Asked about the philosophical themes in Mr. Ikenami's works, Director Kawage replied, "No person can be good alone, and every person has a bad part. I have the feeling that people are lovable, including their bad parts. When I read his works, I see that people have both bad and good qualities, so they support each other somehow, help each other, and compensate for each other. We manage to live our lives by finding the good things in each other, while overlooking the bad things about the other person. But there are still bad things, and that can't be helped...that's my philosophy.

He added about the main character, Umeyasu, "He is loved for a long time not as a dark hero, a friend of justice and goodness, but because he lives with a complicated sense of bitterness, regret, and guilt that comes after killing even somewhat bad people, and that he will one day become one too if he kills others. On the other hand, he is also a doctor who helps people. It is a difficult life with its contradictions, but Mr. Toyokawa played it beautifully. His quick and leisurely movements are wonderful. Nowadays, action is all about speed, but in this film, she expressed it beautifully, like a black panther crawling along. When Mr. Toyokawa was young, he used to say, 'An actor is a physical expressionist,' and he is still a matured physical expressionist," praised Mr. Toyokawa.

When asked about the highlights of the film, Toyokawa said, "The project for this film was "New Era". The director, staff, and cast gathered to work under the banner of making a new period drama. Each part of the film is the result of specialized research into how to make a new period drama that would please the audience and how to make a period drama that would please the audience, and the result is this film. I believe that the main attraction of the film is the world view of Umeyasu, and that the audience will also enjoy the scenery of Edo and Kyoto towns and the expanse of the screen," he said confidently.

Tayama commented that he would like to see a continuation of Toyokawa and Ainosuke's duo in the sequel, and when the director said, "There is more to the original story," the audience applauded loudly, raising expectations.

In closing, Toyokawa said, "I feel that I am back in Kyoto. This film was born in Kyoto, so first of all, I hope that the people of Kyoto will support this film and that it will grow from Kyoto to the rest of the country and the world." He smiled.

I believe that Kyoto's period dramas are a Japanese culture that we can be proud of, and I sincerely hope that this film will be a pioneer in the further growth of Kyoto's period dramas as world-class content.

Shotaro Ikenami's bestselling historical novel series of the same title has sold over 6 million copies in total and has been adapted into films in the past. The dark hero Umeyasu, who has two faces, that of an "acupuncturist" who saves lives and that of a "trickster" who kills people, has always been popular. The second film, "Work in Progress: Umeyasu Fujieda 2," is scheduled to be released on April 7, 2023! First, see the critically acclaimed first film in theaters.