The new cast of the NHK Taiga drama " UNBOUND (Berabou) " (General TV, Sunday 8pm and others), starring actor Ryusei Yokohama , was announced on January 11th. The nine actors who will appear as "Tsutajes' friends who are connected to Tsutaju and have released hit works, and cultural figures who have made a name for themselves in Edo," are: Kiritani Kenta as Ota Nanpo/Shikata Akayoshi, Furukawa Yudai as Kitao Masanori/Sankyotoden, Okayama Amane as Kurahashi Itaru/Koikawa Harumachi, Kan'ichiro as Tomimoto Gonosuke, Yamanaka Satoshi as Sugita Genpaku, Yanagi Shuntaro as Tsuchiyama Sojiro, Yamaguchi Morihiro as Torai Sanwa, Hamanaka Bunichi as Shura Sugae, and Kataoka Tsurutaro as Toriyama Sekien, are all unique characters.
" UNBOUND (Berabou)" is the 64th taiga drama, depicting the life of Tsutaya Juzaburo(or "Tsutajyu" for short), who is said to have built the foundations of Japan's media industry and pop culture. The script was written by Yoshiko Morishita, known for "Drama 10 'Ooku'" which was broadcast on NHK two years ago and became a big hit.
Ota Nanpo/Shikata Akara, played by Kiritani, is a Shogunate vassal, Edo's foremost intellectual, and star of Tenmei Kyoka. He was born and raised in the Okachigumi mansion in Ushigome. He made a name for himself with his collection of rhapsodies "Nebo Sensei Bunshu" (Sleeping Teacher Collection) published in his teens, and later, under the mad name Shikata Akara, he became a leading figure in Tenmei Kyoka. He also has many different sides to him, including as a critic and a comic book writer, and his relationship with Tsutaju (Yokohama) began after reading Nanpo's yellow-covered review "Kikujusou." He is also an avid alcoholic beverage lover.
Furukawa plays Kitao Masayasu/Sankyoden, an Edo-period bestselling author with many talents, including artist and comic writer. Born in Kiba, Fukagawa, he learned painting from Kitao Shigemasa (Hashimoto Jun), and gradually established himself as a comic writer with his series of sharebon and kibyoshi books published by Tsuruya (Kazama Shunsuke). He got to know Tsutae while frequently visiting Yoshiwara, and the two developed a close friendship. After the huge success of "Edo Nama Eteki Kabayaki," he became an indispensable publishing partner for Tsutae.
Okayama plays Kurahashi Itaru/Koigawa Harumachi, a close friend of Touseidou Kisanji (Omi Toshinori) and the author of the masterpiece yellow-covered book "Kaneki Sensei Eika Yume." He is a samurai serving the Suruga Kojima Domain. He is a comic writer who can both illustrate and write. His work "Kaneki Sensei Eika Yume," published by Urokogataya Magobei (Kataoka Ainosuke), became a huge hit, becoming the forerunner of the yellow-covered books that followed. He gets to know Tsutaju, a newcomer to the bookstore, through Kisanji, with whom he is friends. Although he publishes one work after another with Tsutaju, his work "Omu Kaeri Bunbu Ni Do," published at a time of change, catches the eye of the shogunate, leading to an unexpected situation...
Tomimoto Gonosuke, played by Kanichiro, is an Edo Joruri singer whose beautiful voice captivates audiences. Tsutaju tries to contact the second Tomimoto in order to make the Tomimoto style, which was popular at the time, the official version. He is also known as "Bamamendayu." His beautiful voice captivated all of Edo. His father is Tomimoto Buzenjo, and he calls himself the second Tomimoto Buzendayu.
Genpaku Sugita, played by Yamanaka, is the creator of "Kaitai Shinsho" (New Anatomy Book), and was also friends with Gennai Hiraga (Ken Yasuda). He was a doctor in the Wakasa Obama domain, and together with Ryotaku Maeno and Junan Nakagawa, he translated "Tabulae Anatomicae" and published "Kaitai Shinsho" (New Anatomy Book) through Suharaya (Kotaro Satomi). Gennai introduced Naotake Odano, a painter who would draw illustrations for the book, and the two men came to respect each other, even though they worked in different fields.
Yanagi plays Tsuchiyama Sojiro, a close aide to Tanuma Okitsugu(Ken Watanabe), whose life was turned upside down by a political upheaval. He is Okitsugu's trusted subordinate and a hatamoto who heads the accounting group. As Okitsugu actively promotes the development of Ezo, Tsuchiyama becomes heavily involved as an explorer. He also spends his time lavishly in Yoshiwara, and as a patron of Ota Nanpo and others, he indulges in luxury to the fullest, eventually buying the Omonoya courtesan Daresode (Haruka Fukuhara) for the enormous sum of 1,200 ryo. However, when Okitsugu falls from grace, his life takes a tragic turn.
Torai Sanwa, played by Yamaguchi, is an Edo comic writer with a keen sense of humor. He was originally a samurai, but became a townsman during the Tenmei period. He meets Tsutae at a large banquet that brought together artists, kyoka poets, and comic writers. One of his representative works is "Mokiri Jinken Kinseigi," a palindrome masterpiece whose title is the same whether read backwards or forwards. Eventually, as the era of Matsudaira Sadanobu came, the work was deemed to be politically critical and was put out of print.
Shura Sugae, played by Hamanaka, is one of the three great masters of kyoka poetry, along with Ota Nanpo and Karagoromo Kikushi. The kyoka poetry that he started with Ota Nanpo and others became hugely popular during the Tenmei period, and he became one of the people who led the boom. He met Tsutajyo at a kyoka poetry gathering that Ota Nanpo invited him to. After that, Tsutajyo published many kyoka books, and released a collaborative work with Kitagawa Utamaro (played by Sometani Shota) to the world...
Kataoka plays Toriyama Sekien, a master of monster painting who had a major influence on the life of Utamaro. He studied painting under the Kano school, which served the Tokugawa Shogunate, and in 1776 published Gazu Hyakki Yakou (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons), garnering attention as a master of monster painting. He had many disciples, including Kitagawa Utamaro and Koikawa Harumachi. He took a particular liking to Utamaro from a young age, helping to awaken his talent.
The people announced this time were "Tsutaju's friends who produced hit works and cultural figures who made a name for themselves in Edo."
