NHK Taiga drama "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）", starring actor Taiga Nakano (NHK General, Sundays at 8pm, etc.), is attracting attention for its 14th episode, "Desperate Situation!", airing on April 12th, as it is expected to depict the "Retreat from Kanegasaki (Battle of Kanegasaki)". The "Retreat from Kanegasaki" was Nobunaga's desperate retreat after being cornered by the betrayal of Nagamasa Asai. Hideyoshi, who served as the rearguard, is said to have enhanced his reputation, but his character and actions were somewhat in stark contrast to Hideyoshi's. Let's take a look back at the "Kanegasaki" episodes in the two previous "Sengoku Taiga" dramas, "Kirin ga Kuru" (2020) and "Dousuru Ieyasu" (2023).
◇Kuranosuke Sasaki as "Hideyoshi" with a runny nose says, "I don't want to end up as a flyless insect."
In "Kirin ga Kuru," an energetic ensemble drama that centers on Akechi Mitsuhide, played by Hiroki Hasegawa, and depicts the fates of the great figures of the Sengoku period, episode 31, "Flee, Nobunaga," was set in Kanegasaki. In this episode, Hideyoshi was played by Kuranosuke Sasaki. This episode marked the first time that the "Three Great Heroes"—Nobunaga, played by Shota Sometani; Hideyoshi, played by Sasaki; and Ieyasu, played by Shunsuke Kazama—appeared together in the drama.
Nobunaga (Shota Sometani) finally begins his campaign towards Echizen. He conquers Tsuruga with overwhelming force, but at Kanegasaki, just one step away from Ichijodani where Asakura Yoshikage (Yusuke Santamaria) is located, Asai Nagamasa (Hiroto Kanai) suddenly betrays Nobunaga and attacks from behind. Nobunaga's army is trapped between Asakura and Asai and is in a desperate situation. Mitsuhide strongly persuades Nobunaga, who wants to continue advancing, to "Oda Nobunaga must not die now, we must retreat." This marks the beginning of a fierce retreat battle with tens of thousands of soldiers...and that's how the story unfolds.
The drama depicted various human dramas against the backdrop of the "Retreat from Kanegasaki," and at the time of its broadcast, Fujikichiro (Hideyoshi)'s heartfelt plea to Mitsuhide to be the rearguard also became a topic of discussion among viewers.
Hideyoshi identifies with the flightless beetle (Carabus blaptoides) that crawls around on the narrow ground and spends its entire life there, and speaks about his own origins. He confesses to having abandoned his much younger sister to her fate, and questions whether his despicable self has any value in life, but still pleads, "I have wings too. I don't want to end up as a flightless insect," and finally convinces Mitsuhide to accept him as lord, saying, "If my name lives on after I die, then Fujikichiro, that would be my greatest wish."
Takashi Isshiki, who directed the episode, said at the time, "I consulted with Kuranosuke Sasaki beforehand about how the emotions should flow in this scene. What I remember most is that the scene progressed exactly as Kuranosuke Sasaki had planned, but when he became emotional, his nose started running. However, considering Hideyoshi's character, I thought this was very much in character for Hideyoshi, so I didn't stop him midway. And Sasaki continued acting without stopping his performance."
Furthermore, Isshiki revealed his satisfaction, saying, "I think it was a wonderful scene because it expressed the strength of Hideyoshi's feelings." He continued, "The stronger Hideyoshi's feelings were, the more refined Mitsuhide's feelings became, and you could feel Mitsuhide's determination as a warrior. Also, by seeing that, Hideyoshi appealed to Mitsuhide with even stronger feelings. In this scene, we were able to create a performance where the bond between the two deepens as they literally clash their feelings with each other."
In this work, Hideyoshi's position is that of the protagonist Mitsuhide's greatest rival. However, at this point, he is still a low-ranking member of the Oda clan's retainers, struggling to rise through the ranks and achieve something that will earn him Nobunaga's recognition. This is undoubtedly a major turning point for both Hideyoshi and the drama itself.
◇The last 5 minutes of Tsuyoshi Muro's show: A scumbag and psychopathic Hideyoshi threatens Ieyasu
While the "desperate retreat" itself is depicted solely from Mitsuhide's perspective, the "Kanegasaki" episode of "Kirin ga Kuru" also features further drama, such as Mitsuhide's stern advice to Shibata Katsuie (Masanobu Ando) and others, as he reflects on Hideyoshi's dejection afterwards, when "other Oda retainers didn't believe that he had served as the rearguard." Meanwhile, in "What Will Ieyasu Do?", set three years later...
"What to Do, Ieyasu?" is a fast-paced, action-packed entertainment piece that depicts the life of Tokugawa Ieyasu, a historical figure known to everyone, from a new perspective, starring Jun Matsumoto. Muro Tsuyoshi played the role of Tsuyoshi Muro in this production.
The episode set in Kanegasaki is episode 14, "What to do at Kanegasaki!". Ieyasu (Matsumoto) fought alongside Nobunaga (Okada Junichi) against Asakura Yoshikage. Behind the scenes, Asai Nagamasa (Yusuke Onuki) had decided to rebel. Sensing the feelings of Nagamasa's wife, Oichi (Keiko Kitagawa), the lady-in-waiting, Azuki (Ito Ao), heads to Kanegasaki, where Nobunaga has set up camp, to warn him of the rebellion. Wounded, she runs for more than ten miles and delivers the message to Ieyasu, "Please retreat," before dying.
Standing before Azuki's corpse, Ieyasu once again tries to persuade Nobunaga to retreat. As the Asakura and Azai armies approach, Nobunaga designates Fujikichiro (Hideyoshi, played by Muro) as the rearguard, leaves Ieyasu with only the words, "Do as you please," and departs from Kanegasaki.
So, how did Hideyoshi react at that moment? He looked surprised by Nobunaga's order, and then he crawled on the floor and cried out, "Ah! I'm dead! Ah! I'm definitely dead! I wanted to hug my mother one more time!" But then he burst out laughing and suddenly became motivated, saying, "If I survive here, I can go even higher!"
Furthermore, he turned to Ieyasu and offered his cooperation with words that could be interpreted as a threat: "If you run away now, it will mean you have abandoned your lord. I will spread rumors that you have betrayed the Shogun and are planning to join forces with the Asai and Asakura clans." When Ieyasu called him a scumbag, he smiled and asserted his own righteousness, saying, "I was saying it for your own good."
The "Tsuyoshi Muro Show" unfolded with less than five minutes remaining until the end of the episode. On social media, comments poured in such as, "Hideyoshi is such a scumbag," "Muro's portrayal of Hideyoshi as a scumbag is so incredible it's unbelievable," "Hideyoshi is such a psychopath," "And psychopath Hideyoshi has powered up," and "Tsuyoshi Muro's Hideyoshi is a truly disgusting psychopath, and his acting is superb, but it makes me feel awful every time I watch it."
The "desperate retreat" itself seemed to be postponed until the next episode...but in episode 15, "What to do at Anegawa!", the narration simply states, "A few days later," and "After that, various things happened, but they successfully survived the Battle of Kanegasaki," before ending the episode. Exactly three years have passed since "What to do, Ieyasu?". Episode 14 of "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）", "Desperate Situation!", will be a "Kanegasaki" episode, so be sure to tune in on April 12th to find out what kind of "Kanegasaki" episode it will be.
