Past morning dramas have shaped a number of classic female protagonists, and the broadcast of the 100th morning drama "Summer Sky" is also a surprise. The play invited the heroines of the morning dramas of the past generations to participate, and the audience was happy to participate in it.
Tomoko Yamaguchi plays Yami Kishikawa in the play. So what do you think of Yamaguchi, who has returned to the morning drama after 30 years? What are the plans for the future?
Starring in Summer Sky was an unparalleled experience
——This should be your return to the morning drama after 30 years after starring in "Xiao Chun's Song of Help".
Tomoko Yamaguchi: 30 years, it's been a surprise (laughs). I only felt real after being told this by the people around me. As soon as I return to NHK, I feel at home. But while feeling at ease, I also feel that I need to be more nervous than ever. On set, I was surrounded by youthful young people who showed perseverance in a variety of scenes, which was remarkable. Young people have given me a lot of inspiration, and I must not forget my original intention to reinvigorate.
- Will someone around you say, "I'm watching this morning drama"?
Tomoko Yamaguchi: Of course there will be. Because the show's estranged friends and distant relatives have all been in touch with me, it has helped a lot to deepen the relationship (laughs). I was very happy to hear the comment that "Yayami's castanets (Spanish instruments) played so well."
- What do you think of this return to the morning drama?
Tomoko Yamaguchi: After entering the morning drama shooting, I really got along with other actors and staff like a family, so everyone's bond deepened every day. I was able to meet new family and friends this time, and I was inspired a lot every day, and I felt very happy. Of course, the charm of the morning drama may lie in the sense of unity that everyone supports the heroine together.
By guarding and supporting the growth of the heroine every day, we can also participate in the work and grow together. In order to make each scene more interesting, everyone worked together to come up with their best state. It was an unparalleled experience to be able to perform in this work.
--Ms. Matsushima once said that morning dramas changed their lives. So for you, how does the morning drama, especially "Xiao Chun's Song of Help", exist?
Tomoko Yamaguchi: This was the beginning of my life. If I hadn't met "Xiao Chun's Song of Helping", my life would have been an ordinary blind date, inheriting the hotel as the hostess after marriage. Thanks to the filming of the morning drama, I married Karasawa (Shou Ming), whom I met during the filming of the morning drama, and began an extraordinary life. At that time, I was really a layman, jumping from Xiao Bai, who knew nothing, into the wonderful world of morning dramas, and I was really grateful to have such an opportunity.
"Although I am older, I am really happy now!"
——What do you think is the most performing value of Yayami in this work?
Tomoko Yamaguchi: Yayami was originally a dancer, so I was really happy to be able to play a role that uses her body to express the "joy of survival.". In the entertainment hall called "Moulin Rouge", Yayami dances every day, and in the cruel parting and suffering of the war, she is also pregnant with her strong survival. The counter at the Oden Restaurant is like a stage for Yami, a place where she can generate the strength to survive energetically every day. This also allows people gathered at Oden to play the role with a mood that wants to convey laughter and dreams.
So, whether it's at the counter, when she's putting on the curtains, or when cleaning the storefront, Yayami is always singing and dancing with her heart at all times. In the counter set, I wanted to try to use the castanet (Spanish instrument) put by Mr. Art, and play it with small props and costumes, all kinds of elements. I think that dancing, like eating to gain energy, is a driving force for overcoming suffering, a force for survival. I want to use dance to express the joy of life and involve everyone in health and happiness.
——Okada Shosei, who plays Shotaro, once said in an interview that he envied Yamaguchi's predecessors for playing the role so freely.
Tomoko Yamaguchi: Whether it's the dances and songs of gypsies or the acting skills, it's the improvisational art of how everyone makes "now, this moment" more exciting. Guitars, songs, dancers, actors, and others work together to create a feeling that we are trying to make the present more brilliant. That's the beauty of theater. Moreover, compared with the young age of winning and losing with straight balls, as you get older, you will have a psychological surplus that makes all kinds of changing balls interesting. What you can do as an elderly person is, "Relax, throw yourself into the drama, be freer, happier, and have more personality", so that you can lead by example while creating a relaxed atmosphere and cheering for young people.
——You heard about the song that Yayami sang at the counter of the Oden restaurant, and you did a lot of research yourself.
