Film Critic Tomohiro Machiyama: “NHK’s Taiga Drama Should Be Ikkyu-san, With Lily Franky Starring in His Later Years”

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The story

Film critic Tomohiro Machiyama posted on his X account, “I think NHK’s Taiga Drama should be about Ikkyu-san, with Lily Franky playing him in his later years.” The tweet was picked up on 5ch’s Geinou/Sports News+ board. Ikkyu-san is a character based on the real Ikkyu Sojun, a Muromachi-period Zen monk familiar to most Japanese from the classic anime, known for his unconventional antics later in life. The thread lit up with everything from casting chatter — “who’s playing Shinuemon-san?” — to doubts about whether it could ever actually happen, with comments like “the Imperial Household Agency would never allow it” and “the anime image is just too strong.”

Tomohiro Machiyama

@TomoMachi

I think NHK’s Taiga Drama should be about Ikkyu-san. With Lily Franky starring as him in his later years.

Source: x.com / Original post here

What people said

2AnonymousNov 10, 2026 15:58
Leave it to a genius screenwriter to hit the nail right on the head!
6AnonymousNov 10, 2026 15:59
Who plays Shinuemon-san?
12AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:01
Re: #6
If you're looking for a guy with a cleft chin, pretty much the only option is Zakiyama (comedian Hiroyuki Yamada)
7AnonymousNov 10, 2026 15:59
Are all the little apprentice monks from the anime going to show up too?
9AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:00
Sure, people in their 50s today might get hooked on an Ikkyu-san drama, but won't the casting just end up being idols from a talent agency?

And maybe someone like Goutarou Yoshida playing Yoshimitsu or whatever
lol, annoying
10AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:00
Where'd this come from all of a sudden?
Did he go visit the Daitoku-ji exhibit or something?
11AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:01
He probably just wants an excuse to say "Lily Franky" because of his face, that's all this is
13AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:02
Re: #1
And the screenplay's written by "Tomohiro Machida" (a dig twisting Machiyama's own name)
Now it's perfect
14AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:03
Ikkyu-san in his later years is basically the spitting image of Eikichi Yazawa (legendary rock singer), c'mon
17AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:03
They'll probably throw in some BL (boy's-love) subplot with Shinuemon-san
18AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:03
The anime Ikkyu-san is the gold standard, don't go messing with it
26AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:06
Re: #18
That's way too much nostalgia talking.
Only the first few episodes and the finale felt like an actual biographical drama —
the rest of it was just a goofy comedy show, wasn't it
20AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:04
Doing Attack on Titan as a Taiga Drama would be a smash hit!
And of course Machiyama should write the script
21AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:05
Wasn't he a dirty old monk chasing young women in his later years?
Ah, so that's why Lily Franky
25AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:06
Machiyama might not realize this, but Ikkyu-san's story won't stretch to 50 episodes
31AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:08
Re: #25
Recent Taiga Dramas have been so bad that it's made Machiyama cocky
82AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:27
Re: #25
If it goes the BL route with Shinuemon, there's actually a decent chance it could work
30AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:08
Ikkyu-san, A Dog of Flanders, Manga Nihon Mukashi Banashi (classic folktale anime)… none of these shows exist anymore, huh
32AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:08
"Huh? How did you just get that tiger out of the folding screen?
That's way too much" (a nod to Ikkyu's famous screen-tiger riddle)
33AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:08
Ikkyu-san was popular in China too, you know
Very on-brand pick for Machiyama
34AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:09
I honestly think Vagabond (Takehiko Inoue's samurai manga) is the Taiga Drama's ultimate weapon
Kind of serious here
36AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:09
Wake me up when they cast the kid actress for young Sayo-chan
37AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:10
Please, not Ikkyu-san
If NHK gets its hands on it
it'll probably end up styled like Chiko-chan (NHK's kids' trivia mascot show)
38AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:10
Even just a 3-hour TV special would be fine — I'd love to see one about Ryokan (another famous Zen monk-poet)
48AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:12
Like with Attack on Titan, he should just be allowed to make the Taiga Drama himself
Write up a pitch and bring it to NHK
51AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:12
For the later-years role, it's gotta be Bokuzen Hidari (a famously eccentric old character actor — long deceased, which is the joke), no question
63AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:18
Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi (rock singer) might actually suit it well
http://daitouryu.com/japanese/image/photo/ikkyusoujun.jpg
74AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:24
80% of the episodes will just be Kikyouya (the anime's recurring merchant villain) scheming something shady
77AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:26
Re: #74
And the other 20% will be the Shogun dishing out impossible demands
76AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:26
It should be Himiko. Just do Himiko.

That'd help push back on gender discrimination, right?

And obviously, go with the Kyushu theory (on where her kingdom actually was).
78AnonymousNov 10, 2026 16:26
Re: #76
The one from Diamond Visual (a studio known for cheap historical reenactment videos)?

Background and Key Points

Ikkyu-san is based on Ikkyu Sojun, a real Rinzai Zen monk of the Muromachi period. There’s a theory that he was secretly a son of Emperor Go-Komatsu, though it has never been officially confirmed. NHK’s Taiga Dramas have traditionally centered on real warlords or court nobles, and there are few precedents for a Buddhist monk as the sole lead. “Shinuemon-san,” the character debated in the casting chatter, is an original character invented for the TV anime with no basis in historical fact. The remark about the “Imperial Household Agency vetoing it” is likewise just speculation tied to the rumored imperial-lineage theory, with nothing to back it up. Lily Franky is well known for playing unconventional characters, and pairing him with Ikkyu’s wild reputation in his later years struck a chord on the thread — though plenty of posters remained skeptical the project could ever actually happen.

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “Tomohiro Machiyama: “NHK’s Taiga Drama should be Ikkyu-san… with Lily Franky starring in his later years”.”

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