Kinokuniya's "Atami Murder Case" is not over! "Tsuka Kohei 17th Anniversary Special Performance "Atami Murder Case" Last Message" Rehearsal Room Open to the Public

The "Tsuka Kohei 2th Anniversary Special Performance: The Last Message from Atami Murder Case" will open at Kinokuniya Hall in Tokyo on February 14, 2026.
The role of Chief Detective Motomura Denbei, who was said to be "the one and only man in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department," will be continued by Atsushi Arai, who has been playing this important role since 2020 and is currently considered the only one of its kind in Japan.In the latest installment of director Nakae's "Kyojo" series, he was selected to play the role of the strict assistant instructor Kitami Arata, and has received high praise for his solid and reliable acting.
The heroine, policewoman Mizuno Tomoko, who conducts a risky undercover investigation, will be played by Ohara Yuno, a former member of Dream5 who has been active in a variety of fields in recent years as an actress, appearing in TV dramas and films.She played an impressive and charming female student in the latest installment of "Kyojo," and has now been selected to replace Nakae as the heroine.
The double role of Mizuno Tomoko will be played by Murayama Ayaka, who made her stunning Kinokuniya debut in 2025 as Okita Souji in "Shin Bakumatsu Junjoden" and graduated from AKB48 in the same year. She has appeared in over 1,300 theater performances and is known as the "goddess of the theater" for her solid expressiveness.
The role of the criminal, Oyama Kintaro, will be played by Yokota Taiga, a member of CLASS SEVEN who made his debut in 2025 and left a strong impression in the stage production of IMPACT. With this big selection, he will now break the previous record for the youngest actor to play the role of Oyama, aged 17 years and 1 month, held by Masuko Atsuki in 2017, at 16 years and 1 month.
Also playing the double role of Oyama Kintaro will be Hiroki Hyakuna, who received high praise for his role as Sakamoto Ryoma in the 2025 production of "Shin Bakumatsu Junjoden" and is known as a rising star in the musical world, continuing to achieve remarkable success in productions such as "ALTAR BOYZ."
And the role of Detective Kumada Tomekichi is played by Takahashi Ryuki, who is said to be an indispensable presence in Kinokuniya Tsuka Kohei's works.
Other familiar names on the cast include Hajime Kubota and Dai Yanagishita.
During the performance, there will be a variety of planned performances, including shuffle performances and special performances, which will liven up the 17th Tsuka Kohei event.
Prior to the opening, we had the opportunity to cover the public rehearsal held on February 5, 2026.

The theme is love! A final message to mark a turning point ~Encircled interview~

Nakae Isao: This is the third time I have worked on this piece, and I am very honored to be able to perform it in this milestone year marking the 3th anniversary of his death.
Whenever the actors change, the content also changes a little, so I think it's a monster of a work that still brings new discoveries and realizations every time.

Arai Atsushi: This is my third time teaming up with Nakae-san. This will be my sixth time working on the Atami Murder Case production, and I have always played the role of Kimura Denbei. The subtitle of this production, Atami Murder Case: Last Message, is "Last Message," so I hope it will be a work that marks a turning point, and I am exploring this in my daily rehearsals.
Above all, I hope that the new members joining us this time will be able to appreciate the appeal of the work "Atami Murder Case" and that the performers themselves will enjoy it. Within that, both as the troupe leader and as Kimura Denbei, I am enthusiastic about finding something new and solid to contribute to this production.

Ohara Yuno: I feel joy every day at being able to work on a long-awaited play by Tsuka Kohei, and again with Nakae-san, who helped me out with "Kyojo."
I want to live my life to the fullest as Mizuno Tomoko.

Murayama Ayaki: Last time, I played the role of Okita Souji in "Shin Bakumatsu Junjoden," but this time I'm playing a completely different female role, which has made me think again that there's more to acting than just one thing. I was never good at acting, so by facing that, I feel like I'm facing myself, too, and I'm happy to think that it's leading to my own growth. I hope that I've been able to create a production that will allow me to fully support the leader, Arai-san, and give him a push, so that people can enjoy watching it over and over again.

Yokota Taiga: This is my first time being interviewed, so I'm very nervous. As I've been rehearsing, I've been feeling the fascination with the production of "Atami Murder Case," and I'm always surrounded by the best people, so I want to absorb as much of what's wonderful about everyone. As I'm the youngest at 16, I hope to play Oyama Kintaro in a way that only I can. Thank you very much.

