" Bakebake " (NHK Asadora ) starring Akari Takaishi (General TV, Monday to Saturday 8:00 AM and others) is an NHK morning drama series. The 19th episode, which aired on October 23rd, depicts a scene in which Kan'emon ( Fumiyo Kohinata) visits Tae (Keiko Kitagawa) and holds Toki for the first time. Kan'emon had said he had hoped for a boy, but when he met Toki, he showed a gentle expression. We asked production director Hashizume Kuniomi what role the character Kan'emon plays in the drama.
Kan'emon is a true samurai who lived through the end of the Edo period with vigor, and even in the Meiji era, he continues to wear a topknot and practice sword fighting, believing that it is up to him to protect the country. He also treats Toki's (Takaishi) new husband, Ginjiro (Kanichiro), with strictness, ensuring that he becomes a worthy successor.
Hashizume says, "I think the role of Kan'emon is quite difficult. Looking at him today, his actions seem quite outlandish, but many things had not yet caught up (as the samurai era gave way to the Meiji era). We know what the world was like after that, but I created this character imagining that people who were clinging to the old world and unable to move forward might sometimes behave in the way that he did."
"The characters in the Matsuno family may seem like 'terrible people' when viewed from a modern perspective. We have access to a wide range of information these days, but I'm sure that people living at that time didn't know any other information. They received their education in the Edo period and lived their lives without knowing any other options."
"I think what happened to the Matsuno family could happen even today. If you're on the outside, you can say to others, 'That's fine,' but when you're in the middle of something, I think it can be hard to see what's going on around you. When you watch the drama, you might think they're 'weird,' but that's not actually the case. I hope the drama will make you realize that there's more to it than that."
Without knowing any other way of life, the era shifts from the samurai to the Meiji era. Hashizume says that Kan'emon is a "difficult role to play, as it requires exploring the subtleties of his heart," but Kohinata delivers a brilliant performance.
"I think Kohinata has internalized why Kan'emon behaves in the way he does. He's never joking around. He creates that consistency," he said, expressing his immense trust in him.
Although it was not depicted in the main drama, there was apparently a "backstory" that Kan'emon had no intention of welcoming a child from the Ushimizu family if the child was not a boy.
"When I saw Toki's face, I couldn't help but smile and accept him unconditionally. That's the character Kan'emon is. Kohinata himself is a person who brightens up the set and also likes children, so it was a very natural performance for him."
