The 17th episode of the NHK Taiga drama "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" (NHK General, Sundays at 8pm, etc.), starring actor Taiga Nakano, titled "The Fall of Odani Castle," aired on May 3rd and depicted the final moments of Yoshikage Asakura, played by Shingo Tsurumi.
In the 17th episode, Takeda Shingen (Masahiro Takashima) raises an army against Oda and invades Tōtōmi, but Ieyasu (Kohei Matsushita) who meets him at Mikatagahara suffers a crushing defeat.
Yoshiaki (played by Onoe Ukon) also raised an army in Kyoto, and Nobunaga (played by Shun Oguri) seemed to be in dire straits, but for some reason the Takeda army suddenly retreated. Having lost his backer, Yoshiaki was driven out of Kyoto. Having escaped the crisis, Nobunaga resumed his attack on the Asai and Asakura clans. With no options left, Nagamasa holed up in Odani Castle. Koichiro (played by Nakano) and Fujikichiro (played by Ikematsu Sosuke) tried to do something to rescue Oichi (Aoi Miyazaki) and the others, but...and so the story unfolded.
Yoshikage somehow managed to escape to Ichijōdani. There, rather than let Ichijōdani fall into the hands of the Oda, he decided to destroy it himself and ordered Kageakira (played by Mansaku Ikeuchi) to set fire to the town below the castle. However, Kageakira drew his sword and attacked Yoshikage from behind. At that moment, a large amount of blood splattered, and Yoshikage's head flew through the air. Kageakira then surrendered to the Oda with Yoshikage's head. With this, the Echizen Asakura clan was destroyed.
On social media, viewers reacted with comments such as, "It's been a while since we've seen a head literally fly off in a historical drama," and "This is a bloody episode." Shots of the severed head and body were also included, prompting comments like, "What?! I've never seen a shot like that before..." and "Yoshikage's head is cut off and flies away. There's no direct depiction, but the body, splattering blood, collapses. Like in Nemuri Kyoshiro, NHK has become merciless with its depictions of bloodshed lately."
Furthermore, regarding Kageakira, who cut off Yoshikage's head with a single stroke, comments included: "I mean, the technique to sever the head from the body while the helmet is still on is amazing..." and "To be able to blast off only the head with such force from behind, leaving Asakura Yoshikage's body standing upright, suggests that Asakura Kageakira is actually an incredible swordsman."