Hiroki Hyakuna: I also play Oyama Kintaro, but my double cast member (Yokota) Taiga is exactly twice my age. (Yokota) Taiga has also given me some things, and I've presented some things, so I think he's already created a different Kintaro, so it's a production that can be enjoyed no matter which cast you watch. This may be the last time we'll be able to perform "Atami Murder Case" at Kinokuniya with this cast, so I really hope you'll take advantage of this rare opportunity and come see it. We'll do our best to make it happen, so please look forward to it!

Takahashi Ryuki: This will be my fourth time appearing in "Atami Murder Case." I've played Kumada, Kumada, Kintaro, and now I'm back to Kumada again! I'll do my best to show everyone an even more powerful Kumada than the ones I've played before, so I hope you'll all enjoy it.

Q. Do you have any stories from the rehearsal studio?

Takahashi: I was surprised that everyone had their lines memorized from the first day of rehearsal!
Momona-san: It said, "Please memorize as much as you can before practice starts," and the word "as much as possible" made me feel pressured...lol. I thought I absolutely had to memorize it lol.
Arai: When I first appeared, it said "Please memorize as much as you can," but I went to practice without memorizing a single word lol
And the best episode of all was when Yokota-san's birthday came around at the rehearsal hall, as he will be the youngest actor playing Kintaro at 16 years old. We all witnessed the moment when he turned from 15 to 16 years old and celebrated during rehearsals.

Yokota: I was so happy!

Q. Was there anything you kept in mind when playing this role?

Ohara: I had seen the previous productions of "Atami Murder Case" on stage, so I felt a strong sense of responsibility to carry on that history. However, Nakae-san tells me every day, "I want you to create a Mizuno that only you can do," so I'm exploring every day, keeping in mind what I can do.

Murayama: I try to keep my eyes open! Of course, I think I do (laughs). The more I try to express my emotions, the more I end up overthinking things. I learned last time that it's important to force my emotions into other people's eyes, rather than just acting, so I'd like to keep my eyes open this time too!

Nakae: As I said earlier, it's a work with a long history, so everyone was just going along with it with a vague idea of ​​what it would be like, and it felt like we were just following the example of the previous "Atami Murder Case."
One day, Taiga (Yokota) said to me, "I don't understand why Kanayama committed the murder," and it became an opportunity to discuss the work "Atami Murder Case" once again. I think it was a great moment for us adults, who had been thinking, "This is how it is," to be made to realize something.

Q. Was there any difference between when you read the script and when you actually performed the role?

Arai: When Tsuka-san was active, he would create his works on the spot, which was called "kuchitate," but our generation is currently working on a text-based play. Expressing what is written is probably completely different from the style back then, so I think the difference is that it's difficult to do as much as you can within that.

Momona: When I try to act exactly as written in the script, I end up thinking, "Huh? It's actually quite different."
It's only after we've actually performed it together in the rehearsal hall that it finally comes to life and I realize, "So that's what it was all about." The audience may not understand it if they only see it once, but I think that's the reason this work has been passed down for so many years, and what makes it so appealing.

Takahashi: And since the theme is "love," I would like to do my best with love!!

Q. Please give us a final message.

Arai: I think our first goal with "Atami Murder Case: Last Message" is to pass on the story of "Atami Murder Case" to future generations, while also making it a production that people will say, "The last message was amazing." To that end, each cast member will work hard, and we will practice as a team to make this a wonderful production, and we will do our best to deliver something great to everyone, so I hope you will come to the theater.

Instantly enter the world of the story of "Atami Murder Case" - Student's Theater Report

Even though only a few scenes were shown, I was thrilled to think that this was the world of "Atami Murder Case"!!!
In particular, this was Arai's sixth appearance in "Atami Murder Case," and he was full of charm, with a wonderful presence as Chief Detective Kimura Denbei, who strongly drove the story.
Among the actors, Ohara Yuno was particularly impressive. Even though the film starts in the middle of the story due to a scene reveal, she instantly entered the world of policewoman Mizuno Tomoko, and her eyes filled with tears, which left a lasting impression on me.
"Atami Murder Case" has laughter, tears, and even dancing!? I was deeply moved that such a wonderful work was created in the milestone year of the 17th anniversary of his death, and I am really looking forward to the opening!!! The rehearsals made me want to see the whole thing as soon as possible!!!
(Yurie Watanabe, second-year student at Josai International University)

[Outline of performance]

Interviewed by Student Newspaper Online on June 5, 2026 by Yurie Watanabe, second-year student at Josai International University