Actor Ryusei Yokohama stars in the NHK Taiga drama "UNBOUND (Berabou)" (General TV, Sundays at 8:00 PM and other stations). In the 46th episode, "The Soga Festival Incident," which aired on November 30th, Matsudaira Sadanobu's (Inoue Yuki) and his team's plot is discovered by Hitotsubashi Harusame (Ikuta Toma), resulting in the failure of their revenge. However, the theory that Miura Shoji (Harada Taizo) was a spy has once again attracted attention.
"UNBOUND (Berabou)" is the 64th taiga drama and depicts the life of Tsutaya Juzaburo(or "Tsutajyu" for short), who is said to have laid the foundations for Japan's media industry and pop culture. The script was written by Yoshiko Morishita, who is known for her work on the highly talked-about "Drama 10: Ooku," which aired on NHK two years ago.
In episode 46, Tsutaju (Yokohama) begins selling paintings under the name of painter Toshusai Sharaku. Rumors about Sharaku gradually spread throughout Edo city and Edo Castle, reaching the ears of Hitotsubashi Harusame. On the day of the festival, Sadanobu and his men use the spy Osaki (Emi Kurara) to lure Harusame with the bait that Sharaku's true identity is "the living Gennai (Ken Yasuda)," and plan to avenge him. However, Harusame, who realizes that the handwriting of one of the baits, a gesaku, is "Sadanobu's," has instead had his own men sneak into the festival.
After handing out poisoned buns to Sadanobu and his men, and then using one of them to kill Osaki, Jisei leaves the festival laughing...and so the story unfolds.
In the same episode, there is a scene where Miura, upon seeing a note from Sadanobu saying, "Ishibashi has reached him safely," exclaims, "It worked." If we take Miura's words at face value, who joined Sadanobu's revenge plan for the sake of his lord, Tanuma Okitsugu(Ken Watanabe), then it would be Harumasa who "worked" on him, but there has long been a certain number of viewers who have considered Miura to be Harumasa's informant, and as a result, the plot was discovered by Harumasa, rekindling the simmering theory that "Miura Shoji was a spy."
On social media, people were saying things like, "Does this mean there is an informant? Is it Miura-dono after all?", "So there is no other way but there is an informant... is it Miura-dono...", "The theory that Miura-sama is suspicious has resurfaced...", and "With this latest development, it's clear that the spy on Haku Tengu's side is Miura Shoji...", along with comments such as, "I don't suspect Miura-san, but if we consider Matsudaira Sadanobu to be the subject of 'Did it work?' then there is a different interpretation", "If Miura-sama is the traitor, does that mean it was Sadanobu who said 'it worked,' and not Harumasa?" and "Who was 'worked,' it could be interpreted either way - was it the puppet lover who 'worked,' or Sadanobu who 'worked,'"
In a recent interview with screenwriter Morishita, he said he was "surprised" by the theory that Shoji Miura was a spy (or the mastermind), which could be interpreted as a denial, but the theory continues to take on a life of its own. We'll have to keep an eye on the remaining two episodes of the drama to find out the truth.
