It was Sunday, March 3.
I was watching the second game of the Giants’ 90th-anniversary tour of Taiwan on Sky PerfecTV.
First came manager Abe’s press conference following the previous day’s game, in which Akihiro had recorded three hits and four RBIs.
Regarding a play in which Akihiro, who had collected three hits and was playing first base, saw a hard-hit ball that virtually no one could have fielded go through the gap between first and second for a hit, Abe’s public remark did not even qualify as humor.
He said, “Akihiro was watching the cheerleaders…”
No one would feel pleased or encouraged by being told something like that.
Just as I had feared even before the game began, the Giants were completely shut down by Taiwan’s Rakuten.
When training camp began, I had thought the Giants would be contenders against Hanshin.
I lost my desire to support the Giants and look forward to watching their games.
For the Giants to compete with Hanshin, they have no choice but to put the following players in the starting lineup.
The players who attracted attention during training camp are all super-subs.
This is all the more necessary given the serious concern that the pitching staff may be surprisingly vulnerable.
Outfield: Rougned Roberto Odor, Maru, Akihiro.
Infield: Okamoto, Yoshikawa, Kadowaki, Sakamoto.
Catcher: Oshiro.
Batting order: Maru, Sakamoto, Akihiro, Okamoto, Odor, Oshiro, Kadowaki, Yoshikawa.
In this column, I have repeatedly written about the existence of The Tale of Genji and Murasaki Shikibu more than a thousand years ago as symbols of what a remarkable country Japan was.
As you know, that has long been my position.
That is why I had been watching NHK’s Taiga drama attentively until March 3.
However, now that the malice of its production team has been exposed, I can no longer take it seriously.
This is not The Tale of Genji but Sanpei Shirato’s Kamui Gaiden, a manga embodying a self-denigrating view of history—in reality, a manga promoting anti-Japanese ideology.
As with the previous series, What Will You Do, Ieyasu?, NHK’s Taiga drama production team is intent on portraying Japan as filthy.
In Ieyasu, for some reason, ninjas such as Hattori Hanzo were portrayed almost as the main characters.
In this portrayal of The Tale of Genji, it is no exaggeration to say that the main characters are people performing sarugaku on filthy streets.
Those responsible for the production apparently want to brainwash the Japanese public into believing that Japan in the past was as filthy as the Korean Peninsula.
The way the women sit is also strange.
Commentators online have pointed out that these are Korean gestures, not Japanese ones.
On March 3, it was so appalling that I even considered investigating whether it was historically accurate.
Even searching for such malicious portrayals would be a waste of time.
Shizuka Oishi should be ashamed of writing a script filled with a self-denigrating view of history and anti-Japanese ideology, in accordance with the wishes of those responsible for the production.
It is no exaggeration to say that I have visited Byodoin in Uji more than anyone else who does not live in Kyoto.
The sculptures and paintings there by Jocho and his school are among the world’s finest masterpieces, not only for their time but even today.
The overall splendor of Uji Byodoin likewise remains the world’s finest work of art.
NHK’s Taiga drama is a traitorous program made with the utterly malicious intention of tarnishing this Japan of which we can be proud before the world.
I have written about this in this column before.
After the introduction of the 1990 restrictions on total real estate lending, which marked the beginning of Japan’s deflation, a man of my generation who held a senior position in Chongryon approached our company.
At the time, I never watched NHK’s Taiga dramas because I instinctively sensed the things described above.
If I had been watching television at that hour, I would have been watching a live professional baseball broadcast.
This man, however, was strangely enthusiastic about watching Taiga dramas.
At the time, I thought he was probably drawn to Japanese historical dramas because he came from the Korean Peninsula, which had little history worthy of the name.
However, the moment I read an online article claiming that the person responsible for production policy on What Will You Do, Ieyasu? was an ethnic Korean resident of Japan, I understood what was happening.
He knew that his compatriots controlled the Taiga drama production team, so he had not simply been enjoying the program.
He had been checking whether it was being produced in accordance with Chongryon’s wishes, following a self-denigrating view of history and a narrative casting Japan as the villain.
To be continued.