halfway through his journey, but his death, which Tamaki described as "a happy death that was well-satisfied and meaningful," caused a huge reaction, and the term "Michikane loss" became a trending topic on social media. This was due to viewers being able to empathize with Tamaki's performance and the complexity of the character Michikane.
Through Michikane, who played a key role in the early part of the story, Tamaki-san created a deep human drama that sometimes exuded insanity. I'm sure there are many drama fans who highly praised his performance and are looking forward to seeing his future work.
"Dear Radiance(Hikaru Kimi e)" is the 63rd taiga drama. It is set in the aristocratic society of the mid-Heian period, and the protagonist is Murasaki Shikibu (Mahiro), who later wrote "The Komyo ga Tsuji" in 2006, and depicts the glittering world of the Heian aristocracy and the life of a woman who lived, wrote, and loved with all her heart.
The final episode, "Beyond the Story," will be broadcast on December 15th with an extended 15 minutes.
