Akari Takaishi plays the heroine in the NHK Asadora drama "Bakebake" (Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM and other times). In the 58th episode (broadcast on December 17th), Toki (Takaishi) finally tells Heaven (Tommy Bastow) a ghost story. We spoke to Hashizume Kuniomi, the series' production manager, about what went on behind the scenes of Toki and Heaven's "ghost story scene."
◇Ghost stories are a "communication tool"
In episode 58, Toki recited the ghost story "The Futon of Tottori" to Heaven. Although Heaven doesn't fully understand Japanese, she was captivated by Toki's storytelling and exclaimed with delight, "I don't understand it at all, but it's interesting." She repeatedly begged Toki to tell her more ghost stories, saying, "I wish you all the best," as she discovered a fellow ghost story fascinated by Toki. Toki smiled and said, "I'm so happy that you're listening to me," before skipping off on her way home.
Takaishi's way of telling stories in this scene is captivating, but I wonder how much practice he must have put into telling ghost stories.
Hashizume revealed, "The fourth generation storyteller Tamada Tamashusai was there to provide guidance on ghost stories, but he didn't actually come to the set."
"When I create a ghost story, Tamashusai-sensei looks at the script, and he adds any parts before or after it that aren't in the script and are necessary. He came once to teach me how to tell ghost stories, but the ghost stories Toki tells are amateurish. If it becomes a real storytelling like Tamashusai-sensei's, it loses all emotion. I had him demonstrate it just once in front of Takaishi-san to show him, 'This is what real art is like,' and then I told him to tell it to someone. I deliberately didn't let Takaishi-san practice."
Rather than speaking well, Takaishi was told to think first about how he wanted to convey the message to Heaven as Toki.
"Rather than performing ghost stories as a performance, they are a communication tool with Heaven. At this stage, their relationship has not yet reached the stage of love, but I hope that in the future ghost stories will become a language of love. How can you speak to someone who is not fluent in Japanese so that your feelings are conveyed? I told Takaishi that I wanted him to tell ghost stories that are emotionally charged, so that the other person can understand, rather than trying to scare them."
◇Are you particular about candles?
The scene where Toki blows out the candles after telling the ghost story is also impressive, but he says, "There's no ghost story ritual like that in the world, and I don't know if Koizumi Setsu and Yakumo, who were the models for the two characters, actually did that."
"So it's not based on historical fact, but is an original production for the drama. It's like the mode used when telling a ghost story, or how to convey the atmosphere when words don't fully communicate with Heaven. I wanted to show this as one of Toki's own ingenuity."
He also said that he was particular about the candles he used, recalling, "I tried out many different types of candles to find the perfect flickering flame and then chose the best one. I also tested the amount of wind during filming many times before arriving at that scene."
"With a normal candle, the flame flickers a lot, making the screen flicker and very difficult to see. On the other hand, with LED lights, there's no flickering at all and it's not interesting. The flickering shadow of the flame casts on their faces, creating an atmosphere of concentration between the two of them, but it doesn't flicker too much. We were particular about finding just the right balance. In the play, we used candle-shaped oil lamps and other lighting depending on the strength of the wind."
Finally, Toki tells Heaven a ghost story, and the two grow closer. What will happen between them before they become husband and wife? I want to keep an eye on how their love develops.
