Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 349, How come even a cameo in a Taiga drama can lead to a case?

"Uesugi Muneyuki-san is here!"

When Uesugi Muneyuki arrived at the NHK Taiga drama set in Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture, the crew was filming. The NHK staff showed Uesugi Muneyuki respect and called out to him from outside, but Uesugi Muneyuki gestured for him to see the filming location, so the NHK staff let him have his way.

Reina Ikeda was like Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden, amazed by the magnificent set design, the various gold, silver and lacquerware, the gorgeous new samurai lacquered armor, and the vibrant clothing of that era.

Inside the film set, a "post-battle evaluation meeting" was underway. The biting wind swept across the gray stone walls of the set like knives, and the air was filled with a chilling cold and a rusty, icy atmosphere. The heavy clouds hung low, and only a few rays of pale winter sunlight occasionally peeked through, which, instead of bringing warmth, made the shadows of the stone walls even deeper.

The light snow the night before left stubborn thin ice in low-lying areas and between rocks. The crew intentionally left a lot of residual snow so that the scene could be recreated as a corner of the desolate battlefield of the Warring States period. A key scene of "The Advisors Alliance" is being filmed with great difficulty in the freezing cold.

In the center of the shot, the white breath exhaled by Junichi Okada, who plays Kuroda Kanbei, is clearly visible. Wrapped in a heavy, dark robe, his figure remains upright, but his tightly pursed lips and slightly bluish knuckles betray the chill of the cold. He is acting with several actors playing important ministers, his lines are powerful and his eyes are sharp as a hawk's.

Uesugi Muneyuki stood to the side watching, thinking that this person's acting skills were actually just average. The main reason was that Okada Junichi was a member of the idol group V6 (Nagano Hiroshi, who played Daigo Madoka, the human form of Ultraman Tiga, was also a member of V6), and his huge popularity could boost the ratings.

The biggest problem with idols becoming actors is that they end up playing themselves no matter what role they play; a prime example is Takuya Kimura.

In the year 2000, after the last relatively serious historical drama, "Aoi-Tokugawa Sandai," NHK began to reform its Taiga dramas, attempting to "idolize" them. Starting with "Toshiie and Matsu," Taiga dramas gradually shifted from serious historical dramas to featuring various handsome men and beautiful women, and became more fictionalized—whoever was the protagonist was the positive character, all the good things were done by the protagonist, the protagonist was always present in important events, and the negative stories were either written in a subtle way in the annals of history or simply attributed to other people.

This idol drama formula and black-and-white character design quickly won praise from young audiences, but it also made Taiga dramas more entertaining and childish.

The film set in January was bitterly cold, and Uesugi Muneyuki noticed that the extras around him—especially the foot soldiers—were suffering terribly. They wore thin costumes (stuffed with thermal underwear as much as possible underneath), shivering, their cheeks and noses red. To portray the "exhaustion after a fierce battle," they had to sit or lie on the cold stone ground, their bodies almost frozen. The assistant director's instructions sounded fragmented in the cold wind, and the extras moved mechanically, their movements stiff and slow from the cold. The props crew, wearing thick gloves, carefully inspected the cold metal props and armor straps, their breath swirling around the icy weapons.

"Quiet! Ready—Action!" The director's voice came through the loudspeaker, carrying a hint of barely perceptible fatigue.

The set fell silent instantly, with only the sharp whistling of the cold wind cutting through the cracks in the stone walls and the sounds of arguing on set.

The camera glided silently and smoothly on the track, the photographer focused intently, capturing every subtle expression and movement through the lens, while the huge microphone, like a silent giant bird, cautiously peered in from above, cleverly avoiding all viewpoints.

Uesugi Muneyuki stood there for a while, then heard the director yell, "CUT, that's a good take."

As if a spell had been broken, the air began to flow again, and the extras relaxed their tense bodies with a sigh of relief. Some secretly wiped the ice crystals from their faces, and Junichi Okada instantly snapped out of his "Kanbei" persona, a gentle smile appearing on his face as he nodded to the veteran actor he had just acted with. Johnny's assistants immediately rushed forward with hand warmers and coats to cover him up.

Makeup artists and costume designers quickly gathered around the lead actor to check his makeup. The on-set producer, holding a call sheet, hurried to the director and whispered to confirm the details of the next scene and the transition time. The props team began cleaning the set, putting the scattered bamboo spears back in their place.

Not far away, in the temporary rest area set up by the film crew, several actors playing "damiana family members" who had not yet appeared on stage were dressed in gorgeous but equally heavy kimonos, gathered around the heater, quietly waiting to be called.

Filming a historical drama is tough and doesn't pay much, but it's very meaningful; it's proof of an actor's talent and status.

Then the crew members on set shouted again, "Uesugi Muneyuki-san has arrived!"

"Hello everyone, I'm Uesugi Muneyuki. I'm here today to guest star as Uesugi Kagetora. Please take good care of me." Uesugi Muneyuki greeted everyone and then began looking for her brother.

"Eeya~ Isn't this Uesugi Muneyuki? It's nice to meet you!" Just then, an old man wearing a gold kimono and sporting a chonmage hairstyle came up to greet him.

"I am Uesugi Muneyuki, and I have come to greet Taiko Toyotomi Hideyoshi! I am very pleased to see that you are well!" Uesugi Muneyuki recognized him at a glance.

