Why ‘Toyotomi Brothers!’ Drama Is a Must-Watch for History Buffs

The cast of the upcoming Japanese drama “Toyotomi Brothers!”, which will focus on the Toyotomi Hideyoshi siblings, has been announced.

On March 12, Yahoo Japan reported that actor Nakano Taiga was cast as the lead in the historical drama “Toyotomi Brothers!” scheduled to air on NHK in 2026.

The NHK taiga drama “Toyotomi Brothers!” tells the miraculous story of the Toyotomi brothers, who unified the country during the Sengoku period.

Nakano Taiga will play Toyotomi Hidenaga, Hideyoshi’s younger brother, for three years and a reliable aide to Hideyoshi.

“Toyotomi Brothers!” generates public interest by revealing that it will depict the Sengoku period from the perspective of Hideyoshi’s brother, Hashiba Hideyoshi, rather than the Hideyoshi who unified the country.

Upon the news of the drama’s casting, Nakano Taiga expressed his excitement during an interview, “There is nothing more honorable than being cast in this role.”

Toyotomi Hideyoshi is one of the figures whose historical evaluations drastically differ in Korea and Japan. Born into a humble family, he is praised as Japan’s “protagonist of national unification” for unifying the chaotic Sengoku period. On the other hand, in Korea, he is evaluated as the culprit who caused the country to fall into the tragedy of war by starting an unnecessary war. Therefore, it seems that the drama “Toyotomi Brothers!” will generate a lot of historical debate.

Nakano Taiga, who took on the role of Toyotomi Hidenaga, started his career as a child actor at age 13 in 2006. He began to gain attention for his mischievous acting in the drama “We’re Millennials. Got a problem?”