Nakano Taiga stars in the 2026 NHK Taiga drama "Toyotomi Brothers!" (General TV, Sundays at 8 PM and other times). In the third episode, "The Eve of the Decisive Battle," which aired on January 18th, Kohei Matsushita made his debut as Matsudaira Motoyasu (also known as Tokugawa Ieyasu). Ieyasu is one of the "Three Great Heroes" alongside Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and in past Taiga dramas set in the Warring States period, he has sometimes played the main character and sometimes the main character's rival, adding excitement to the story. Let's review who has played him in which productions.
◇ In "Aoi Tou wo Tsuke," Kinya Kitaoji's "Ieyasu" says "Good evening"
Jun Matsumoto's starring role in the "Pre-Sengoku Taiga" drama "What Will Ieyasu Do?" (2023), which will be broadcast in 2023, is still fresh in our memory. The drama depicts the story of a weak boy, Ieyasu (Matsumoto), who grows up under the protection of his vassals and together they bring an end to the turbulent times, but his weak-willed behavior in the early part of the drama, in particular, seems to have attracted the attention of history fans, for better or worse. "What Will Ieyasu Do?" marks Matsumoto's second time playing Ieyasu in a taiga drama. He also made a surprise appearance as Ieyasu in the final episode of "The 13 Lords of the Shogun" the previous year (2022), making this his unusual two-time consecutive appearance.
Among the long-running historical dramas that began in 1963, the one that most uniquely dealt with Ieyasu's existence was perhaps the 2021 series "Aoi Tou wo Tsuke," set in the period from the end of the Edo period to modern times.
Although the work does not fall into the "Sengoku period" genre, Ieyasu appears as a "historical narrator" who watches over the protagonist, Shibusawa Eiichi (Ryo Yoshizawa Ryo). Kitaoji Kinya returns to the role of Ieyasu for the first time in 10 years since the 2011 Taiga drama "Go: Princesses of the Warring States." One of the conventions was for viewers to reply "Good evening" on social media to his opening greeting of "Good evening."
In "Kirin ga Kuru," which aired the year before "Aoi Tou wo Tsuke" (2020), Shunsuke Kazama played Ieyasu from his youth when he "hadn't accomplished anything yet." In the 2017 Sengoku period drama "Naotora: The Lady Warlord,"Sadao Abe embodied the troubled Ieyasu, a timid middle manager, with his characteristic comical charm and was well-received.
Ieyasu also appeared in "Sanada Maru," which aired the year before "Naotora" (2016). The role was played by Seiyo Uchino, who portrayed Ieyasu as the "greatest and strongest nemesis" of the main character, Sanada Nobushige (Masato Sakai), but who also displayed a timid and cautious personality.
Also in the 2010s, Akira Terao's appearance in the 2014 drama "Gunshi Kanbei" as Ieyasu for the second time in 41 years since "Kuni-tori Monogatari" in 1973 was a hot topic.
◇What comes to mind when you hear the words “Ieyasu actor”?
Matsumoto is unusual, but like Kitaoji and Terao, Masahiko Tsugawa has played Ieyasu twice in historical dramas. The works were "Dokuganryu Masamune" in 1987 and "Aoi: The Three Generations of the Tokugawas" in 2000. When you hear "Ieyasu actor," many people probably think of Tsugawa.
By the way, the first person to play Ieyasu in a memorable taiga drama was Onoe Kikuzo in "Taikōki" in 1965. He was followed by Matsuyama Masamichi in "Ten to Chi to" in 1969 and Yamamura Satoshi in "Haru no Sakamichi" in 1971, and they have all carved their names in the history of taiga dramas as "Ieyasu actors."
Other notable actors who have appeared in the Taiga drama include Kiyoshi Kodama (1978's "Golden Days"), Frankie Sakai (1981's "Onna Taikoki"), Sakae Takita (1983's "Tokugawa Ieyasu"), Hashinosuke Nakamura (1988's "Takeda Shingen"), and Tamba Tetsuro (1989's "Kasuga no Tsubone"). Since then, Ieyasu has been played by a number of other unique and distinguished actors, including Hiromi Go (1992's "Nobunaga: King of Zipangu"), Masahiko Nishimura (1996's "Hideyoshi"), Masahiro Takashima (2002's "Toshiie and Matsu"), Kazuo Kitamura (2003's "Musashi"), and Hiroki Matsukata (2009's "Tenchi-nin").
Nishida Toshiyuki, a regular cast member who appeared in a total of 14 taiga dramas and passed away in October 2024 at the age of 76, played the long-awaited role of Ieyasu in his 11th taiga drama, "Komyo ga Tsuji," released in 2006.
Kohei Matsushita was offered the role of Ieyasu and his mind went blank for a moment.
Let's get back to the topic of "Toyotomi Brothers!"
Matsushita, who has now joined the ranks of "Ieyasu actors," will be appearing in his second taiga drama, following "To Dear Radiance (Hikaru Kimi e) One" in 2024. Since bursting into the limelight with his role in the NHK Asadora drama "Scarlet" in the second half of 2019, he has been cast in numerous popular productions and has become an indispensable presence in the film industry. However, he does not seem to have the resemblance of Ieyasu in his past roles, and when his appearance was announced about a year ago, there were reactions on social media of "I can't believe it" and "It's unexpected." Matsushita himself commented at the time, "When I heard about the role, I was so surprised, happy, and under such pressure that my mind went blank for a moment."
In "Toyotomi Brothers!", Ieyasu's position is that of the strongest rival of the main character Hidenaga (played by Nakano) and his older brother Hideyoshi (played by Sosuke Ikematsu). The role description also states that "after the death of Nobunaga (played by Shun Oguri), he stands in the way of the Toyotomi brothers, who are aiming to unify the country, as their greatest and strongest rival," so he remains an important character in this work as well.
Matsushita previously expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "This is a role that has been played by many people before, but I'm sure everyone was aiming to create an Ieyasu that no one has ever seen before. Of course, I will take on the challenge with the same spirit." It will likely be one of the joys of watching the drama in the future to see what kind of image of Ieyasu will be created from here.
