pjbooks Chapter 20 The Silent Outburst
Chapter 20 The Silent Outburst
1989 October.
The season when cherry blossoms bloom is also the season when they wither.
NHK Green Mountain Studios, Studio 1.
The setting today is unusually simple. White cloths are laid on the tatami mats, and in the background of the courtyard, several artificial cherry blossom trees are shedding their petals with the help of blowers.
This is the filming location for episode 16 of "Kasuga no Tsubasa".
It was also the final scene for Kitahara Shin's character, Inaba Masasada, where he committed seppuku.
In the dressing room.
Kitahara Shin looked at himself in the mirror.
He was dressed in a pure white "death outfit" (a white robe used for seppuku), with his hair disheveled and draped over his shoulders.
The makeup artist deliberately made his face look deathly pale and applied a light layer of concealer to his lips, making him appear completely bloodless.
"Kitahara-kun, are you ready?"
The script supervisor knocked on the door, his voice much softer than usual.
"alright."
Kitahara Shin stood up.
He didn't bring a script because the scene only had two lines.
……
Inside the studio, the atmosphere was so solemn it felt like a real funeral was being held.
Reiko Ohara was already seated next to the monitor.
In this play, she exists as a "witness".
Although Kasuga no Tsubone in history may not have witnessed her son's death, the director arranged a farewell scene between mother and son through a paper door for dramatic tension.
"All departments, prepare."
The director's voice came through the loudspeaker.
Kitahara Shin walked into the set and knelt in the center of the white cloth.
A short knife (a pocket sword) was placed in front of him, its blade wrapped in white paper.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
[Equipment Unlocked: The Annotated Notes of a Down-on-History Scholar]
[Equipment Unlocked: Silver Zippo]
[Equipment Unlocked: Broken Practice Wooden Sword]
All three pieces of equipment are activated simultaneously.
In an instant, an overwhelming sense of desolation surged forth like a tide.
It wasn't a fear of death, but rather... a sense of relief.
He is Inaba Masasada.
She was a child abandoned by her mother, a pawn used by her family, and a "tool" who spent her whole life watching other people's faces.
Now, this tool is finally going to break down.
Finally, I don't have to kneel down and obey orders anymore.
"Action!"
The camera slowly zooms in.
In the scene, Kitahara Shin slowly reaches out and picks up the short sword.
His movements were slow and frighteningly steady. His hand didn't tremble at all, as if he were holding a wine glass.
He looked up at the tightly closed paper door.
Outside the door, there was the shadow of the mother who held absolute power.
"Mother..."
He spoke.
His voice was hoarse, with a kind of torn calm, "Zhengding... I'll go apologize to my father now."
After he finished speaking, he did not wait for a response from outside the door.
Because he knew that in his entire life, he had never heard a kind word from that woman.
He unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his thin chest.
That was muscle memory from the wooden sword—he gripped the sword in reverse, the tip aimed at his abdomen, the movement as precise as a cruel sacrificial ritual.
To pierce.
Next comes the most crucial scene: the eye contact.
In his final moments, Kitahara Shin did not feign pain or resentment.
He used the storytelling provided by the Zippo lighter and the empathy evoked by the notebook to create an extremely complex expression.
His brow relaxed.
A hint of...relief appeared in his previously lifeless eyes.
It's like a corporate slave who's worked three days and three nights straight, finally walking out of the company gate on Friday night.
"Finally... I'm free."
This line was not in the script.
He merely moved his lips, without uttering a sound.
But those silent mouth movements were more deafening than any shout.
Lean forward and fall down.
Like a piece of dead wood, returning to dust.
……
"Cut!"
The director's voice sounded a little hoarse when he called "cut."
The scene didn't immediately become busy; everyone seemed still immersed in the immense pressure and relief they had just experienced.
"Zhengding..."
Suddenly, a sob came from beside the monitor.
Everyone turned around and were shocked to find that senior actress Reiko Ohara had not broken character.
Ignoring the script supervisor's attempts to stop her, she stumbled into the set and knelt beside Kitahara Shin's "corpse".
Looking at her "son," whose eyes had been empty just moments before but now died with a smile on his lips, this iron lady, who had struggled in the entertainment industry for decades, shed tears like beads from a broken string.
"Silly child... how can you laugh..."
She reached out, her hand trembling, wanting to touch Kitahara Shin's face, yet she dared not touch him. "It was your mother who drove you to your death...it was your mother who drove you to your death..."
She wept bitterly.
That wasn't acting; it was a genuine reaction after being completely overwhelmed by the emotions of the other actor.
The "liberation" portrayed by Kitahara Shin was more heart-wrenching to her as a "mother" than "resentment."
Kitahara Shin lay on the ground, listening to the crying around him, and sighed inwardly.
He slowly opened his eyes and sat up somewhat embarrassedly: "Senior Ohara... um, the director yelled 'cut'."
Ohara Reiko paused for a moment, looked at Kitahara Shin who had "come back to life," and suddenly burst into laughter through her tears, giving him a hard slap on the shoulder.
"You brat! Are you trying to make me cry by acting so dramatic?!"
Although it was a scolding, the appreciation and affection in the tone were obvious even to a fool.
All the staff members spontaneously applauded.
There was thunderous applause.
……
Two weeks later.
Episode 16 of "Kasuga no Tsubasa" aired.
This episode achieved a record-breaking viewership of 32.4% since the show's premiere.
The moment when Kitahara Shin committed seppuku became the highest-rated moment of the entire episode.
The next morning.
Kitahara Shin went to a vegetable shop in Nakano Shopping Street to buy radishes, as usual.
"Boss lady, two large skewers, please." He was dressed casually and wearing his non-prescription glasses.
The shop owner, who was sorting the goods, looked up, saw Kitahara Shin's face, and suddenly froze.
The next second, the radish in her hand fell to the ground with a "thud".
"Oh my! Isn't this Lord Inaba?!"
The proprietress shouted excitedly, attracting the attention of the owner of the fish shop next door. "Oh my god! You're not dead?! I cried so much watching TV last night! How could you be so foolish! That mother was so heartless!"
"Uh... that was acting..." Kitahara Shin said, somewhat amused and exasperated.
"I know it's acting! But it's so well done!" The proprietress grabbed his hand, her eyes welling up with tears again. "Young man, you look so energetic, why are you acting so pitiful? Come on, take these radishes, they're free! And this apple, take that too! It'll help you recover!"
"Inaba-sama! I have some fresh saury here! I'll pack two for you!" The owner of the fish shop next door also came over.
Kitahara Shin stood in the bustling shopping street, holding a pile of free vegetables and fish.
The middle-aged women buying groceries and the middle-aged men passing by all cast kind and regretful glances at him.
In idol dramas, you might get screams from teenage girls.
But in Taiga dramas, you only truly enter the hearts of the people when you can make these housewives who hold the power of the remote control shed tears for you.
He was a supporting character.
But from today onwards, he is a supporting actor with "national recognition".