Bheela’s Blog-011
30 January 2021
Some interesting facts about Oshin TV series
Before I start writing Episode 11, I would like to convey my sincere thanks to all readers. With your encouragement, I could continue writing. The task I thought was fun turned out to be serious writing. I realized that I was at a loss for words many times and made several grammatical errors. Thank you all for being patient and keeping my motivation alive for writing this story.
I have received some interesting facts from Mr. Shigeki Furubayashi. He is a specialist in Japanese culture and history. He sent me these statistics on the Oshin TV series, which was aired on Japanese television in the mid-eighties. These are as follows:
Oshin TV series recorded an astonishing average audience rating of 52.6% and a maximum audience rating of 62.9% in 1983. It caused a big boom. And this unprecedented boom began broadcasting not only in Japan but also in Singapore the following year in 1984, with an audience rating of 80%. Subsequently, it was televised in more than 60 countries around the world, 90% in Iran.
At present, in Japan in 2020, TV is declining due to the rise of the Internet. The average audience rating is from 10% to 20% at best, which shows the popularity of Oshin at that time.Some record says that 23% are men and 56% are women, about one in four men and more than half of women wept in Japan while watching the series.
The secret of her popularity is her saneness, patience, etc. Oshin brought tears to many people, and those tears further ignited the boom.
Mr. Furubayashi writes blogs and provides guidance to lovers of Japan worldwide. You may refer to his website https://japanophilia.xyz/about-the-site/.
Let us continue with the Oshin story…
Episode 10 Recap
Oshin is very happy as she is permitted to attend a school. She carries the baby to the school and learns with great interest. However, she had to pay a heavy price to get the privilege. Her lunch was stopped by Otsune. She remains hungry but does not give up. She also does not spend the 50 cents coin her grandma gave so lovingly.
Episode 11
FLASHBACK CONTINUES
The baby is with his mother in the morning time. Otsune is busy with the household and starts conversing with the Mistress.
Otsune is irritated with Oshin since Oshin never gave up school, although she did not give her lunch. Otsune complains of Oshin being so stubborn. Mistress disagrees and tells Otsune to provide lunch to Oshin. She does not want the word to get out that, as employers, they do not feed the staff. She is worried about their reputation, which might impact the business.
Otsune continues to argue, asking if she did any wrong. Mistress tries to pacify Otsune. Otsune indignantly says that no other employer sends their staff to the school. Because we are doing this, people might be laughing at us.
Oshin arrives, and she stops near the door to understand the conversation that is going on between Mistress and Otsune.
Mistress takes Oshin’s side and says that Oshin does all the work. Mistress has also heard from the Teacher, Mr. Matsuda, that Oshin takes good care of the baby Takeshi. She studies well, and she has a strong determination for a girl of seven. Oshin has completed one month of school already despite the hardship. Mistress also mentions that her husband also feels that we should relax this hardship imposed on Oshin.
Otsune gets even more upset; she says that training Oshin properly is her job! She does not like interference from others, not even from the owners of the house.
Oshin arrives, apologizing for being late. She heard part of the conversation between Otsune and Mistress. She cheerfully approaches the Mistress to take the baby. Mistress likes Oshin and happily hands over the baby to Oshin. The baby is also familiar with Oshin by now and remains happy in her company. Oshin tells the Mistress that the baby has begun to get cuter every day.
Oshin packs the baby on her back and hurriedly walks towards the school. It has been now over a month that she endured hunger and overwork. Mr. Matsuda’s support is what gives her the strength to carry on. As she is on her way to school, she meets Mr. Matsuda, and she says good morning to him. He has heard that Oshin does not get meals as a punishment to attend school. He is a married man with his own children. With the low wages of a school teacher, he can barely make two ends meet. With great difficulty, he brings some boiled potatoes for her.
He promises Oshin that he will get her lunch every day as much as possible. He asks Oshin never to give up.
Oshin is happy and grateful. She takes the potato lunch wrapped in paper from her Teacher.
