Akari Takaishi plays the heroine in the NHK morning drama series "Bakebake " (General TV, Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM and others). The 15th episode (broadcast on October 17th) depicted the "final moments" of Ushimizu Fu, played by Shinichi Tsutsumi . We spoke to Hashizume Kuniomi, the production manager for this series, about the role Fu played in the story and the thoughts behind his final lines.
◇Fu is "one of the people who guided Toki"
" Bakebake" is based on the story of Koizumi Setsu, the daughter of a fallen samurai from Matsue, and her husband Yakumo (Lafcadio Hearn), and depicts the heroine, who loves ghost stories, going about her everyday life with her foreign husband. The script is written by Fujiki Mitsuhiko, who has worked on NHK's "Asagaya Sisters' Relaxed Life" and WOWOW's "Shooting Break Series."
Fu, played by Tsutsumi, is a renowned high-ranking samurai in the Matsue domain, an elite in both the arts and martial arts. He is a man of character so well-known that everyone in Matsue knows him, and in the midst of a changing era, he strives to reach out to many fallen samurai. He has been fond of his relative Toki (played by Takaishi) since he was a child, but it is revealed that he is actually Toki's biological father.
Regarding Fu's character, Hashizume explains that he is "one of the people who guided Toki."
"Fu often says, 'Ghost stories are not just scary or resentful, they're also lonely,' but he is the one who affirmed the ghost stories that Toki had always loved since he was a child, and clearly put into words the reasons for that. I think he is someone who Toki longs for, differently from the feelings he has for his own father, and who, when he looks back at the end of his life, he realizes that he was the person who guided him."
◇Looking back on Fu's final moments
In episode 15, Fu laments the terrible state of the factory while he was away, and even though he falls ill, he asks Sannojo(Rihito Itagaki), the acting president, for an explanation of the situation. Sannojo confesses his anguish as the third son and reveals that Toki is Fu and Tae's (Keiko Kitagawa) daughter. Toki reveals that he knew everything, but Fu says, "You are not my child and Tae's. You are the child of Tsukasanosuke Matsuno and Fumi Matsuno. From the moment you were born, and always will be..." before passing away to heaven.
Regarding this scene, Hashizume recalls, "It was a tense shooting location."
"It was a mysterious scene that was tense, yet warm and all-encompassing. It was a long scene, and it was very heavy because it involved the life and death of people. It was a rare serious scene in ' Bakebake,' but it didn't end there on its own. I could feel the amazing interaction between the actors, including the gaps that weren't written in the script."
During this exchange, the final words spoken by Fu, "You are not my child and Otae's," are said to express Fu's resolve.
"From the moment Fu gave Toki up for adoption to the Matsuno family, he was probably prepared to take that secret to his grave, and I think that was also a sign of his love for Toki. If he had said that he was her real parent, he might have felt fulfilled at the time, but Toki would have had to live with that cross. By taking on everything himself, he would be able to maintain the relationship that had existed between Toki and the Matsuno family up to that point. By telling her that she was not his daughter, he was giving his daughter the greatest amount of love, and it really moved me emotionally, and I think it was one of the most loving lines."
How will Toki, who has received Fu's final message, face the Matsuno family members from now on? Hashizume said, "Will Toki tell his family that he knows the secret of his birth? Please look forward to seeing how things unfold."