Tomoko Yamaguchi: Yes. Because Yayami is a person who lives with songs and dances, in the scene of the Oden Restaurant, according to the atmosphere of the current scene, she investigates and sings the popular songs of the time, and the lyrics are also selected to be sung according to the atmosphere of the scene. But 90 percent of them were cut off on TV (laughs). If the cut parts are summed up, I think it will be an interesting "song skewer" that represents that era (laughs).
- What are your favorite songs to sing in the show?
Tomoko Yamaguchi: Hiyoko, Konatsu (广濑铃饰) Visit Okuhara Sakitaro-like time of the time, Sakitaro Okuhara-like time, Sakitaro emotions, "寻寻找寤找哪寺寺找寺找找寺找找寺寺找憤寻找寻找找 Rhiro, 谁认识识? Where are you, Lil, does anyone know Lil?" ("Lil on the way back to Shanghai)"), Ying-lai, Ge-lai-lai-ji Hokkaido-like Pak-ling-in-summer, Chanting "Kagyo-Ying-ying-kaku-Hua,2010", Ya cute and apple)", ("The song of the apple", "Kona-like Saka-sui-sensei (played by Taishi Nakagawa) visit-go-to-store time, "Sake-like woman, pure emotion. (The Woman in the Tavern)" ("Kasbah's Woman") Uchishuzaka Satoshi (laughs). "Chanting Yanami" Yasshiro Gao Zaichu (laughs).
- Why do you think it is now possible to integrate easily and freely into the characters you play?
Tomoko Yamaguchi: Although I am old, I am really happy now! Perhaps being able to perform so easily and freely is the embodiment of this fun. As I grew older, I made it clear that I liked things and important things, so that I would not spend extra effort on unnecessary things, but I would have a sense of leisure in my heart like the wind blowing across my face, and I could actually feel and taste the joy of life every day.
If only we could show the touching and precious treasures of life that we have encountered for 50 years in the drama. While thanking life, I want to enjoy the challenge even more.
"Shotaro gave me the strength to survive"
—Miss Yami leaves Shinjuku in episode 118 (aired on August 15). What kind of mood do you have for Shotaro?
Tomoko Yamaguchi: Yayami and Shotaro "interpret" the mother-child relationship. They have built incredible relationships and worked together through the hardships of life. Yayami also had a sad past in which someone who had agreed to marry went to war and never came back.... Shotaro made up for the hollowness of Yayami's heart that had lost her loved one and gave me the strength to survive. For Yayami, Shotaro is both the son he loves most and his partner in life, an irreplaceable existence. Therefore, Yayami, while wishing Shotaro growth and independence, cannot leave him, hoping that he can continue to be his spiritual lover like this, and in such a dilemma, she is also confused. Yayami is finally determined to get rid of this idea and re-examine her life, which I think is also a state of mind that all women in modern society can understand.
"Feel the charm of young life"
── What is your impression of the heroine of this work, Suzu Hirose?
Tomoko Yamaguchi: She's really cute and reliable, and her acting skills are really good. So dignified, natural and soft, as refreshing as the wind, how can you raise such a beautiful child, unconsciously from the perspective of the elders, very gentle look at her (laughs).
So far, Suzu Hirose, which I have seen on TV, has given the impression of a "modern girl", and when she works together, she interprets the simple country girl in Hokkaido without any sense of violation, and this excellent interpretation surprises me again. There are such modern girls who fit in suspender pants (laughs).
--So will Hirose Suzu on the shooting set have a big contrast with the drama?
Tomoko Yamaguchi: On set, Suzu Hirose's every day was hard. However, Xiao Ling never cried bitterness, on the contrary, she was enjoying this path of suffering, and her spiritual strength was surprising. But occasionally, she and Yumiko (Momoko Fukuji) are seen playing with each other like real sisters, making grimaces and laughing innocently. Looking at her innocent smiling face of 20 years old, it was very touching and happy.
--Is your own mood as a heroine the same as the state you observed Miss Hirose as a heroine?
Tomoko Yamaguchi: Looking at Suzu Hirose, I can't believe that I was also in the position of the heroine (laughs). I was just a layman at the time. Overcoming one puzzle after another, I find it incredible. Is this the power of youth, or is it the magic created by the morning drama? When you put yourself into it, it will really bring people moving and growing.