The 19th episode of the NHK Taiga drama "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" (NHK General, Sundays at 8pm, etc.), starring actor Taiga Nakano, aired on May 17th, and the child actor who played Yoichiro, the son of Kei (Riho Yoshioka), attracted the attention of viewers.
"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 script is written by Hiroyuki Yatsu, known for his work on "Hanzawa Naoki" (TBS) and the Asadora drama series "Ochoyan." The music is composed by Hideaki Kimura, and the narration is provided by actress Sakura Ando.
In episode 19, Nobunaga (played by Shun Oguri) hands over the family headship to his eldest son, Nobutada, and begins construction of a massive castle in Azuchi, with his sights set on unifying Japan.
Hideyoshi (Sosuke Ikematsu) joins the campaign against the Uesugi clan led by Shibata Katsuie (Makiya Yamaguchi), but clashes with Katsuie over strategy. Meanwhile, Kei is suspected of colluding with a warlord from another country, and Koichiro (Nakano) heads to the village she has been secretly visiting.
Then, Koichiro learns about Kei's sad past, which he had been desperately trying to keep hidden... and the story unfolds from there.
In the same episode, the role of Kei's son, Yoichiro, was played by Haru Takagi. Born on April 1, 2014, the 12-year-old from Tokyo is appearing in a Taiga drama for the fourth time in three consecutive years, following "Seiten wo Tsuke" in 2021, "Dear Radiance (Hikaru Kimi e)" in 2024, and "UNBOUND (Berabou)" in 2025. She played the role of Clam in the E Tele program "Go! Go! Kitchen Sentai Cooklun".
Comments on social media included: "I've seen the child actor playing Yoichiro somewhere before," "Is this Yoichiro the same child actor who played Tsutaju (as Kari) in last year's ' UNBOUND'?", "Yoichiro is Clam from 'Cooklun', he was the young Emperor Ichijo in ' Dear Radiance (Hikaru Kimi e)', and he's also in 'Tatsuki Sensei', he's a popular kid and he's cute," and "I thought I'd seen Yoichiro before, and it turns out he played the young version of the main character in last year's ' UNBOUND', and the young version of Emperor Ichijo in ' Dear Radiance (Hikaru Kimi e)'! Apparently he was even in 'Seiten wo Tsuke'. He's a veteran child actor!"
Takagi's looks, which led some viewers to comment that he looked like a girl when he appeared in "Dear Radiance (Hikaru Kimi e)," have also attracted attention, with comments such as, "Yoichiro has a refined face, he certainly resembles Kei," "The boy playing Yoichiro has the face of someone who will grow up to be handsome," "Yoichiro has big, bright eyes, he looks like Mio Imada Mio," "Yoichiro looks like Mio Imada," and "If someone told me that the child actor playing Yoichiro was related to Mio Imada, I would totally believe it."