During lunchtime, Oshin goes to the Mogami river to wash diapers. She starts talking to the river; she imagines that her voice through the river will reach her mother. She says that she hasn’t missed school even for a single day. She will soon be able to write a letter to her. She does not feel any hardship; she can endure everything. It appears that she plans to write all of these to her mother soon in a letter. She is so wise not to share her difficulties with her mother.
After completing the wash, she opens the wrapper containing boiled potatoes. She starts to peels the potatoes but is so hungry that halfway through, she starts eating them. She continues talking to her mother and says that potatoes are so delicious. Oshin is feeling so blissful after finishing the potato and having spoken to her mother through the river.
But, Oshin’s happy days did not last…
Oshin is at school with the baby at her back. All the kids are writing their lesson using a brush and ink.
(Japanese script is like pictures, the kids start learning alphabets using a brush like a pen. They make strokes using this brush to write the lessons on a paper, which looks like a work of art.)
Suddenly the baby starts crying. Oshin gets up and strolls the baby close to her desk. There is a bully boy in the class; he objects and asks Oshin not to shuffle around them. As Oshin stops, the baby starts crying again. The bully kid shouts at Oshin. He asks her to make the baby stop crying. Oshin quietly goes out of the class to soothe the baby.
Meanwhile, the Teacher tells the bully boy to be kind to Oshin. He tells the boy that Oshin wants to learn seriously; that is why she is at school despite having to do a babysitter job. The Teacher scolds the boy by telling him that they are all her friends and should help her instead of misbehaving.
Oshin is learning addition as she is taking a stroll with the baby on her back. ‘Five and Two is equal to Seven… Seven plus Six is equal to Thirteen….’ She chants on her way back home.
Suddenly a group of kids blocks her way. The bully boy comes forward and tells Oshin not to go to school from next day. The boy’s pride is hurt as the Teacher scolded him taking Oshin’s side. He asks Oshin to leave the baby at home. He also tells her that his mother says that a babysitter should not be allowed in school with the baby. The bully asks Oshin to get down to the ground and apologized. He got yelled at by the Teacher because of Oshin.
Oshin tries to argue that she did not do anything. The bully shouts that you brought the baby to the school, disturbing all of us. Oshin replies that the Teacher has allowed her. To this, the other kids make fun of Oshin, calling her Teacher’s favourite. They also tell her that they know that the Teacher gives her lunch. The bully loses his patients and asks Oshin to quit school immediately. He shouts so much that the baby starts crying. The bully also hits Oshin on her legs and arms.
As Oshin replies that if he thought he could make her quit, he could be wrong, the boy beats her more. Also, he threatens to hit the baby.
Oshin quickly realizes that she is risking the baby’s safety. She gets down to the ground. She says I will quit the school; he should not hit the baby. The boy continues shouting that Oshin should not be in the school. The bully understood Oshin’s weak point. He threatens that if she tells anything to the Teacher, he will beat the baby.
Oshin, a seven-year-old child, understands how the world operates! There are bullies everywhere who make use of the weakness of the decent folks. She picks herself, calms the baby, and says that she will make sure no harm is done to him. She is glad that he wasn’t hit.
She is back home, hurriedly, limping somewhat. Otsune starts shouting for the delay. As the Mistress takes the baby from Oshin, she notices the wound on Oshin’s arm. She gets alarmed. Oshin apologizes and tells the Mistress and Otsune that she fell down. Otsune curses Oshin calling her a ‘clumsy child.’ Mistress is worried for Oshin; she asks Otsune to take care of Oshin’s arm as it is swollen too. Mistress then notices the injury on Oshin’s legs, she gets suspicious. She asks Oshin to tell the truth. The Mistress knows that such wounds are not due to a fall. Oshin continues her version, and she adds that there were sharp stones on the way. She tells the Mistress that baby is completely safe. She promises to be careful. Otsune is still caustic; she says that Oshin must be horsing around in the school.
