Daito Shunsuke plays Maeda Toshiie in the NHK Taiga drama "Toyotomi Brothers!" (General TV, Sunday 8pm and other times), starring actor Nakano Taiga. Toshiie is "Hideyoshi's lifelong friend and rival in the fight for success," and Daito, who feels that Toshiie is "a bit 'tsundere'" towards the "Toyotomi brothers," Koichiro (Nakano) and Tōkichirō (Ikematsu Sosuke), spoke about his role.
"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.
Maeda Toshiie was a hot-blooded, flashy "kabuki" (a type of actor) but also a master of the spear, achieving numerous military feats and competing for promotion with Hideyoshi, a fellow rival of his generation. He eventually served as a vassal of Shibata Katsuie's army in the Hokuriku region, but after Nobunaga's death, Katsuie and Hideyoshi came into conflict. Later, as one of the Five Elders, he supported the Toyotomi government and built the foundations for the Kaga domain, known as the Kaga domain with a million koku of rice.
"Toshiie has a strong image as a kabuki actor, but when I looked into historical documents, I realized that he was a man with many different sides and a broad perspective," reveals Daito.
"There are many stories in his work that give us encouragement as we live in the modern age. When he told me how he calculated the household finances himself to protect his home, I felt encouraged by Toshiie, who told me, 'Just do what you need to do now.' He has an energy that is not bound by any framework, and he's like the protagonist of a boys' manga. I'm looking forward to this year with Toshiie as my life guidance."
Regarding the Toyotomi brothers, he said, "Taiga-kun, who plays Koichiro, and Ikematsu-kun, who plays Tokichiro, have such a strong bond of trust that they seem like real brothers."
"You can see that they respect each other just from their demeanor, and the 'Toyotomi Brothers' they create is charming and full of passion. Toshiie is a bit of a 'tsundere' towards the Toyotomi brothers (laughs). He usually has a cold attitude, but sometimes he gives them advice. In episode 6 (aired February 15th), when Tokichiro is taken hostage, there is a scene where he says to Tomatsu (Sugai Yuka), 'But it's a bit boring,' and I think that this is a line that comes from already acknowledging Tokichiro."
He feels that the lead actor, Nakano, is "a very charming person."
"His passion sparkles in my eyes. When I worked with him before, I felt that he would one day star in a historical drama, and at the time, I hoped to be a part of that project myself. He is always easygoing on set, but he also tightens up the important parts. I think it's typical of Taiga to be able to concentrate such pure energy into a single scene. I approach my roles with the desire to live up to his acting."
There is an anecdote about Toshiie that says he "wielded a 5-meter spear."
"In reality, it seems that the spear was 'handled so long that it looked five meters long,' but I wanted to express his boldness and delicacy, so I borrowed a wooden stick from the staff to use for practice and practiced in the park, continuing to practice until the spear felt natural in my hand. The fifth episode (broadcast on February 1st) depicted the match in front of the Emperor, and the sword fight with Tokichiro was fun. When it came to the real thing, Ikematsu's movements were incredibly fast (laughs). I was feeling nervous, but I thought it was amazing that he was able to take it to the ultimate level in the actual performance. As Toshiie, I wanted to deliver a 'satisfying blow' to Tokichiro without any tricks, so I consulted with my sword fighting instructor and created a sword fight that was unique to Toshiie."
