The NHK Taiga drama " UNBOUND (Berabou) " (General TV, Sunday 8pm and others), starring Ryusei Yokohama , is down to its final episode. In the 47th episode, "Manju Kowai," which aired on December 7th, Matsudaira Sadanobu (Inoue Yuki) and his allies' revenge quest came to an end when Hitotsubashi Harumori (Ikuta Toma) was forced to drink a "sleeping poison" and secretly sent to an isolated island in Awa. The mystery-style story development that led up to this point has been a hot topic among viewers. Screenwriter Yoshiko Morishita has explained the "reason" for this. In a sense, the answer is simple and clear...
"UNBOUND (Berabou)" is the 64th taiga drama, depicting the life of Tsutaya Juzaburo(abbreviated as "Tsutajyu"), who is said to have laid the foundations for Japan's media industry and pop culture.
Since the 44th episode "Flying Gennai" (broadcast on November 16th), which depicted Tsutaju (Yokohama) pursuing the theory that Hiraga Gennai (Ken Yasuda Ken) is still alive, the final episodes have involved the mysterious artist Sharaku and his supposed true identity, Saito Jurobei, and the story has developed into a thrilling one. While it may seem like the mystery factor has been strengthened all at once, Morishita himself reveals, "The historical documents I dealt with from this era were originally designed as mysteries, and I think that this is also because there were many that made me think, 'In the end, it's still unclear, isn't it?'"
Morishita added, "Even with the deaths of Iemoto (Tomoya Oku) and Ieharu (Hidekazu Mashima), various writings and diaries remain, and although the official records say it this way, it may be said this way here. There were so many times when I thought, 'That remains a mystery, doesn't it?'" He concluded, "I think it's precisely because so many historical documents remain that things seem all the more unclear, and if you honestly reflect that (in the script), it ends up being quite a mystery. I think there are some parts like that."
Returning to the main story, the author concludes that Sharaku's true identity was "multiple people, centered around Kitagawa Utamaro," and as for Saito Jurobei, he seems cleverly framed as a "double for Hitotsubashi Harusame," a Noh actor who "looks identical" to the Noh-loving Harusame.
On the other hand, the theory that Gennai survived, which was the origin of the mystery, still remains a mystery. Of course, there are parts of it that are hard to believe that Hitotsubashi Harusame was easily and quietly exiled to the isolated island of Awa.
We still need to be on our guard as we wonder how things will turn out in the final episode, which will be extended by 15 minutes and aired on December 14th.
