In the NHK morning drama series " Bakebake " (General TV, Monday to Saturday 8:00 AM and other times), starring Akari Takaishi Akari, Keiko Kitagawa plays Toki's (Takaishi Akari's) "real mother" and relative, Ushimizu Tae. She spoke about her feelings about appearing in her first Asadora, balancing work and family life, and memorable scenes.
◇How do you feel about appearing in a Asadora for the first time?
"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."
Tae, the character she plays, was born into one of Matsue's most prestigious families and grew up without any hardships, surrounded by many maids. She possesses both dignified elegance and a strict demeanor. Her role is to strictly teach her relative Toki about etiquette, tea ceremony, and other aspects of the culture of a samurai's daughter.
Kitagawa, who will be appearing in a Asadora for the first time with this production, recalls, "I thought I would never have the chance to be in a Asadora, so when I heard about it I was surprised and said, 'What, a Asadora?' When I was younger, I really wanted to be in one and took on the challenge, so I was very happy."
"However, I now have two children, and the filming location is in Osaka, not Tokyo. The filming period is long, so as much as I was happy, I was worried about whether I would be able to balance it with my family life, but my husband and both of our parents were supportive and encouraged me. I also worked with director Murahashi (Naoki) on the taiga drama "What Will Ieyasu Do?" It's really nice to be asked to work with someone you've worked with before. Tae's appearance scene felt more like a taiga drama than a Asadora, and I thought, 'Huh? I heard it was a Asadora' (laughs). It was also interesting to feel like I was doing a taiga drama all by myself."
◇Talk about memorable scenes and impressions of co-stars
In the 15th episode (broadcast on October 17th), her husband Den (Shinichi Tsutsumi) falls ill, and her third Sannojo(Rihito Itagaki) reveals the secret of Toki's birth. Sannojo confesses, "If the more I let go of something, the more I love it, then I wish I had grown up somewhere else."
Regarding the scene where he heard this line from Sannojo's mouth, Kitagawa recalls, "I was shocked to see how wrong I had been in raising him. I felt a pang of guilt as a parent for pushing Sannojo so hard. Den's line, 'What are you talking about, Sannojo,' also had a much more earnest ring to it than it did in the script."
Regarding his impression of Itagaki, who plays Sannojo, he said, "When I first co-starred with him at the age of 17, he was calm and composed, with the air of someone in his 30s or 40s. This time, he really lives and breathes the role of Sannojo, so I hope to be able to be there in a way that doesn't kill his facial expressions and the finer details of his acting."
Tsutsumi, who plays Den, said that he had "seen him on a TV drama," and revealed, "I couldn't believe we were playing a married couple, and it was a real honor."
"It was our first time acting together, but thanks to Tsutsumi-san's help, I feel like we were able to capture the atmosphere of Den and Tae as a married couple. Tae is from a higher family, so she calls him "Den," but even though their marriage was arranged by their families, you could sense from every bit of the script that Tae truly loved Den."
