The 18th episode of the NHK Taiga drama "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）", starring actor Taiga Nakano (NHK General, Sundays at 8pm, etc.), titled "Hashiba Brothers!", aired on May 10th and recorded an average viewership rating of 10.7% for households and 6.3% for individuals (according to Video Research, Kanto region).
"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 drama entered a new chapter from episode 18, with the fifth chapter, "Omi Nagahama Arc," beginning.
Hideyoshi (played by Sosuke Ikematsu) is promoted to chief retainer of the Oda family and is granted northern Omi Province. He builds Nagahama Castle in his territory and becomes a castle-owning daimyo, and together with Koichiro (played by Nakano), he adopts the surname Hashiba.
Koichiro is put in charge of governing the castle town, but he is overwhelmed by the lack of manpower. Hanbei (Masaki Suda) advises him to increase the number of his trusted retainers, so he decides to hold a selection test to find capable retainers. Many applicants gather, and unique young men such as Ishida Mitsunari (Leo Matsumoto) and Todo Takatora (So Kaku) remain for the final test...and so the story unfolds.
