The 25th episode of the NHK Taiga drama "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" (NHK General, Sundays at 8pm, etc.), starring actor Taiga Nakano, aired on June 28th, and Taiga drama fans reacted to the reappearance of Shingo Murakami, who plays Sakichi Takeda.
"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 25, Nobunaga's (Shun Oguri) new castle, Azuchi Castle, is completed. At the celebratory banquet, Nobunaga suggests that his retainers have a sumo match, and for some reason, he nominates senior retainers such as Hayashi Hidetada (Taro Suwa), Sakuma Nobumori (Daikichi Sugawara), and Ando Morinari (Tetsushi Tanaka) to be opponents for his young attendant, Mori Ran (Tetsushi Tanaka). What was thought to be mere entertainment turns into a humiliating defeat, and Nobunaga banishes the three without question.
Murakami, who played Takeda Sakichi, the referee in this "Terrifying Sumo Tournament," is a handsome voice actor known for his role as Naoe Kanetsugu in the 2016 Taiga drama "Sanada Maru." In the 2018 drama "Segodon," he played Yamagata Aritomo.
He made his first appearance in "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" in episode 5, "The Truth That Came From a Lie" (aired February 1st). As Takeda Sakichi, he was in charge of managing the proceedings of the martial arts tournament and arranging the opponents.
Fans were thrilled by his reappearance, with comments on social media such as, "Wow! It's been a while since we've seen Shingo Murakami!", "Shingo Murakami's back again!", "Shingo Murakami as a sumo announcer? What a great voice!", "What a great voice!", "When Shingo Murakami, who plays Sakichi Takeda, appeared, for a moment I thought it was Kanetsugu Naoe!", and "The possibility that Shingo Murakami's portrayal of Sakichi Takeda might appear again somewhere else is so exciting!"