He is the aforementioned Naoto Takenaka. This guy played Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the 1996 Taiga drama "Hideyoshi". Now, 20 years later, he plays Hideyoshi again in "Gunshi Kanbei", as well as in other dramas and movies. He is truly a Hideyoshi specialist.

Moreover, this guy was indeed short in stature, with a monkey-like, withered face and a shrewd look in his eyes, which did fit the image of Hideyoshi in history.

"Wow, I didn't expect NHK to be able to invite you brothers! Oh ho, this must be the beautiful judo policewoman who performed so well in the Kabukicho case, right? You two are just as rumored, inseparable!" Takenaka Naoto laughed, and then patted Uesugi Muneyuki on the shoulder in a condescending manner: "As expected of Kunihiro-san's grandson, Uesugi Kagetora's invitation to you was just right!"

Uesugi Muneyuki had no choice but to accept it. Apart from the fact that the other party was a highly respected elder, the Uesugi family was indeed grateful to Toyotomi Hideyoshi for sparing their lives.

In fact, before the Honnoji Incident, the Uesugi family was already facing a desperate situation. The gate of Echigo, Uozu Castle, had been captured by Shibata Katsuie. Uesugi Kagekatsu was already prepared to commit seppuku at any time. However, by sheer luck, the Honnoji Incident broke out.

Uesugi had a blood feud with Oda Nobunaga, and with Shibata Katsuie, but he had no feud with Toyotomi Hideyoshi! Hideyoshi, eager to unify the country, accepted the surrender; otherwise, the Yonezawa Uesugi clan would most likely not exist today.

This is one of the reasons why Uesugi firmly sided with the Western Army during the Battle of Sekigahara.

"Senior is so complimentary."

“I’m serious, young and handsome men should be played by handsome men!” Naoto Takenaka greeted Erena Ikeda, who politely responded but didn’t say anything more. Naoto Takenaka was slightly disappointed by her attitude, so he swaggered away.

Uesugi Muneyuki had no choice but to continue his search. He greeted the actress Hitomi Kuroki, who was playing Kita-no-Mandokoro Asano Nene. She was a great beauty in her youth, but now that she was over 50, she still tried to look young, and even with super heavy makeup, it was still a struggle.

Sister, the skin on your face looks a little loose.

This is also one of the problems with Taiga dramas: the actors are mostly significantly older. Junichi Okada is 35 years old but plays Kuroda Kanbei when he is 16. Naoto Takenaka is 60 years old but plays Hideyoshi when he is 30. This problem is most serious in the three generations of Aoi Tokugawa – Toshiyuki Nishida, who plays Tokugawa Hidetada when he is in his early 20s, is already 54 years old. The actor who plays Oe, who is in his 20s, is over 60 years old.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with the cast, Uesugi Muneyuki finally found his brother, Uesugi Sadanori.

Uesugi Sakenori had just finished his makeup, styling, and dressing, and sat there motionless to avoid any problems.

“Brother,” Uesugi Muneyuki called out.

"Hmm, Zongxue, you're here? So early?" Uesugi Sadanori nodded slightly. His older brother seemed a little nervous. He was calm and solemn, and rather introverted, so he wasn't used to the film crew environment. "It's not your turn yet."

"I came to visit you." Uesugi Muneyuki sat down next to his brother and said softly, "When are you going to let me be an uncle and give me a nephew?"

"…………" Uesugi Sakenori was initially quite happy to see his younger brother, but upon hearing this, his face immediately turned a deep shade of liver: "None of your business!"

"How can it not concern me? Speaking of which, you and your sister-in-law have been married for two months now, haven't you?" Uesugi Muneyuki asked casually, "Didn't you put in a little extra effort for the New Year?"

"This is awesome!" Zong Xue thought maliciously.

Pressuring people to get married! After that, pressuring them to have children! And then, after having children, pressuring them to have a second or third child—it's such a satisfying thing!
Watch me give my brother a really intense workout!
"..." Uesugi Sadenori's face flushed red and then turned pale, finally saying simply, "You didn't come back to Yonezawa with us for the New Year, why are you asking this..."

"Hey!" Uesugi Muneyuki quickly signaled Uesugi Sadanori to be quiet.

Sure enough, Ikeda Erena, standing behind him, looked puzzled.

Zong Xue didn't go back to Yonezawa for the New Year holiday? Didn't he say he was going to the shrine? Where did he go then?
“Brother, I mainly came today to see you and ask you some questions… about archaeology.” Uesugi Muneyuki quickly changed the subject: “Do you know about the ancient tomb excavations in Kansai in recent years…”

Uesugi Sadonori frowned, thinking to himself, "How did I, this foolish Otodo, become interested in archaeology, and always come up with some strange new ideas?"

However, at that moment, a heavy object suddenly fell to the ground inside the film crew's premises.

"Help! Nishimura-kun! Nishimura-kun has fallen!"

Less than a minute later, the staff who went to check the scene suddenly shouted, "Call an ambulance! Call an ambulance!"

"What's going on?" Uesugi Muneyuki and Uesugi Sadanori's conversation was interrupted. They both looked towards the warehouse, and at that moment, the Azure Stone lit up.

Uesugi Muneyuki: "???"

Seriously? Are you kidding me?
How come even a cameo in a Taiga drama can lead to a case?

And... it seems we don't need to call an ambulance anymore...

(End of this chapter)