# Unbound (TV series)

Unbound (べらぼう〜蔦重栄華乃夢噺〜, Berabou Tsutajū Eiga no Yume-banashi)is a Japanese historical drama television series starring Ryusei Yokohama as Tsutaya Jūzaburō. The series is the 64th NHK taiga drama.

## Plot

In the mid-18th century Japan, the Rōjū Tanuma Okitsugu prioritized commerce over agriculture to rebuild the nation's finances. As the economy improved, a relatively liberal atmosphere emerged among the common people, fostering cultural development. One of the central figures in this cultural movement was Tsutaya Jūzaburō, a publisher. However, when the era transitioned to Matsudaira Sadanobu's governance from Tanuma's, stricter controls on entertainment were imposed, causing hardship for Jūzaburō. Even so, he remained undeterred, discovering and making talents such as Utamaro, Hokusai and Sharaku famous.

## Cast
### Starring role

* Ryusei Yokohama as Tsutaya "Tsutajū" Jūzaburō
** Haru Takagi as young Tsutajū

### His family

* Ai Hashimoto as Tei, Jūzaburō's wife
* Katsumi Takahashi as Surugaya, Jūzaburō's foster father
* Naoko Iijima as Fuji, Jūzaburō's foster mother
* Aoi Nakamura as Jirobei, Surugaya's son

### Publishing industry

* Kōtarō Satomi as Suwaraya Ichibei
* Shunsuke Kazama as Tsuruya Kiemon
* Masahiko Nishimura as Nishimura Yohachi, Jūzaburō's rival
* Kataoka Ainosuke VI as Urokogataya Magobei
* Mami Hachiya as Rin, Magobei's wife
* Ryota Miura as Urokogataya Chōbei, Magobei's son
* Tateto Serizawa as Koizumi Chūgorō
* Rintaro Mizusawa as Tomeshirō
* Yu Tokui as Tōhachi
* Yasushi Kawabata as Kashiwara-ya
* Yōji Matsuda as Murataya Jirobei
* Kazuya Nakai as Iwatoya Genpachi
* Tomokazu Seki as Okumuraya Genroku
* Wataru Takagi as Matsumuraya Yahei

### Artists

* Ken Yasuda as Hiraga Gennai
* Shota Sometani as Kitagawa Utamaro
* Tekken as Isoda Koryūsai
* Atsushi Hashimoto as Kitao Shigemasa
* Tomoya Maeno as Katsukawa Shunshō
* Ryo Kimura as Hezutsu Tōsaku
* Yūta Furukawa as Santō Kyōden, a.k.a Kitao Masanobu
* Amane Okayama as Koikawa Harumachi, a.k.a Kurahashi Itaru
* Kanichiro as Tomimoto Umanosuke II
* Shigehiro Yamaguchi as Tōrai Sanna
* Bun'ichi Hamanaka as Akera Kankō
* Tsurutaro Kataoka as Toriyama Sekien

### Tokugawa shogunate

* Ken Watanabe as Tanuma Okitsugu
* Hio Miyazawa as Tanuma Okitomo, Okitsugu's son
* Shuntaro Miyao as Tanuma Okimune, Okitsugu's nephew
* Hidekazu Mashima as Tokugawa Ieharu, the 10th shōgun
* Rin Takanashi as Lady Chiho (Renkō-in), Iemoto's mother
* Tomoya Oku as Tokugawa Iemoto, Ieharu and Chiho's son
* Kōji Ishizaka as Matsudaira Takechika
* Toma Ikuta as Hitotsubashi Harusada
* Motoki Ochiai as Shimizu Shigeyoshi
* Kokoro Terada as Tayasu Masamaru
* Mari Hanafusa as Hōren-in
* Yūma Yamoto as Sano Masakoto
* Hisashi Yoshizawa as Matsumoto Hidemochi
* Nakamura Hayato as Hasegawa Heizo
* Taizo Harada as Miura Shōji
* Kazuyuki Aijima as Matsudaira Yasuyoshi
* Kenta Kiritani as Ōta Nanpo, a.k.a Yomo no Akara
* Shuntaro Yanagi as Tsuchiyama Sōjirō
* Jingi Irie as Tayasu Haruaki
* Ayu Oda as Tanehime

