Shota Sometani plays Kitagawa Utamaro in the taiga drama " UNBOUND (Berabou) " (NHK General TV, Sunday 8pm and others), starring Yokohama Ryusei Yokohama , which has just finished airing its final episode. We asked him to reflect on his role as Utamaro, which he feels "really involved a lot of things," including the challenges of being a "genius painter" and the differences between him and the geniuses he has played in the past.
◇Ukiyo-e brushes clearly show the skill of the artist, making it an "exciting" experience
For Sometani, " UNBOUND" is his fifth taiga drama. Compared to his previous role as Oda Nobunaga in "Kirin ga Kuru" (2020), he felt that the most difficult part of playing Utamaro this time was the "pictures." He took on the role without dubbing during recording.
In terms of roles in which he "draws," Sometani has actually "drawn" through his roles as manga artist Niizuma Eiji in the film "Bakuman." and animator Kanji Koya in the morning drama "Natsuzora." However, it was also an "exciting" experience in the sense that "Ukiyo-e brushes are a completely different story; you really can't hide anything, and your skill really shows."
Sometani simply practiced over and over again to master the skills necessary for the role.
"Compared to the beginning, I was able to draw better and received a lot of praise on set, but the bar was also raised, so I didn't really feel like I had made much progress. Still, by giving me assignments, I was able to practice more, which meant I had more time to focus on Utama, so looking back now, I think that challenging myself to draw difficult pictures was also part of creating the character of Utama."
The culmination of all this effort and challenge is Sharaku, which has now adopted the "multiple artist theory." Utama played a central role, and in the 46th episode, "The Soga Festival Incident" (broadcast on November 30th), there was a scene where he completed one of Sharaku's debut works, "Otani Oniji III's Edobei." Someya recalls, "I was deeply moved when Edobei was completed."
"This was the last time I depicted it in a picture in ' UNBOUND,' so it really warmed my heart. It felt like history had moved forward."
◇ I am aware that I often get roles that include the word "genius" in them (laughs).
Not only Utama in "UNBOUND," but also Niizuma Eiji in "Bakuman." and Kamiji Koya in "Natsuzora" have all played roles that are commonly referred to as "geniuses." Sometani is often thought of as playing such "talented characters," but he says there was a difference between his past genius roles and Utama.
"It's true that I'm aware that I often get roles with the word 'genius' attached to them (laughs), and when I received the offer for this role, I thought, 'A genius artist, huh...' But when I hear 'genius', I think of it as an innate image, a genius that you're born with, and I've had the impression that the characters I've played up until now who were skilled at something were like that too. This time, I was able to play Utamaro from a state before his talent as an artist was discovered, to the point where that talent spreads to the world and he's become known as a great master, so that was a big difference for me. It was interesting and a challenge to portray how he becomes known as a genius artist, and I also knew that if I didn't portray that process well, he wouldn't look like a great master, so I worked hard to become a genius artist."
Before and even after he became a genius artist, Utama had a hard time finding peace of mind, except for a period spent with his beloved Kiyo (Fujima Sawako). What were Someya's thoughts as he lived that life?
"While acting, I often felt emotions I'd never felt before. There were times when I felt anger, but it wasn't something that could be summed up in one word. There was also love for Tsutae (played by Yokohama), and within Utama, it was love that he couldn't quite process. I'd never felt anything like that before, and Utama has had a lot going on... I got angry, cried, laughed, and it was very hectic, but I felt fulfilled, and I think it was an incredibly wonderful experience, both as an actor and as a person."
