Kanata Hosoda will be appearing in the NHK Asadora drama "Anpan " (General TV, Monday to Saturday 8:00am and others), starring Mio Imada Go Hara, who plays Hara Go, a stonemason who works at Asada Stoneworks, the family business of Nobu (Imada), talked about his acting with Kotaro Yoshida, who plays Nobu's grandfather, Kamaji, and Kawai Yumi, who plays Nobu's younger sister Yuumi Kawai, with whom he co-starred for the third time.
◇ With Kotaro Yoshida,"We're like master and disciple"
Go is a young stonemason who has great respect for Kamaji. He lives in a room in the Asada household and has a secret crush on Nobu's younger sister, Ranko (Yuumi Kawai).
Regarding Go's character, Hosoda said he approached the play with this interpretation: "He never speaks on his own, but he is someone who is always sympathetic to the Asada family."
"There aren't that many lines, so even if I'm not directly involved in the conversation, I think I have to show the changes in Go's emotions through his reactions to them. We started filming in the sixth week with the scene where he goes fishing with Yamu (Sadao Abe), and I feel like being able to shoot that scene first decided the overall direction for Go. I felt at ease acting with Abe and was able to approach it without being nervous, and it's a very memorable scene."
Speaking of his master, Kamaji, he said, "I think of him as a second father. He said, 'I learned everything from my master, how to read and write, how to use a ruler, and even about stones. My master was my school,' but more than that, I feel like I'm teaching him how to behave as a man of this era."
Speaking about Yoshida, who plays Kamaji, he said, "He's someone who really improvises and has fun with it," and added with a smile, "Especially during rehearsals, he changes it every time (laughs). He throws out such amazing things that it's frustrating not to be able to return them, so I often find myself regretting it. I try my best to keep up, but the interaction is fun, and it really feels like a master and disciple."
◇What are your thoughts about Ranko?
When asked about Ranko, whom Go had always had a crush on, he said, "Ranko puts home first above all else and cares for her family. She's reliable, caring, and has a broad perspective. I think that's what attracted me to her."
"In the fifth week, Iwao (Hamao Noritaka) came to propose to Ranko, and Go's heart was pounding (laughs). Later, when Ranko was passing by the workshop on her way to work, the director asked me to 'express his emotions using the sound of hammering a stone,' so there was a scene where I expressed Go's agitation through sound," he recalls.
In the 29th episode on May 8th, a send-off party was held for Go, who had received his draft notice, and there was a scene where he and Ranko conveyed their feelings to each other.
"In those days, going to war was a great honor. Go has no negative feelings, but the only thing he regrets is that he had not yet fully developed a relationship with Ranko. That's why, ever since I read the script, I felt that the scene where the two of them share their feelings would be a very moving one."
Regarding Kawai, with whom he co-starred for the third time, Hosoda said, "When we act together, there are many moments when I have to concentrate more and broaden my awareness, and I feel like I have to stand up straight. That's fun, and he's someone who inspires me." He also hinted at his trust in Kawai, saying even during the filming of the scene, "I felt like I wanted to follow what came out of Kawai's acting, so I approached it without worrying about the small details or even the dialect."
"When Hatako (Noriko Eguchi) said to me, 'Go-chan, please take good care of Ranko,' I felt like I had become a part of the Asada family for the first time, and a lot of emotion welled up inside me. There is war, and the story depicts many of the hardships faced by each character, but I hope that this scene shines through amidst all of that."
