The 11th episode of the NHK Taiga drama " UNBOUND (Berabou) " (General TV, Sunday 8pm and others), starring actor Ryusei Yokohama , titled "Tomimoto, the Honorable Horse Mask", was broadcast on March 16th, with Kanichiro appearing in the role of Tomimoto Toyosato (Gonosuke).
This will be Kanichiro's first appearance in a taiga drama in three years since "The 13 Lords of the Shogun" (2022), in which he played Kugyo.
The character he plays is Tomimoto Toyoshidayu (Gonosuke), a second-generation Tomimoto performer whom Tsutaju (Yokohama) tries to contact 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 the whole of Edo. His father was Tomimoto Toyozenjo, and he calls himself the second Tomimoto Toyozendayu.
In episode 11, Tsutae is troubled by the high price of her copy of "Blue Chamber Beauty Mirror," which is not selling, and her father and others ask her to invite the popular Joruri chanter Tomimoto Toyosatou (Gonosuke) to be the centerpiece of the Niwaka Festival.
She visits the theater with Rits (Adachi Yumi) and others and asks Umanosuke to participate in the Niwa Festival, but Umanosuke, who had been banned from entering Yoshiwara in the past, turns Tsutae away at the gate...
In the second half, at Tsutaju's request, Umanosuke demonstrates his beautiful voice in front of the courtesans and furisode shinzo who are usually not allowed to go to the theater. His voice is so beautiful that even the carefree Kaori (played by Inagaki Raizumi) is moved to tears.
On social media, when Kanichiro, who plays Umanosuke, appeared on the screen, people responded with comments such as "It's Kougyou," "Isn't it Kougyou?", "It's Kougyou!", and "Kugyou has arrived!". When he showed off his beautiful voice, comments such as "The whole of Yoshiwara cried," "Really? Is that a dubbing?", "He must have practiced a lot," and "I got goosebumps" were raised.
"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, who is known for "Drama 10 'Ooku'" which was broadcast on NHK two years ago and became a big hit.
