It was revealed on June 28th that singer Leon Niihama will be appearing in the NHK Taiga drama " UNBOUND (Berabou) " (General TV, Sunday 8pm and others), starring actor Ryusei Yokohama . He will play Tomimoto Saigūtayu, a talented tayu under the tutelage of Tomimoto Bunzentayu. This is Shinhama's first time appearing in a Taiga drama, and he commented, "It's like a dream come true and I'm extremely honored to be able to appear in a Taiga drama, something I've always dreamed of since I was a child."
Tomimoto Saigūtayu, played by Shinhama, is a man who supported the heyday of Tomimoto-bushi, one of the schools of Edo Jōruri. As rice shortages in Edo become serious and riots occur one after another, he and Tsutaeju (Yokohama) come up with a plan to deal with the situation...
Shinhama said, "My role as Tomimoto Saigūtayu this time is to calm a certain incident through the power of song (narration), which overlaps with the words and messages I use in my daily work as a singer. I will study the background and history of the Edo period and give it my all to liven up the drama with 100% of the singing I am able to do now."
In addition to Shinhama, it was announced that Fujima Sawako will play Kiyo, the wife of the future Utamaro Mamoru (played by Sometani Shota), and Kai Shoma will play Choshichi, a carpenter who lives near the tenement house in Fukagawa where Shinnosuke (played by Inowaki Kai) lives, and this will be their first time appearing in a taiga drama.
Furthermore, it has been revealed that Inoue Yuki will play Matsudaira Sadanobu, who carried out the Kansei Reforms after the downfall of Tanuma Okitsugu(Ken Watanabe), Jō Kairi will play Tokugawa Ienari, who became the 11th shogun at the age of 15, Matayoshi Naoki will play the kyoka poet Yadoya Iimori, who studied under Ota Nanpo(Kenta Kiritani) and was counted among the four great kyoka poets, Hirata Hiroaki will play Magarifuchi Kagesuke, who worked hard to improve public order in Edo during the Tenmei Uprisings, Shimamoto Sumi will play Taka, a maid at Koshodo in Nihonbashi, Okuno Eita will play Tokugawa Haruyasu, a powerful man who rebuilt the Mito domain through scholarship and reform, Shimada Kyūsaku will play Shibano Kuriyama, one of the Three Doctors of the Kansei Era who served as an instructor at the Shoheizaka Gakumonsho, and Enoki Takaaki will play Tokugawa Munechika, a wise ruler of the Owari domain who valued martial arts and scholarship.
"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.
