Ryusei Yokohama plays Matsudaira Sadanobu in the NHK Taiga drama "UNBOUND (Berabou)" (General TV, Sunday 8pm and other times), starring Yokohama Ryusei. In episode 43, "Love Song of Betrayal" (broadcast on November Getsuku), Sadanobu, who had been aiming for the position of Tairo, suffered the humiliation of being removed from the shogunate in an unexpected way. Sadanobu's downfall drew ridicule from the other elders and even sympathy from some viewers. The scene was very exciting, but perhaps what made it even more convincing was the youthfulness that Inoue exuded in the role of Sadanobu.
◇After "Ultraman Taiga," "What Will Ieyasu Do?" and "The Tiger and Her Wings"
Inoue is 29 years old and was born on June 6, 1996 in Hiroshima Prefecture. In 2017, he won the judges' special award at the Horipro Talent Scout Caravan, and the following year he made his acting debut in the musical Peter Pan. In 2019, he was selected to play the lead role in the special effects drama Ultraman Taiga (TV Tokyo), attracting attention, and in 2022 he also starred in the NHK evening drama Graduation Time Limit.
His first appearance in a taiga drama was in 2023's "What Will Ieyasu Do?", in which he played Masazumi, the son of Honda Masanobu (Matsuyama Kenichi). Masazumi is a bright young elite who serves Ieyasu (Jun Matsumoto ). After Masanobu is banished from Mikawa, he is raised by Okubo Tadayo (Kote Shinya), who teaches him not to become like his father. Unlike Masanobu, his character is honest and straightforward.
The year after "What Will Ieyasu Do?", he made his first appearance in the Asadora (serial television drama) " The Tiger and Her Wings ." He played the role of Hoshi Tomohiko (played by Hirata Mitsuru), the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and Hoshi Koichi (played by Masaki Okada), a judge who himself went on to enter the legal profession.
He will make his full appearance in his second taiga drama, "UNBOUND," in the 30th episode, "Imitation Utamaro" (broadcast August 10th). Matsudaira Sadanobu, as he plays, is entrusted with rebuilding the shogunate, which is facing financial difficulties and a breakdown in public morals. He is appointed chief senior councilor under the 11th shogun, Tokugawa Ienari (played by Shiro Kairi). In contrast to the flamboyant, commerce-oriented policies of Tanuma Okitsugu(played by Ken Watanabe), he implemented the "Kansei Reforms," which included strict frugality, rural revival, discipline in public morals, and the promotion of Confucianism. He was also strict on townspeople culture, and strengthened the control of publishing of sharebon and yellow-covered books. He also had a major influence on Tsutaju's (played by Yokohama) publishing activities. In the 39th episode, "Unable to Live in the Pure Land of Shirakawa, Half My Life" (broadcast October 12th), he and Tsutaju face off against each other.
Incidentally, towards the end of the same episode, Hasegawa Heizo (Nakamura Hayato ) captures Aoi Kozo, a bandit who has been attacking merchants one after another, pretending to be the "illegitimate son" of the previous shogun. However, since the group "had completely lost their livelihood and ultimately fallen into evil," Honda Tadanori (Yajima Kenichi) advises Sadanobu to "end the thrift edict and crackdown on public morals." Furthermore, Tadanori clearly states, "People don't want to 'live righteously.' They want to 'live happily.'" Matsudaira Nobuaki (Fukuyama Shota) also tells Sadanobu, "If you continue like this, you may be accused of being worse than Tanuma." It seems that those around him were already finding it difficult to keep up with Sadanobu's methods. In fact, in episode 43, Sadanobu is "laughed at" by both Tadanori and Nobuaki.
◇ Did you have too much confidence in yourself and your own “righteousness”? The ladder was easily pulled out from under you.
Let's go back to episode 43. In that episode, Sadanobu put all his efforts into dealing with Orosha and handled the incident brilliantly, and his next target was the position of Tairo. He had no doubt that Ienari would relieve him of his dual roles as Shogun's assistant and Roju and instead assign him to the position of Tairo (there was even a scene where they made what seemed to be a secret agreement), but Ienari told him, "Well then, Etchu no Kami. From now on, you should take a break from politics and relax."
Sadanobu lost his position as assistant to the shogun and as a senior councilor, and learned that he would not be promoted to chief councilor either. He realized he had been tricked and was filled with rage, but it was too late. He left the castle, hearing Ienari and the other senior councilors laughing at him.
From the viewer's perspective, it's easy to assume that Ienari's father, Harumasa (Ikuta Toma), orchestrated this downfall. However, as someone who never expected such a thing, this scene also highlighted Sadanobu's naivety. It was a tragedy (for him) brought about by his overconfidence in himself and his own righteousness. Afterward, Sadanobu fumed with bloodshot eyes, saying, "Even if people hated me or disliked me, I was the one who did what I had to do! You scum... go to hell!" This scene reminded me of a Okitsugu from episode 4, "The Sweet Trap of ' Tayasu Masamaru ," played by Kokoro Terada , and exploded in rage at Ienari, who had framed him, saying, "Why must I be mocked to this extent by a former foot soldier?" He then vowed revenge, saying, "Just you wait, Tanuma..."
Inoue, who plays Sadanobu, said that this is a scene he has seen many times and burned into his memory, and Sadanobu's "immatureness" that encompasses his elitist mentality and high pride has remained unchanged ever since. Inoue himself has always carried this "immatureness" ever since he first appeared as Sadanobu, which is why he was so easily deprived of the ladder (or had the rug swept out from under him) at this crucial moment. This is the natural course of events when facing the rampant Jisei.
In a surprising turn of events, "Berabou" sees Takaoka (Tominaga Ai) contact Sadanobu, who is in a state of UNBOUND , and offers him the "cursed glove" that is said to have taken the life of Iemoto ( Hidekazu Mashima), the eldest son of the former Shogun, Ieharu (Tomoya Oku ). Inoue previously said about Sadanobu, "I hope you'll pay attention to how he will continue to play an active role even after his downfall," and it looks like a major highlight of the final episode will be whether there will be a counterattack from here on out.
