Toyokawa Etsushi & Miyazawa Rie to star in new NHK drama SP "Souseki Monmon"

Toyokawa Etsushi and Miyazawa Rie will be starring in the new NHK drama SP "Souseki Monmon" (Souseki in distress) which will be shown on 10 December at 7.30pm. The drama features Toyokawa in the role of writer Nasume Souseki who had written many classics such as "Wagahai wa neko de aru", "Bocchan", "Sanshirou", "Sorekara", "Kokoro" and "Meian" and describes the 29 days of distress he spent in Kyoto during 1915 at the recommendation of his artist friend Tsuda Seifuu who suggested that Natsume recuperate there when he was suffering from nervous prostration and gastric ulcer. During his stay at the ryokan Kita no Daiga, he met Taga (Miyazawa), the talented and beautiful young mistress of the teahouse Daitomo in Gion, Kyoto. That year, Natsume was 48 and Taga was 36. However, Taga was a very sought-after woman by many men who wanted to fight for her affection. Natsume asked Taga out for a date to see the plum blossoms but she did not show up. Angered by this rejection, Natsume rode a rickshaw to Kyoto and stuffed himself at a western restaurant which aggravated his gastric ulcer condition. Upon seeing this, Seifuu then contacted Natsume's wife Kyoko (Akiyama Natsuko) to come to Kyoto. One year later, Natsume died at the age of 49 and a haiku hinting about a woman i.e. Taga was found in his diary and letters.

As this year is Natsume Souseki's 100th death anniversary, there have been many dramas and movies about the writer this year. In this drama SP, the theme is about Natsume's last romance (possibly). The drama SP will be written by Fujimoto Yuki while the director will be Minamoto Takashi who had won the ATP Award Grand Prix.

Source: Oricon