The 10th episode of the NHK Asadora drama series "Kaze,Kaoru " (NHK General, Monday-Saturday 8:00 AM, etc.), starring Ai Mikami and Juri Kosaka , aired on April 10th, featuring the first appearance of Kabuki actor Bandō Yajūrō, who plays Shimizu Usaburo. Viewers were thrilled by Yajūrō's " Asadora debut."
Rin (Mikami) and Tamaki (Miyajima Ruka) are taken to a soup kitchen by Naomi (Uesaka). Rin leaves the exhausted Tamaki in the care of Naomi and Yoshie (Harada Taizo) and continues her search for work, but is turned down everywhere she goes.
As Rin, with nowhere to go, stood there bewildered, a gentleman in a tailcoat and hat appeared and offered her some chocolate. Rin took a bite of the chocolate and exclaimed, "I've never tasted anything this delicious before. It's like magic..."
The gentleman, having learned of Rin's situation, handed her his business card and told her to "come visit tomorrow," before leaving. The business card read "Mizuhoya Usaburo."
The next day, Rin takes Tamaki to the address written on the business card. A rabbit doll dressed in Western clothing is placed in front of the shop, and Rin murmurs, "What kind of shop is this?"
Yajuro plays Usaburo, a character who runs "Mizuho-ya," a shop in Nihonbashi that deals extensively in imported goods. He becomes deeply involved with Rin and Naomi...
On social media, comments included: "Yajuro-san is here!", "I'm so happy that Yajuro-san has appeared!", "He has an overwhelming aura", "He gives off an incredible sense of reassurance and makes the screen feel more complete", "He's tall so Western clothes suit him very well", "A mysterious gentleman, how nice", "A Japanese Chaplin!", and "Bando Yajuro-san delivers cheesy lines but doesn't come across as cheesy at all, he's amazing!"
