The sixth episode, "Brotherly Bonds," of the historical drama "Toyotomi Brothers!" (NHK General TV, Sundays at 8 PM and other times), starring actor Nakano Taiga, aired on February 15th. The episode revealed the past between Oda Nobunaga (Oguri Shun) and his younger brother Nobukatsu (Nakazawa Motoki). We spoke with production manager and chief producer Matsukawa Hirotaka about Oguri's breathtaking, suffocating performance, which embodied the emotional wounds Nobunaga suffered when Nobukatsu, who had plotted a rebellion, took his last breath before his very eyes.
"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.
"Toyotomi Brothers!" will be Oguri's 10th taiga drama. He will play Nobunaga, a charismatic military commander who expanded his territory with bold and innovative strategies and exceptional leadership, and aimed to unify the country under the slogan "Tenka Fubu" (Unifying the World with Military Power). He is the absolute lord of the brothers Koichiro (Nakano) and Tōkichirō (Ikematsu Sosuke), who are striving to rise in their careers.
On the other hand, he has a bitter past in which he killed his younger brother Nobukatsu with his own hands during a battle for the throne. This trauma was depicted at the end of the fourth episode, "Okehazama!", which aired on January 25th, but was revealed again in the sixth episode, "Bonds Between Brothers."
Matsukawa could not hide his surprise at Oguri's acting in the scene, saying, "I was surprised too."
"It was a growl that I couldn't even tell where it was coming from, and I was so surprised and surprised I don't know how to describe it. It was so unexpected. In a sense, I think that Nobunaga's deepest self, his true self, was expressed in that way, and that defined his character in 'Toyotomi Brothers!' I think he could have acted as looking down on Nobukatsu with cold eyes, but it was a performance that exceeded my expectations and showed that Nobunaga was not like that."
The stage directions in the script said, "He screams out in a sudden surge of anger," but the finished product far exceeded expectations.
"The feeling of desperately suppressing his impulses and gritting his teeth at that time was completely different from the impression I got when I read the script, so I think it was a performance that went beyond the script."
