[SeijiSensei]

Kuwashima Houko's performance as the heroine Kou Shurrei in the second season of Saiunkoku Monogatari contains a remarkably powerful speech about the duties and obligations that come to those to whom much is given. In this case she excoriates the male council of nobles who object to her largely single-handed efforts to cure an epidemic in a remote province. Underlying the surface conflict over whether she had overstepped her boundaries as an Imperial official is the patriarchal attitude that women have no business in politics and government.

I've enjoyed listening to Kuwashima in a wide variety of roles, but this particular speech has always stood out for me as one of her best acting performances in an illustrious career.