The 23rd episode of the NHK Taiga drama "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" (NHK General, Sundays at 8pm, etc.), starring actor Taiga Nakano, aired on June 14th, and the exchange between Araki Murashige (Tortoise Matsumoto), who has staged a rebellion, and Akechi Mitsuhide (Jun Kaname), who has come to persuade Murashige, attracted the attention of 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.
The script is written by Hiroyuki Yatsu, known for his work on "Hanzawa Naoki" (TBS) and the Asadora drama series "Ochoyan." The music is composed by Hideaki Kimura, and the narration is provided by actress Sakura Ando.
In episode 23, Mitsuhide arrives at Arioka Castle to persuade Murashige. Murashige responds to Mitsuhide by saying, "Lord Nobunaga's trust in me is as thin as ice. One wrong step and it will shatter, and I'll be thrown into the depths of cold water. Before that happened, I had no choice but to grab onto the lifeline that was extended to me."
Mitsuhide continued to try to persuade him, saying, "His Lordship has said that if you come and explain yourself now, he will pretend this never happened. Please reconsider." But Murashige gave him a meaningful warning, saying, "Once ice has broken, it can never be put back together. You would better be careful not to lose your footing."
Historically, Murashige's rebellion occurred in 1578, and four years later, in 1582, Mitsuhide instigated the Honnō-ji Incident. What were his thoughts at that time...?
On social media, viewers reacted with comments such as, "Oh, that's very meaningful, Murashige!!", "Stop making predictions", and "Jubei is visibly shaken." Other comments included, "Is that a curse from Araki Murashige to Akechi Mitsuhide?", "Murashige has gone to the dark side. He's putting a curse on Mitsuhide", "This is bad, this is bad, this is bad, Mitsuhide", "He's not just going to stumble", and "These are words that Mitsuhide will come to terms with later..."
