The 23rd episode of the NHK Taiga drama "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）", starring actor Taiga Nakano (NHK General, Sundays at 8 PM, etc.), titled "Farewell, Hanbei," aired on June 14th. The episode depicted the final moments of Takenaka Hanbei (Masaki Suda), and viewers were moved to tears by the weeping of Hachisuka Masakatsu (Tsutomu Takahashi).
In episode 23, Araki Murashige (Tortoise Matsumoto) stages a rebellion. Kanbei (Yuki Kura), acting on his own initiative, goes to persuade Murashige but ends up being captured.
Amidst rumors that Kanbei had betrayed them, Nobunaga (Shun Oguri) orders that Kanbei's son, Matsujumaru, who is being looked after by Nene (Minami Hamabe) in Nagahama, be eliminated. Hanbei (Masaki Suda) proposes a plan to save the young life to the hesitant Hideyoshi (Sosuke Ikematsu) and Koichiro (Nakano), but in reality, he is heading to Nagahama Castle intending to kill Matsujumaru.
Realizing his death was imminent, Hanbei intended to bear the blame alone, but the situation changed drastically when Koichiro's wife, Kei (Riho Yoshioka), went into labor right before his eyes. When he hesitantly held the newborn child in his arms, Hanbei had a change of heart. He admitted defeat to Koichiro and, as originally planned, chose to use a substitute to save Matsujumaru.
Afterward, Hanbei joined the siege of Miki Castle, but his body was weakened, and he could not even stand. However, he declared, "I will change the tide," and true to his word, Ukita Naoie defected to the Oda side, and the Mori army was routed. The decisive factor in Ukita's victory was the funds from the Ikuno Silver Mine, which Hanbei had secured. Behind the rejoicing Hideyoshi and Koichiro, Hanbei quietly ended his life, thinking, "I don't want to die yet..."
It was Masakatsu who was the first to burst into tears. Takahashi, a "giant" standing at 182 centimeters tall, delivered a tearful performance that drew comments on social media such as, "Hachisuka's big cry made me cry too," "Masakatsu's crying made me cry even more," and "Hachisuka's big cry really made me cry." Other comments included, "Hachisuka was the first to start crying. I kind of expected it, though. He's a very compassionate person, after all. I understand, Hachisuka...", "Hachisuka hugging Hanbei's body and crying loudly first is just too cute...", "Hachisuka being the first to cry is just too good of a guy," and "Takahashi Tsutomu is a much more amazing actor than I thought. I cried."
