The 2026 NHK Taiga drama "Toyotomi Brothers!" (General TV, Sundays at 8 PM and other times), starring actor Nakano Taiga, premiered on January 4th. The first episode, "Two Monkeys," aired on the same day, featured Ikematsu Sosuke's portrayal of Tōkichirō, who constantly changes his words and behavior depending on the situation, but doesn't hesitate to kill when the time comes. As you know, he later became Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a "man of the world" who is an essential character in Sengoku-era dramas. I'd like to review who has played the role in taiga dramas up until Ikematsu.
◇Ogata Ken, who was still unknown at the time of "Taikōki", returns to the stage in "Golden Days"
Taiga dramas have a long history, having begun in 1963. The first drama to be set in the Sengoku period was "Taikōki" in 1965. The protagonist Hideyoshi was played by Ogata Ken. At the time, Ogata was 27-28 years old and still unknown, but with this selection, he went on to become one of the "regular actors" in taiga dramas.
The next time Hideyoshi appeared in a taiga drama was in "Heaven and Earth" in 1969. Hamada Mitsuo played the role of Hideyoshi in that drama, and after that Nakamura Shibataru in "Haru no Sakamichi" in 1971, Hino Shohei in "Kuni tori Monogatari" in 1973, Nishida Toshiyuki in "Onna Taikoki" in 1981, Takeda Tetsuya in "Tokugawa Ieyasu" in 1983, and Katsu Shintaro in "Dokuganryu Masamune" in 1987 all made their names in the history of taiga dramas as "Hideyoshi actors."
Many of them are actors worthy of being called "great actors." Incidentally, in 1978's "Golden Days," the "first generation" Ogata appeared again as Hideyoshi.
◇When you think of Hideyoshi in the historical drama, what comes to mind? "His eyes don't smile" and "The scariest man of all time"
Looking at taiga dramas from the Heisei era onwards, we see names such as Fujioka Takuya (1989's "Kasuga no Tsubone"), Nakamura Toru (1992's "Nobunaga: King of Zipangu" and 1993's "Wind of the Ryukyus"), Takenaka Naoto (1996's "Hideyoshi" and 2014's "Gunshi Kanbei"), Kagawa Teruyuki (2002's "Toshiie and Matsu"), Emoto Akira (2006's "Komyo ga Tsuji"), Sasano Takashi (2009's "Tenchijin") and Kishitani Goro (2011's "E: Princesses of the Warring States").
Like Ogata, Nakamura and Takenaka played Hideyoshi twice in the taiga drama, but Takenaka is the winner in terms of the strength of the impression. In fact, when you hear "Hideyoshi in the taiga drama," I'm sure many viewers think of Takenaka.
In 2016's "Sanada Maru,"Fumiyo Kohinata attracted a lot of attention as Hideyoshi, whose "eyes are not smiling," and in 2020's "Kirin ga Kuru," Sasaki Kuranosuke gained popularity as the tall, long-faced Hideyoshi, who rises to prominence with his natural friendliness and hard work.
Still fresh in our memory is Tsuyoshi Muro's 2023 role in "What Will Ieyasu Do?" In the drama, he is portrayed as a man who is a mass of desire, who expresses it fully and pursues it with all his might. Muro himself is always clad in "madness" and continues to inflict unfathomable "fear" on viewers, which has led to some calling it "the scariest taiga drama ever."
◇ The main character trembled from the first episode, and viewers were wary of Ikematsu Sosuke's "Hideyoshi"
What kind of portrayal of Hideyoshi will Ikematsu, who will be Muro's successor, show us in the future?
Hideyoshi from "Toyotomi Brothers!" is the ambitious older brother of Hidenaga, who dragged Hidenaga into the turbulent times. He was born and raised in a poor farming family in Nakamura, Owari, but rose to prominence under his lord, the Sengoku warlord Oda Nobunaga, and eventually achieved the unification of the country...
In the first episode, there is a scene where the protagonist of the drama, the younger brother Koichiro (later Hidenaga, played by Nakano), feels a "vague sense of fear" and, suppressing his trembling hands, says, "It was my brother who scared me."
Similarly, on social media, comments such as "Koichiro realizes that his brother Tōkichirō is a psychopath" and "We can already see a glimpse of Hideyoshi's psychopathic nature" were posted, so Ikematsu's "Hideyoshi" (whether he is a psychopathic character or not) is one to keep an eye on.
