Heaven, Earth, Man - Japanese/Korean Drama - Hollywood Cinema [www.hlwyy.com]

Satoshi Tsumabuki, Kotaro Nakamura, Takako Tokiwa, Masami Nagasawa, Masanobu Takashima, Michiko Tanaka, Koji Sugimura, Mikio Higashiyama, Tetsuji Tamayama, Saki Aibara, Manami Higa, Reiko Takashima, Shun Oguri, Kyoko Fukada, Yuu Kitaura, Yosuke Ueda, Atsuo Tsurumi, Tsutomu Karasawa, Satomi Ishihara, Nobuyuki Sasano, Junko Balloons, Papaya Suzuki, Kazushi Gil川, Hiroshi Abe, Takafumi Sasano, Junko Tomisato, Hiromitsu Matsuda, Ryuhei Matsuda, An, Keiko Kimura, Yoshizume Nao, Masaharu Ishihara, Akira Utsumi, Ken Utsujii, and other reports: Shun Oguri, Kyoko Fukada, Satoshi Tsumabuki will star in the NHK Taiga drama "Tenchi-Jin" in 2009.

The Japanese NHK television station has announced the main cast of the 2009 Taiga drama "Tenchi-Jin," with Shun Oguri playing one of the lead roles, Ishida Mitsunari. The other three main characters are portrayed by Kyoko Fukada, Yosuke Ueda, and Yuu Kitaura.

At the press conference, Shun Oguri mentioned that he had previously played the young version of Ishida Mitsunari, "Sakichi," in a Taiga drama in 1996. "I never imagined that after 13 years, I would have the chance to play the adult version of Mitsunari. It's such a mysterious twist of fate. Back then, I was just a child, but now I feel it will be a completely different experience." Kyoko Fukada, who is making her Taiga drama debut, stated that she is diligently studying history to offer fans of Taiga dramas a fresh perspective.

In the past, there have been examples of actors appearing twice in Taiga dramas, such as Juzo Toriumi, who starred in both the 2002 "Tokugawa Ieyasu and Matsu" and the 2006 "Crossroads of Fame." However, cases like Shun Oguri's, where an actor plays both the child and adult versions of the same character, do not exist in NHK's archives. When Oguri revealed this at the press conference, the staff responsible for the Taiga drama were quite surprised. Producer Shinjiro Naito commented, "We didn't even know he had played the role before."

Shun Oguri also revealed that his connection with Taiga dramas began in elementary school. At the age of 13, he was selected from his children's theater troupe to play the young version of "Yoshimune, the Eighth Shogun." A year later, he played the young Ishida Mitsunari, whose adult version was portrayed by Hiroshi Shimizu. He also appeared in Taiga dramas in 2000 and 2005, making this his fifth time being involved with a Taiga drama.

Previously, "Tenchi-Jin" had already confirmed its cast, including Satoshi Tsumabuki, Takako Tokiwa, Masami Nagasawa, and Saki Aibara. With the addition of Shun Oguri, Kyoko Fukada, and others, this marks the highest proportion of idol actors in a Taiga drama. The currently popular Taiga drama "Dokuge," starring Aoi Miyazaki, has consistently maintained high viewership ratings (over 20%) since its premiere, becoming a new legend in Taiga dramas. Therefore, the TV station clearly put thought into selecting the cast for the 2009 Taiga drama, hoping that these popular actors would continue the glory of Taiga dramas.