The 19th episode of the NHK Taiga drama " UNBOUND (Berabou) " (General TV, Sunday 8pm and others), starring actor Ryusei Yokohama , entitled "Uroko no Okimiyage", was broadcast on May 18th, depicting the reconciliation between Kataoka Ainosuke Magobei, played by Kataoka Ainosuke, and Tsutaju, played by Yokohama. As the subtitle suggests, Ainosuke, who played Urokogataya, whose parting gift to Tsutaju - a woodblock print of the salt seller Bunta - was also a hot topic, spoke about his feelings after finishing his performance.
Filming wrapped up with the scene where Ainosuke reconciles with Tsutae.
"It was quite moving. It was a story of Tsutae's growth from the very beginning, of him going from being nobody to becoming an incredible being. I thought it was a great scene for me to be able to convey to Tsutae himself that he had been going through a lot of different emotions, and I'm glad that we wrapped up filming with that scene."
While Urokogataya has taught Tsutaju the basics of business, such as entrusting him with his first real book-making job, they have also become rivals and have been engaged in fierce competition up to this point. What is Ainosuke's impression of Urokogataya?
"I think Urokogataya has great foresight. He's good at many things, but there's one thing he's bad at: business (laughs). He does incredible things, but his store doesn't sell anything at all. It's really difficult for anyone to survive in this day and age. From our perspective, someone may seem like a terrible villain, but when you look at it from a different angle, you get the feeling that 'the business exists because of this person,' and that's the case everywhere in today's society. He wasn't doing anything with the intention of doing bad things, and I thought he was a very human person."
Ainosuke also said that the most memorable scene for him as Urokogataya was the one where he was put in jail.
"Being caught and beaten...if the person being beaten isn't skilled, it doesn't look painful, and it's difficult. Even in Kabuki, there are roles in which the actor slashes with a sword, but it's rare to get a role in which the actor is the one being beaten, so I learned how difficult it is to be beaten."
Regarding his retirement from the show after the 19th edition, he honestly said, "I'm very sad."
"I haven't received the script yet, so I don't know what will happen next. I'd like to enjoy watching together with everyone to see how Tsutae will gain a foothold to become a media mogul."
"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.
