It has been revealed that actor Munetaka Aoki will appear in the NHK Taiga drama " The Gyakuzoku no Bakushin ," which will air in 2027 and stars Tori Matsuzaka . He will play Joun Kurimoto, a lifelong friend and older brother figure to the protagonist, Tadamasa Oguri Tadamasa, who is always one step ahead of him.
This will be Aoki's fifth appearance in a Taiga drama, following "Ryomaden" (2010), "Taira no Kiyomori" (2012), "Saigo-don" (2018), and "The 13 Lords of the Shogun" (2022).
In "The Gyakuzoku no Bakushin," Kurimoto Joun is the third son of the Kitamura family, who are physicians to the shogunate. He is cheerful and curious, a brilliant student who excels in both literary and martial arts to the point of being called a "ghost," and his childhood friend Oguri, who is five years younger, can never beat him. He eventually becomes the adopted son-in-law of the Kurimoto family, who are physicians in the inner chambers of the shogunate, but despite being a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine, he requests to join the naval training school and is demoted to Ezo (Hokkaido). There, he deepens his friendship with the missionary Cachon and dedicates himself to the development of Ezo. His achievements are recognized and he is returned to Edo and promoted to Inspector (a supervisor of shogunate officials). He reunites with Cachon, who has become an interpreter for the French minister, and together with Oguri, he stands on the front lines of diplomacy with France.
Aoki commented, "Mr. Kurimoto Sukumo, I apologize for my ignorance, but I was unaware of you until I received this offer. However, as I traced your career and way of life, I felt an intense curiosity for knowledge, a constant desire to discern the 'essence of things.' That transcends time and has deeply captivated me. I want to firmly grasp the figure of Oguri Tadamasa, who stood before you, and how he survived 'Japan's period of great transformation.' I hope you will watch over me."
Chief Producer Natsuko Katsuta, who is in charge of production, said, "Kurimoto Joun is someone you could call a buddy. He is generous and has extraordinary talent, and in the shogunate's diplomacy where individual negotiations were not allowed, he alone had the interpersonal skills to get permission to speak one-on-one with a Frenchman. The three of us—the scriptwriter, the chief director, and myself—all suggested Takashi Aoki as the first person for the role. He is a perfect fit for the image."
