[Drama Review] Toyotomi Brothers! Episode 17 "The Fall of Odani Castle" | Oichi's Single Stroke Ended Everything

I am not exactly the history police, but first, I would like to talk a little bit about a person named Yamada Asaemon.

Yamada Asaemon was a family line that served as executioners during the Edo period, beheading criminals for generations.
While it was a grim profession that carried the burden of "impurity," beheading required highly advanced skills. Therefore, it was handled by a specialized family.

Severing a head with a single stroke—it sounds simple when put into words, but in reality, it is extremely difficult.
Cutting through bone, cutting through flesh, and causing death in an instant requires both skill and experience.

That is precisely why it was a "specialized profession."

……This story suddenly crossed my mind while watching the end of this episode.

Episode 17 Timeline

・Shingen Mochi!? An unexpected end☠️
・Mikatagahara, Honda Tadakatsu appears!🦌
・Goodbye Yoshiaki👋
・Yoshikage's end... his head☠️
・The fall of Odani Castle🏔️
・Oichi, settles the score😨

The Battle of Mikatagahara

Honda Tadakatsu finally appears here!
Ieyasu said he would soon forget this battle, and instead entrusted Kazumasa to remember it and keep it as a warning to himself.
It seems there are various theories regarding the famous "Shikami-zo" (portrait of a frowning Ieyasu) (housed at the Tokugawa Art Museum).

Click here for a report on the Taiga Drama exhibition being held at the Tokugawa Art Museum.

Is the warrior in green armor Yamagata Masakage?
Shingen, who seems to have avoided the poisoned rice ball Nobu set up.

"This battle is our victory!"

However, afterward, he choked on a rice cake and passed away.
Death by mochi? Seriously!?
I like Shingen Mochi, but I feel like I'll remember this scene every time I eat it😅
Elderly people, please be very careful when eating mochi.

〜The Muromachi Shogunate this week [End]〜

Yoshiaki heads toward Shingen using the same method as he did with Nobu.

"Destroy the Oda!"

However, the Takeda army returned to Kai without marching on Kyoto.
The shogunate army is defeated at the Battle of Makishima Castle.

Mitsuhide was ordered to demolish the Nijo Palace.
Where was that groan directed?
Mitsuhide slashed at the Fujito stone.
Who were those feelings directed toward?

"Please get along well with Mitsuhide"
Don't suddenly act like a guardian😅
And he even says he will make the brothers his retainers.
It's easier said than done, but no one is going to follow Yoshiaki anymore...😵‍💫

He was one year apart from his brother Yoshiteru, who shared the same mother.
I wonder if they ever played together.
The "Ashikaga Shogun Brothers" tossed about by the era.
The Muromachi Shogunate vanished here.

Tatsuoki, Yoshikage, and Hisamasa

Comeback, Tatsuoki!
I couldn't help but shout "Oh!" and applaud. 😂
"You were alive, you rascal!"

Yoshikage, the old man who loves Ichijodani, is incredibly scummy.
Isn't it crazy that Kageakira decapitated Yoshikage while he was still wearing his helmet? 😅

Hisamasa committed seppuku. Katsuie acted as his second.
Enokido-san's portrayal of Hisamasa was great.

The day Odani Castle fell

The Kinoshita brothers head to Nagamasa and Oichi to persuade them.

Nagamasa, who dreamed of ruling the world.
If he had managed to defeat Nobunaga at Kanegasaki, there might have been a path to victory, but that didn't happen.
The development that gave Nagamasa ambition here was intense. It was a warrior's end.

"Why must you go out of your way to die!"

The discussion goes nowhere.
And then, Nagamasa vs. the Kinoshita brothers—a sudden sumo showdown.
Settling everything with sumo.

The shadow of his older brother, Nobunaga, was wiped away here.

"That is why I loved you so much."
Setting aside whether this phrasing existed at the time...

Nagamasa commits seppuku.

And then—Oichi...

Who could have predicted such a conclusion?

In episode 10, when Oichi decided to marry into the Asai family, she drew her sword and practiced with a live blade.
Was that foreshadowing?

An incredibly tragic end where Oichi acts as Nagamasa's second.
Blood splatters onto Oichi's face.

Returning here to the opening story.

Decapitating someone with a single stroke is an act that originally requires specialized technique.
It is not something anyone can do.

And yet—Oichi pulled it off.

If you cut a neck, a massive amount of blood flows.
If you cut a stomach, the area becomes a pool of blood.
If you act as a second, blood sprays.
—She accomplished all of that with that single stroke.

Since it is a drama about the Warring States period, bloodshed is to be expected—.
Even so, the amount of blood was too much. That is what I was made to think.

Is the red in the "Toyotomi Brothers!" logo this shade of red?
That is what I was made to think.

On the battlefield of the Asai family, Oichi swung her sword as Nobunaga's sister and as Nagamasa's wife.
Her figure, bathed in blood, was that of a true samurai.

Next time, the protagonist's story moves forward!
"Hashiba Brothers!"