The 18th episode of the NHK Taiga drama " UNBOUND (Berabou) " (General TV, Sundays at 8pm and others), starring actor Ryusei Yokohama , titled "Utamaro, Virtue is a Single Dream", was broadcast on May 11th, and the average viewership rating (according to Video Research, Kanto region, same below) was 9.6% for households and 5.7% for individuals.
" UNBOUND (Berabou)" is the 64th taiga drama and depicts the life of Tsutaya Juzaburo(or "Tsutajyu" for short), who is said to have laid the foundations for Japan's media industry and pop culture.
In the 18th episode, Tsutaju (Yokohama), who was searching for the author of the blue book, has an idea while comparing several paintings by an artist named Toyoaki Kitagawa (Toranosuke Kato). He immediately visits Toyoaki, but meets a man named Sutekichi (Shota Sometani) in the tenement house.
It is soon revealed that Sutekichi's true identity is Karamaru, who was once saved by Tsutajue during a fire and began living with her but then disappeared. However, the "past" that Sutekichi tells Tsutajue is a brutal one, in which he has been forced to sell his body by his own mother since he was seven years old.
Also, during "that fire," Karamaru, who ran away alone without helping his mother, blames himself, saying, "It was a mistake to be born in the first place!" He jumps into the river to die with Yasu (Takagi Katsuya), a "scarred man" who knows Karamaru's past, but he considers his survival to be bad luck and even says, "You can't help trash like me. It would be better if I just disappeared from this world." However, Tsutae extends her hand and says, "I'm just glad you're alive," and repeats, "I'll help you."
And thanks to the ingenuity of Fuji (played by Naoko Iijima), the proprietress of Surugaya, Karamaru also obtains a family register and becomes Tsutae's brother-in-law, "Yusuke." Furthermore, Tsutae gives him the name "Utamaro" as his artistic pen name... and so on.
