The 24th episode of the NHK Taiga drama "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" (NHK General, Sundays at 8pm, etc.), starring actor Taiga Nakano, aired on June 21st and featured a scene in which Kanbei Kodera (played by Yuki Kura) calls himself Kanbei Kuroda, which became a hot topic with comments such as "Kanbei Kuroda is born!"
In episode 24, after being imprisoned by Murashige (Tortoise Matsumoto) for a year, Kanbei had reached his physical and mental limits.
The stalemate between Murashige, who continued to hold out in his castle, and the Oda army had reached a deadlock, but Koichiro (Taiga Nakano) succeeded in cutting off the supply lines for provisions. Persuaded by his wife, Dashi (Kasumi Yamaya), Murashige finally decided to surrender. Entrusted with acting as an intermediary to Nobunaga (Shun Oguri), Koichiro entrusted Dashi with a message for Kanbei.
Just when it seemed the battle would end without unnecessary bloodshed, Murashige fled. Arioka Castle, having lost its lord, fell easily, and all of Murashige's remaining retainers were massacred as a warning to others, and Dashi was also beheaded.
The only remaining target was Miki Castle, but here Kanbei, who had been rescued from prison, advised Nobutada (Yuta Koseki) that instead of a full-scale attack, they should force its surrender through stratagem in order to achieve the "true pacification of Harima." He reaffirmed his promise to lend his strength to Hideyoshi (Sosuke Ikematsu) and others.
When Hideyoshi congratulated Kanbei, saying, "It's good to see you back (from your confinement)," Kanbei revealed, "To be honest, I thought I could never face the two of you (Hideyoshi and Koichiro) again, and all I could think about was dying in prison. But each time, that man (Takenaka Hanbei, played by Masaki Suda) would stop me."
Kanbei, who had once been asked by Hanbei to "become our ally," said, "When I heard about Matsujumaru (his son) from Dashi-dono, I made up my mind. I cannot die yet. I must repay my debt to Takenaka-dono. I must keep that promise." He knelt down and bowed his head, saying, "From now on, I will be reborn not as Kodera, but as Kuroda Kanbei, and I wish to serve you. I will protect you both in Takenaka-dono's place. Please, once again, accept me as your ally."
To Kanbei, Koichiro smiled and said, "There's no way you can take Hanbei's place. Hanbei is Hanbei, and you are you," and Hideyoshi also told him, "You've been one of us for a long time," and they proceeded to the final stages of pacifying Harima.
What kept Kanbei in this world was a promise he made with Hanbei. Regarding the bond between the two, comments on social media included: "Memories with Hanbei...", "Even though it was a flashback, I didn't expect them to bring up Takenaka Hanbei", "Hanbei... even in death he is protecting his comrades", "Here again, the tactics Hanbei used are having a huge effect on Kanbei", and "Hanbei's influence". Other comments included: "Ah, Hanbei appeared, and even though he's gone, it makes me cry", "It makes me cry that he was kept alive by the deceased Hanbei", "Even after Kanbei returned, I could still feel Hanbei's presence and the tears wouldn't stop", and "This is truly Kanbei the Strategist... great acting".
