The new cast of the NHK Taiga drama "Toyotomi Brothers!" starring Taiga Nakano to be broadcast in 2026 was announced on April 8th on the official NHK drama website (@nhk_dramas), revealing that Leo Matsumoto will play the role of Mitsunari Ishida. The 24-year-old young actor, who appeared in the Asadora"Omusubi" that aired its final episode in March, was selected from a large-scale audition that attracted over 1,600 applicants, mostly actors in their 20s and 30s. Here, we would like to review the "Mitsunari actors" in the Taiga drama that led to Matsumoto.
◇ Koji Ishizaka was still a university student at the time.
The long-running Taiga drama series began in 1963, and Ishida Mitsunari first appeared in the 1965 "Taikoki." At the time, Koji Ishizaka, who was still a university student at the time, was chosen to play the role.
Speaking of Ishizaka, he is currently making waves in the Taiga drama "UNBOUND (Berabou)" for his role as Matsudaira Takemoto, a character with distinctive long white eyebrows, but his memorable first step as a Taiga actor was playing the role of Mitsunari in "Taikoki" 60 years ago.
If Ishizaka was the first "Mitsunari actor" in a taiga drama, the second was Nakamura Atsuo in "Haru no Sakamichi" in 1971. This was the first taiga drama to depict the Battle of Sekigahara. After that, Kondo Masaomi in "Kogane no Hibi" in 1978, Takuma Shin in "Onna Taikoki" in 1981, Kaga Takeshi in "Tokugawa Ieyasu" in 1983, and Okuda Eiji in "Dokuganryu Masamune" in 1987 all made their names in the history of taiga dramas as "Mitsunari actors".
Looking at the taiga dramas that have taken part since the Heisei era, we see a diverse line-up of names such as Ibu Masato (1989's "Kasuga no Tsubone"), Sanada Hiroyuki (1996's "Hideyoshi"), Emori Toru (2000's "The Three Generations of the Aoi Tokugawa"), Harada Ryuji (2002's "Toshiie and Matsu"), Nakamura Hashinosuke (now Nakamura Shikan) (2006's "Komyo ga Tsuji"), Shun Oguri Shun (2009's "Tenchijin") and Hagiwara Masato (2011's "Go: Princesses of the Warring States").
Oguri played Mitsunari's childhood in "Hideyoshi," and this will be his first "rerun" in 13 years.
◇ Koji Yamamoto's popular character "Mitsunari" suffers from stomach pains due to stress, revealing his "beautiful physique"
In the 2014 drama "Gunshi Kanbei,"Kei Tanaka played Mitsunari, portraying a dark and evil Mitsunari who is a fierce enemy of the main character, Kuroda Kanbei (played by Okada Junichi).
Koji Yamamoto from the 2016 drama "Sanadamaru" also gained popularity as the cool but passionate Mitsunari. In addition to his appearance of getting stomach aches when stressed, Yamamoto's "undressing scene" in which he revealed his beautiful physique also attracted attention, and the image of Mitsunari, who was surprisingly muscular when undressed, is still etched in the hearts of Taiga fans.
Matsumoto's predecessor will be Nakamura Shichinosuke in "What Will Ieyasu Do?" in 2023. In this role, Shichinosuke played Mitsunari, who, apart from his ability to take charge of the practical aspects of the Toyotomi government, is naive and unable to understand the hearts of others and admit that he is "wrong."
Let's get back to the topic of "Toyotomi Brothers!". This work is a success story of hope and dreams, depicting the miracle of the Toyotomi brothers who accomplished the great feat of unifying the country with their strong bond, with Hidenaga, the younger brother of "the ruler of Japan," Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Matsumoto plays Mitsunari, who became one of the five magistrates at the young age of 25 and played a central role in the Toyotomi government.
"I have never had such an honor or challenged opportunity in my acting career to play the important role of Ishida Mitsunari, a role that has been played by many famous predecessors, in 'Toyotomi Brothers!', which I have been looking forward to. I will put aside all my worries and tension, face what is expected of me and what I can express, and fulfill my role as Ishida Mitsunari," said Matsumoto. We look forward to seeing what kind of performance he will show us as he waits for the broadcast.
