The 26th episode of the NHK Taiga drama " UNBOUND (Berabou) " (General TV, Sunday 8pm and others), starring actor Ryusei Yokohama , entitled "Three Women", was broadcast on July 6th. The episode depicts the outcome of the "Tenmei Rice Riots", and Hideki Takahashi appears as Tokugawa Harusada, the ninth lord of the Kishu domain, one of the Tokugawa Tokugawa Harusada.
"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.
In the 26th episode, the price of rice doubled from last year due to a poor rice harvest caused by a cool summer. The number of servants also increased, and at Koshodo, where playwrights gathered, rice was quickly depleted, and Tsutaju (Yokohama-san) was also having a hard time.
Then Tsuyo (played by Saki Takaoka), Tsutaju's real mother, comes to the store and tries to stay there as a hairdresser. Meanwhile, in Edo Castle, Okitsugu(played by Ken Watanabe) takes measures to deal with the soaring rice prices, but they do not go down. The situation escalates to the point where Tokugawa Harusada of the Kishu Tokugawa clan, fed up with the shogunate's poor performance, issues a warning to the shogunate... and so on.
In the same episode, Harusada harshly scolded Okitsugu, saying, "How can you, a former foot soldier, take responsibility for creating such a world? Don't think Kishu will support you forever!" Ikenaga had no Okitsugu but to bow down to this.
On social media, viewers responded with comments such as, "Hideki Takahashi! A big shot here!!!", "Momotaro Samurai!", "Echigo Confectionery!", and "Hideki Takahashi is the right answer." Other comments included, "Hideki Takahashi is just perfect for this role", "With just a few lines, Hideki Takahashi Ken Watanabe Hideki really does have that big-shot vibe," as well as, "Only Tanuma Okitsugu can scold Ken Watanabe like that", "Tanuma Okitsugu's presence as he yells at Hideki Takahashi and makes him bow down is impressive", and "I usually only see him on castle specials, but Hideki Takahashi really does have a presence."
