The 22nd episode of the NHK Taiga drama "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" (NHK General, Sundays at 8pm, etc.), starring actor Taiga Nakano, aired on June 7th and depicted Araki Murashige (Tortoise Matsumoto) visiting Azuchi Castle and being suspected of rebellion by Oda Nobunaga (Shun Oguri), which became a hot topic among viewers.
"BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" is the 65th Taiga drama. With Toyotomi Hidenaga (Koichiro) as the protagonist, it depicts the miraculous feat of unifying Japan together with his older brother Hideyoshi (Tokichiro) through their strong bond, a success story of dreams and hopes.
Murashige arrives at Azuchi Castle, having been summoned by Nobunaga, bringing manju (sweet buns) as a gift. In front of Nobunaga, he praises the castle, which is nearing completion, but Nobunaga speaks to Murashige in the past tense, saying, "I wanted to show you the finished product."
Murashige was intrigued by Nobunaga's way of speaking. Nobunaga then said, "That's a shame," and picked up his sword, revealing that he had heard rumors that Murashige's retainer was in league with the Mori clan. He then questioned Murashige, "Did your retainer do it on his own, or did you order him to?"
Murashige was trembling with fear, both because it had come as a complete surprise to him and because he was terrified of Nobunaga. Nobunaga even smiled and said, "You're trembling. Are you cold? No, you're sweating. Are you hot? Which is it?" But Murashige's fear was at its limit. He desperately pleaded, "I, Murashige, would never betray my lord!" and, following Nobunaga's orders, he shoved one bun after another into his mouth, and finally ate the one that was stuck on the tip of the sword, proving with his own body that he had not poisoned anyone.
On social media, viewers reacted one after another with comments such as "Past tense?", "So... that's it. Past tense...", and "The horror of Nobunaga speaking in the past tense." Many comments were also posted, such as "Nobunaga's power harassment time", "Nobu is too scary", "Nobunaga's questioning is terrifying again today", "Manju is scary. Not in the sense of being delicious, but in the sense of being real", and "The way Murashige-dono is trembling is hilarious lol".
