The NHK Taiga drama " UNBOUND (Berabou) " (NHK General TV, Sunday 8:00 PM and others), starring actor Ryusei Yokohama , aired on October 5th. In the 38th episode, "The Beginning of the Jihon Tonya Nakamaji", viewers were captivated by the sight of Utamaro (Sometani Shota) continuing to paint beside the body of Kiyo (Fujima Sawako), who had contracted syphilis and passed away.
" 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. The script was written by Yoshiko Morishita, who is known for her work on the highly talked-about "Drama 10: Ooku," which aired on NHK two years ago.
In episode 38, Tsutaju (Yokohama) visits Utamaro and finds Kiyo, who has fallen ill and is bedridden. Meanwhile, thanks to Tsuruya (Shunsuke Kazama), Tsutaju reunites with Masanori (Kyoden, Furukawa Yudai), with whom he had a falling out after an argument. Meanwhile, Sadanobu (Inoue Yuki) calls Heizo (Nakamura Hayato) and, promising him a promotion, orders him to set up a labor camp.
Furthermore, Sadanobu did not let up on his reforms, taking a strict view of scholarship and thought, and imposing control over publication...
Upon learning that Kiyo has passed away, Tsutaju returns to Utamaro's home. There he finds Utamaro continuing to paint next to Kiyo's body. Hair has grown in the area of his shaved head, and his beard has also grown. Furthermore, the tatami mats, which have turned black with stains that appeared after Kiyo's body was carried away, suggest that many days have passed since her death, shocking viewers.
On social media, viewers commented, "Okiyo-san... how many days has it been...?", "I wonder how many days Uta spent with her," "Okiyo-san... Uta continues to draw her even after she has passed away, there is hair on her tsukushiro... how long has it been...?", "That tsukushiro and tatami..." "It's more poignant than I imagined," "NHK, as you'd expect... trying to show the passage of time with the tsukushiro..." and many others commented, "When they carried out the dead Okiyo, the tatami was really dirty... I was horrified when I noticed," "The tatami was black, the tatami was really black. I was horrified by the attention to detail," and "The stench of decay was in the air, but Uta's eyes were smiling as she drew Okiyo... I was horrified when she casually took Okiyo's hand and tried to bite it."