#### Ōoku

* Ai Tominaga as Takaoka
* Kurara Emi as Ōsaki

### Yoshiwara pleasure quarters

* Fuka Koshiba as Hananoi (Segawa V)
** Hana Maeda as Azami (young Hananoi)
* Haruka Fukuhara as Tagasode
** Kurumi Inagaki as Kaori (young Tagasode)
* Miki Mizuno as Ine
* Ryo Tamaki as Toyoshima
* Sayu Kubota as Matsunoi
* Karin Ono as Utsusemi
* Ayaka Higashino as Shizuyama
* Runa Nakashima as Chidori
* Rino Katase as Kiku
* Yumi Adachi as Ritsu
* Reika Manaki as Asagao
* Momiji Yamamura as Shige
* Bokuzō Masana as Matsubaya
* Kazuhiro Yamaji as Ōgiya
* Atsushi Itō as Daimonji-ya
* Towa Watanabe as Karamaru
* Moka Otsuka as Kamegiku
* Masaki Hiradate as Katsuyama
* Hikari Kabashima as Tokiwagi
* Haruka Kinoshita as Tamakawa
* Yorie Yamashita as Masa
* Chisato Someya as Ureshino
* Umi Shinonome as Hisa
* Yasukaze Motomiya as Wakagiya Yohachi

### Others

* Haruka Ayase as Kurosuke Inari / narrator
* Hayato Ichihara as Toriyama Kengyō
* Kai Inowaki as Oda Shinnosuke
* Toshinori Omi as Hirasawa Tsunemasa
* Naomasa Musaka as Hanjirō
* Nene Yoshitaka as a corpse
* Kanna Fuji as a corpse
* Rin Yoda as a corpse
* So Yamanaka as Sugita Genpaku
* James Onoda as a bathhouse owner
* Kensuke Sasaki as a boatman
* Toshiki Ayata as the owner of a charcoal shop
* Katsuya Takagi as the man with a scar on his face
* Katsuhiro Higo as Shigoroku
* Hayashiya Sanpei II

## TV schedule

| Episode | Title | Directed by | Original airdate | Rating |
| 1 | "Arigata-yama no Kangarasu" (ありがた山の寒がらす) | Taku Ōhara | January 5, 2025 (2025-1-5) | 12.6% |
| 2 | "Yoshiwara Saiken <Aa, Oedo>" (吉原細見 『嗚呼御江戸』) | Taku Ōhara | January 12, 2025 (2025-1-12) | 12.0% |
| 3 | "Senkyaku Banrai <Hitome Senbon>" (千客万来 『一目千本』) | Taku Ōhara | January 19, 2025 (2025-1-19) | 11.7% |
| 4 | "<Hinagata Wakana> no Amai Wana" (『雛形若菜』の甘い罠) | Takashi Fukagawa | January 26, 2025 (2025-1-26) | 10.5% |
| 5 | "Tsuta ni Karamaru Inga no Tsuru" (蔦に唐丸因果の蔓) | Taku Ōhara | February 2, 2025 (2025-2-2) | 10.6% |
| 6 | "Uroko Hagareta <Setsuyō-shū>" (鱗剥がれた『節用集』) | Takashi Fukagawa | February 9, 2025 (2025-2-9) | 10.2% |
| 7 | "Kōki Tōrai <Magaki no Hana>" (好機到来『籬の花』) | Takashi Fukagawa | February 16, 2025 (2025-2-16) | 10.0% |
| 8 | "Gyakushū no <Kinkin Sensei>" (逆襲の『金々先生』) | Shinzo Nitta | February 23, 2025 (2025-2-23) | 9.8% |
| 9 | "Tamagiku-dōrō Koi no Jigoku" (玉菊灯籠恋の地獄) | Shinzo Nitta | March 2, 2025 (2025-3-2) | 10.4% |
| 10 | "<Seirō Bijin> no Miru Yume wa" (『青楼美人』の見る夢は) | Taku Ōhara | March 9, 2025 (2025-3-9) | 10.6% |
| 11 | "Tomimoto, Jingi no Uma-zura" (富本、仁義の馬面) | Takayoshi Kotani | March 16, 2025 (2025-3-16) | 9.6% |
| 12 | "Niwaka naru <Meigetsu Yojō>" (俄なる『明月余情』) | | March 23, 2025 (2025-3-23) | |
| 13 | "Bakufu Yurugasu Zatōgane" (幕府揺るがす座頭金) | | March 30, 2025 (2025-3-30) | |