Oshin, by this time, has taken a decision. The safety of the baby is her prime concern. She informs Otsune and the Mistress that she will quit school. Mistress is taken aback. Oshin continues that it is wrong for a babysitter to go to school. The Mistress then presses hard to tell the entire story truthfully. Did anyone say anything at school? Oshin quietly denies by shaking her bowed head sideways. She says that she just felt like quitting school.
Otsune is very happy. She thinks she has kept Oshin hungry without lunch, and Oshin cannot bear the hunger anymore. She feels victorious for being able to teach Oshin a lesson. She gives Oshin a Mochi as a mark of celebration (of her own victory). Oshin does not show any emotions; she quietly accepts the sweet.
(Mochi is a Japanese sweet made by pounding rice to paste and mixing it with water & sugar. It is made in various shapes and colors)
Otsune clarifies her stand to Oshin that she withheld lunch not because she hated Oshin. She wanted Oshin to come to terms with the realities of the working class. Otsune tells her that girls have to learn things that are not taught in school. She will teach Oshin all those hardships in one year. She tries to explain to Oshin that these are not easy to endure, but they will prepare her for the future.
(Like everywhere else, elderly women in Japan those days continued the tradition of deciding what girls should do and what boys should do. This was done primarily to keep the Patriarchy system alive. Rebels like Oshin needed to be stopped before they can grow and make a change!! India is no different; even today, girls and boys are treated differently in so many households, although we are always hopeful that this will change)
Oshin is back in her room, tired and in pain. She opens her cloth bag and looks at her school items with tears in her eyes. She did not want to quit school. She could have gone on if it was herself, but she could not put the baby Takeshi at risk of getting hurt. She felt she cannot continue as it will be too risky. She takes those books and goes to school. It is the end of the day, and the classroom is dark. She reaches her desk, keeps the books, bows down to the blackboard, and quietly returns home.
The next morning, she walks around the house carrying the baby and missing her school. The Teacher shows up. Oshin tries to avoid him by walking away, but the Teacher stops her and asks her why she is not coming to school. Oshin tells him that she has quit and left her books on the desk.
The Teacher has seen those books, which is why he came to Oshin’s place to inquire. He is worried if Oshin’s employers stopped her. Oshin does not answer straight; she says that she finds the studies very hard and unable to continue. The Teacher tries to probe further as he understands the reason is something else. Oshin continues to say that no one stopped her; she has decided to quit on her own. She quickly conveys her gratitude to the Teacher for his kindness. She tells him that she will return to her home in a year if she works hard with the employers. She then quickly walks away before the Teacher can say anything.
During lunchtime, when Oshin is washing the diapers at the river, Naka comes to meet her. Oshin enjoys washing during summertime. Naka says it gets hot in summer carrying the baby, but it is even more challenging in winters. Oshin is still thinking about a day when she will be able to go home. Naka tells her about the harsh conditions during winters. Oshin tells him that if she can make it through the winters, a year will get completed, and she will go home.
Naka understands how a child would miss home. He tells Oshin that he will be going upstream the Mogami river rafting the lumber down to a merchant. He will be passing by Oshin’s village so he could make a stop there. Naka says that Oshin’s folks must be worried about her so he could give Oshin’s news to them. He also tells Oshin that she must also be eager to know about their well-being so she could send a message to them. She also tells Oshin not to tell anyone since he is not authorized to make stop-overs.
Oshin wishes if she could go with Naka and feels sad. Naka cheers her up, saying that he will be her messenger! Oshin is happy, and she decides to write a letter borrowing the ink brush from Naka. She has learned all alphabets, and she could possibly combine those to form words and complete a letter. She asks Naka to tell her mother that all her news is in that letter.
That night, Oshin writes a letter to her mother under the faint light of the moon. It was the first letter of her life. It was almost dawn when she finally finished it.
Did the letter reach her parents? Episode 12 has more significant life-changing events of Oshin’s life.
Episode 12 is coming soon.