How did the grandchildren of the Tokugawa family view the unique historical drama “What to do, Ieyasu”?

The story that overturns the legend that he was “clever and a big man since he was a child…” is a story that overturns such legends…

The NHK historical drama “Dousuru Ieyasu” starring Jun Matsumoto has been called a “fantasy drama,” a “BL drama,” a “tonchiki drama,” and many other things.

From the first episode, Nobunaga Oda played by Junichi Okada tells Takechiyo (Ieyasu/Jun Matsumoto), “Wait for me, Takechiyo. …… my white rabbit,” and in the 15th episode (broadcast on April 23), while pressing Ieyasu to go into battle again, he says, “Think hard. He bit Ieyasu’s ear while whispering in his ear, “We must end this turbulent era.” After the battle of Anegawa, he again bit Ieyasu’s ear saying, “From now on, don’t make a mistake in judgment, White Rabbit,” when Ieyasu was late in starting the battle.

In addition, there was the fact that the recapture of Sena (Kasumi Arimura) had turned into an almost invented ninja fantasy, except for the historical fact that the two sons of Udono Nagateru were exchanged for Sena and her two children as hostages.

Furthermore, the bold allocation of the drama, with only a few historical facts involved and a full episode’s worth of space for the drama’s original characters, has also become a topic of discussion.

By the way, how do Ieyasu’s relatives (descendants) feel about this unique story?

We asked Iehiro Tokugawa, the 19th head of the Tokugawa family, who took over the reigns of the Tokugawa family on January 1 of this year, about his frank thoughts.

I feel that I have finally come to the place where I should be, where I should be “knowledgeable” rather than “compassionate.

I was honestly happy when I heard the title of the film, which was announced about two years ago.

There is a legend about Ieyasu that he was clever and a big shot even as a child. The most famous story is that he pissed standing up in the garden when he first visited Lord Yoshimoto Imagawa. So people around him were fascinated by him. But I always thought that such a thing was impossible.

As you may recall from the current Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Mikawa province and the Matsudaira family in Ieyasu’s time was a weak country and family, with surrounding major powers reaching out to them rapidly. So, Ieyasu’s life was a struggle. Therefore, Ieyasu’s life must have been a series of difficult choices, and if we could portray this honestly, the audience would be able to easily become emotionally involved with Ieyasu.

Moreover, Ryota Furusawa, who wrote the screenplay, is a writer of puzzle-like entertainment, so I thought the story would appeal to the “intellect” rather than the “emotions. The Warring States period was a time when even those with nothing could reach the top by making full use of their wits.