Yuriko Yoshitaka has played the main character Mahiro (Murasaki Shikibu) in the historical drama "Dear Radiance (Hikaru Kimi e)" (NHK General TV, Sundays at 8pm and others). The drama has only the final episode (episode 48) "Monogatari no Saki ni (Beyond the Story)" to be broadcast, but how will the story end? We asked her about her impressions of Mahiro's "soulmate"Fujiwara no Michinaga, who is indispensable to the story, and Tasuku Emoto, who played the same role.
"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.
Michinaga has been supporting Mahiro in writing "The Tale of Genji". In this work, the relationship between the two is that of "soulmates" who are sometimes attracted to each other, sometimes separated, and strongly influence each other in dark and light. In the 42nd episode, "The Riverside Vow" (broadcast on November 3rd), as the subtitle suggests, they vow to live together, and their "world of two people", which is neither love nor friendship, reaches its "final form".
Yoshitaka also commented, "I think he was each other's reason to live, our sustenance for living."
"I think there were many scenes where I looked up at the moon, and thinking of Mahiro was equal to thinking of Michinaga. Just as there is not a day without the moon (in this world), there is not a day that goes by when I don't think of him."
This will be the first time that he and Emoto, who plays Michinaga, have worked together in important roles, following the drama "Shiranai Koto ga Ii Koto" (Nippon TV), which was also written by Oishi Shizuka and aired in 2020.
How did Yoshitaka see Emoto-san's brilliant performance of both the pathetic Saburo (Michinaga's childhood name) and the cold-hearted expression of Michinaga as a man of power? Once again, I feel that "I'm really glad that Yu-kun is playing Michinaga."
"I think everyone has a difference between who they appear to be on the outside and who they are inside, but I felt it was a great privilege to be able to watch an actor who was able to express such raw human nature for a year and a half."
Yoshitaka also cited the "abandoned mansion scene" which was a huge hit at the beginning of the drama as an example, describing Emoto as "an actor you can listen to naturally and that makes you want to listen to him."
In the fifth episode, "Confession" (aired on February 4th), Mahiro is shown standing before Michinaga and all the pent up feelings that she has had in the six years since the death of her mother, Chiha (Kuninaka Ryoko), suddenly come pouring out, creating a huge climax. However, this scene, along with the "rendezvous" in the tenth episode, "Moonlit Conspiracy" (aired on March 10th), was also created "while discussing it" with the two of them.
"The scene in the abandoned house in episode 5 was a long take. It wasn't a dance, but there was a push and pull of emotions, how we moved with each other. The rendezvous in episode 10 was also filmed just the two of us, and it was a really long day, and I remember us clashing and talking to each other to the point of exhaustion. I think about it myself, but I think he's an actor that makes you want to ask him what he would think if he were Yu."
The final scene was with Emoto-san, who has been my "comrade-in-arms" so to speak, with whom I've walked and fought alongside for about a year and a half.
"It made me realize how quickly a year and a half had passed, and I felt a mixture of sadness, happiness, and relief. I didn't cry at the time (the moment filming wrapped), but when the director brought me a bouquet of flowers, I burst into tears, and when I saw that, I started crying too. I wanted to end the filming in a dignified manner, but it wasn't to be."
Yoshitaka said that even after that, there were moments when she felt a surge of loneliness once again.
"I came to NHK about two days later and looked into the studio. It was like a shell of the place, and it was completely empty. I was shocked at how empty the studio was. The waiting room was like a room I no longer knew. Our memories and youth had become a thing of the past in an instant. That was also sad."
The final episode, "Monogatari no Saki ni (Beyond the Story)," will air on December 15th.
