Akari Takaishi plays the heroine in the NHK Asadora drama "Bakebake" (Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM and other times). From the 37th episode (broadcast on November 18th), Yamahashi Saiji, the owner of "Yamahashi Pharmacy", played by Emoto Tokio, made his first appearance. We spoke to Hashizume Kuniomi, the production manager of this series, about the reasons for casting Emoto and the character of Yamahashi he will play.
"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."
Yamahashi, played by Emoto, is the owner of Yamahashi Pharmacy, the only pharmacy in Matsue. Toki (Takaishi) and Heaven (Tommy Bastow) also become frequent customers. In fact, this character has a "secret side" other than being the owner of the pharmacy.
Hashizume explains, "Yamahashi Pharmacy is the only place in Matsue that sells beer, and it's also the only place in Matsue that sells a lot of imported goods.It also sells Chinese herbal medicine, which I'm not sure is advanced or not, and it's like what we would call a convenience store today."
"Yamahashi has a slightly mysterious presence, as if something mysterious is coming out of him. I thought it would be good if he could be someone who would influence Toki and Heaven, someone who is a bit of a philosophical and vulgar person, someone who would add a bit of a different spice to the story."
When I thought about which actor could act like that, Emoto-san came to mind.
"When I was thinking about who to cast, it was quite difficult to find someone who could exude a mysterious presence while maintaining just the right distance. Tokio-san was the first person I thought of, and when I contacted him, he agreed to take the role. I didn't have an in-depth discussion with the directors, I just suggested it based on my intuition, and everyone agreed, saying, 'We found a good person.'"
Emoto had previously co-starred with Takaishi in the drama "Baby Warukyuure Everyday!" (TV Tokyo) which aired last year, and they apparently got along well on set.
"Because he has a lot of acting experience, he can give his opinions from an objective point of view, and because he has a straightforward personality, he had a lively time with everyone. But then, once filming started, he became very serious. There is a pharmacy in Matsue that was used as a model for Yamahashi Pharmacy, and it is still in the same building as it was in 1887, and many documents from that time, such as beer bottles and ledger books, remain. I had many conversations with Emoto about that, as well as the history of Lafcadio Hearn(Yakumo Koizumi)."
It has been suggested that Yamahashi has a hidden side to him other than being the owner of the store. How will he add excitement to the story going forward?
"Yamahashi's true nature will be revealed quite some time in the future, so I can't say exactly what will happen now, but... he will play a major role. The pharmacy owner we used as inspiration didn't have a hidden side, and there were several other people we used as inspiration for Yamahashi. Yamahashi was created by mixing together the stories of several people."
How will the mysterious Yamahashi become involved with Toki and Heaven? We can't take our eyes off the future developments.
