Kohei Matsushita's "Ieyasu" is "handsome" and "seems wise." Is the armor the same as the Otaka Castle provisions box from "What Will Ieyasu Do?"? Taiga fans take note!

The third episode, "The Night Before the Decisive Battle," of the 2026 NHK Taiga drama "Toyotomi Brothers!" (General TV, Sundays at 8:00 p.m. and other times), starring actor Nakano Taiga, was broadcast on January 18th, and Matsudaira Motoyasu (Tokugawa Ieyasu), played by Kohei Matsushita, made his first appearance.

"Toyotomi Brothers!" is the 65th taiga drama. It is a success story of hope and dreams, depicting the miracle of the Toyotomi brothers, Hidenaga (Koichiro) and his older brother Hideyoshi (Tokichiro), who achieve the great feat of unifying the country with their strong bond.

The script is written by Hiroyuki Yatsu, known for "Naoki Hanzawa" (TBS) and the Asadora"Ochoyan." The music is by Hideaki Kimura, and the narrator is Sakura Ando, ​​an actor.

In the third episode, Koichirou (Nakano), Tokichiro (Ikematsu Sosuke), and Nao (Shiraishi Sei) leave their hometown of Nakamura and arrive in Kiyosu, the castle town of Oda Nobunaga (Shun Oguri Shun).

They visit Oda vassal Asano Nagakatsu (played by Miyagawa Ichirota) to pay their respects, and it is decided that Nao will become a maid to Nagakatsu's daughter, Nene (played by Hamabe Minami). The two brothers begin living together, but Tōkichirō reveals a secret plan to Koichiro.

And so the story unfolds as Imagawa Yoshimoto's (played by Otsuru Yoshitan) large army begins its march towards Owari...

The episode depicted Imagawa's subordinates, the Okazaki clan, successfully transporting military supplies to Otaka Castle under Yoshimoto's orders. Narrator Sakura Ando Ando introduced the story by saying, "The man in charge was Matsudaira Motoyasu. It would be some time before he would be known as Tokugawa Ieyasu," and Matsushita was also shown on screen.

Viewers responded on social media with comments such as, "Oh! Lord Ieyasu. This is the provisions box from Otaka Castle," "My Lord!!!!!!!!!!!!," "Tokugawa Ieyasu is so handsome," and "Kohei Matsushita is great."

The delivery of provisions to Otaka Castle also appeared in the first episode of the historical drama "What Will Ieyasu Do?" three years ago. As a result, comments such as "This is the first episode of 'What Will Ieyasu Do?'", "What Will Ieyasu Do? has begun", and "Matsushita Motoyasu effortlessly delivers provisions to Otaka Castle. Wasn't there a big fuss about Matsujun Motoyasu?" were raised.

Fans also took notice of Ieyasu's armor, with comments such as "It's Kindami Gusoku!", "From the first episode of 'What Will Ieyasu Do?' Is the armor from that time too?", "I wonder where the Kindami Gusoku was made at home", and "That man in golden armor is Matsudaira Motoyasu! He looks smarter than the guy in 'What Will Ieyasu Do?'"