Akari Takaishi plays the heroine in the NHK Asadora drama "Bakebake" (Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM and other times). In the 50th episode (broadcast on December 5th), Toki (Takaishi) and Kotani (Shimokawa Kyohei) visit Seikoin Temple (Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture). We spoke to Hashizume Kuniomi, the production manager for this series, about the intention behind the frequent appearance of Seikoin Temple in the drama and the behind-the-scenes story of this scene.
◇Seikoin is a place where you can experience ghost stories
This is Toki's third visit to Seikoin Temple. It was at Seikoin Temple that she had her "rendezvous" with Den (played by Shinichi Tsutsumi) (episode 7) and also took a walk with Ginjiro (played by Kanichiro ) after her arranged marriage meeting.
Hashizume says, "Toki-chan's hobby is telling ghost stories, so I wanted to create a place where she could really feel the ghost story. That's why I created a scene set at Seikoin Temple."
"The stories are basically connected in all three episodes. It was Den who first brought Toki, who loves ghost stories, to Seikoin Temple to encourage her, and Ginjiro inviting Toki to go for a walk is a story that overlaps with Den's thoughts. On the other hand, Otani is someone who has no interest in ghost stories at all, so I'm depicting the difference between him and Ginjiro, who is. Toki marries Ginjiro, but never ends up with Otani. If it were in a new location, the question would immediately arise, 'Where is that?', so by depicting it in the same location, the contrast stands out. That's why I filmed it at Seikoin Temple."
There are many ghost stories in Matsue, but it is said that Yakumo Koizumi , the model for Heaven (played by Tommy Bastow ), did not leave behind any ghost stories set in Seikoin Temple.
Hashizume explains, "There is no written record of whether he went with Setsuko (the model for the crested ibis), so we don't know."
"It seems he visited many places in the area, so he may have been there, but at least he didn't write about it. It's one of the few places in Matsue's famous ghost stories that hasn't been written about. So I thought it would be good for Toki to go to a place that he doesn't go to with Heaven, but that he does go with other people. With that in mind, I chose Seikoin."
◇ Kotani misunderstands the behind-the-scenes of the "rendezvous" scene with Toki
In episode 50, Kotani visits Seikoin Temple with Toki. After hearing that Toki likes ghost stories, Kotani reads them to her, but she couldn't understand their appeal at all. Kotani tells Toki, "I'm very sorry, Toki, but it's a waste of time." When Toki talks about ghost stories, saying, "But I just love them. I really love them," Kotani, mistaking it for a confession directed at her, bows and says, "I appreciate your feelings, but... I'm sorry," before leaving.
Looking back on this scene, Hashizume revealed, "On set, I was filming while saying, 'Otani is a terrible guy (laughs)'."
"We had also created the plot, but the episode was written by the scriptwriter Fujiki Mitsuhiko. The way they break up due to a misunderstanding, the way he can say, 'Oh no, it's you,' and the carefree attitude that doesn't make it depressing, is very Fujiki-like, and I thought it was really interesting."
Apparently, everyone on set, including Shimokawa, who played Kotani, was laughing while filming.
"Seikoin Temple is a really pleasant place to film. It's surrounded by greenery, there's no mobile phone reception at all, and you have to walk about 10 minutes up the mountain from the parking lot. It's an isolated place in the mountains, but we were able to film there freely and chatter away, which made it a really fun set."
