Yasunori Danta: "I was shocked" to receive the Purple Ribbon Medal

Actor Yasunori Danta (68) appeared on Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's long-running talk show "Tetsuko's Room" (TV Asahi) broadcast on July 16th. He talked about an episode from when he received the Medal with Purple Ribbon last year.

Danta played Fujiwara no Kaneie, the father of Fujiwara no Michinaga no Michinaga, in last year's taiga drama " To Dear Radiance (Hikaru Kimi e) ". "He devised various schemes to ensure the survival and prosperity of his family. (Scriptwriter) Shizuka Oishi wrote a wonderful story about him seizing power and dying. It was a lot of fun to act," he recalled.

Regarding receiving the Purple Ribbon Medal, he said, "I was totally surprised. It was like a bolt from the blue. I never expected it. I was like, "Huh? My wife was also overjoyed."

Tetsuko introduced Danda saying, "After receiving the award, he came to the Imperial Palace and the Emperor spoke to him directly." Danda revealed, "The Emperor called out to me, 'Mr. Danda.' I was surprised that he even knew me. He also knew about the stage play I had done before. When I asked him, 'Do you watch TV dramas?' the Emperor replied, 'I watch historical dramas and Asadora because they help me study history.'"

Fujiwara no Kaneie was the one who rebelled against Emperor Kazan and forced him to fall from power, so "I thought this was a bit of a problem," said Danda. "I said half-jokingly, 'I'm sorry for rebelling,' and (the emperor) said, 'No, no, it's fine,' with a smile. It's weird for me to apologize, but (laughs)."