Bheela’s Blog -049
23 October 2021
Episode 48 Recap
Oshin shares with her mother her plan of moving to Tokyo. Fuji supports her decision and helps Oshin leave home without the knowledge of Sakuzo or Shoji.
In the present time, Oshin is with Kei at Yamagata. They find the family graveyard headstone where they see the list of names of Oshin’s father, mother, brother Shoji and sister Haru.
Back in the past, Oshin manages to take a train to Tokyo.
Please click the link to read the full Episode:
https://bheela-wadehra.medium.com/bheelas-blog-048-12b128308bd4
Episode 49
BACK TO PRESENT TIMES
A brand-new modern train is moving very fast. Oshin and Kei are seated next to one another.
Oshin watches the passing scenery from a glass window. Kei offers her some nuts and asks, ‘When you left to go to Tokyo at age 16, how many hours did it take on the train?’
‘I don’t remember exactly.’ Oshin is thinking about those times when she was just 16 and had taken a huge decision!
Oshin and Kei left Yamagata as if in pursuit of memories of her escape to Tokyo. Kei is puzzled, and he asks, ‘You had a one-way ticket with no money for return fare! What would you have done if things didn’t work out?
‘I just wanted to escape from being sold as a hostess in a restaurant at Yamagata. I didn’t care if I starved to death in Tokyo.’ Oshin smiles, now thinking of the hard call she had to take. Kei smiles appreciatively. Oshin continues, ‘I believed in what Haru had told me. I figured I would make it somehow in Tokyo. People from all over were there chasing their dreams.’ Oshin looks lovingly at Kei, who is still in awe of her grandma!
Kei says, ‘But you were only 16, and all by yourself!
Oshin replies, ‘Miss Kayo went to Tokyo with similar ideas, too.’
‘You knew where she was?’ now Kei gets curious if her grandma could meet up with Kayo in Tokyo or not!
‘No, I didn’t know her whereabouts in Tokyo, but I felt better knowing she was there.’ Oshin replies, thinking of the past events with Kayo, her running away with Kota.
‘She was with Mr. Kota, right?’ Kei also thinks in the same lines; he says, ‘She was not alone, but you were!’ He has admiration for his grandma all the time.
Oshin doesn’t reply; she looks out of the window. Kei understands; he shouldn’t have spoken about Kota and Kayo being together. He feels it hurt his grandma. So, he tries to change the topic.
‘Did you arrive at Ueno station?’ Kei asks, but Oshin is quiet.
Oshin observes, looking out, ‘We are taking the same route after 67 years, but the scenery has all changed.’ The area is filled with snow, but stray houses and buildings that appear are all tall and modern.
They get off at Ueno station. Oshin is looking around, and she says, ‘I haven’t been here at the Ueno station in ages!’
‘The hairdresser’s shop was in Asakusa? The place is close to this station, but we can take a taxi.’ Kei is looking around the busy railway station.
(Present Google map shows Asakusa is about 9 min by cab and 38 minutes to walk. Maybe there were shortcuts; 38 min is a long walk for 80+ years old lady, see google map directions:https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/Ueno,+Taito+City,+Tokyo+110- 005,+Japan/Asakusa,+Taito+City,+Tokyo,+Japan/@35.7153779,139.7775678,14.96z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x60188e9e8b28ebb3:0x9bba88ca3db2f4be!2m2!1d139.7741538!2d35.7087296!1m5!1m1!1s0x60188ec2047f5333:0x7c84fd3881c74067!2m2!1d139.7958849!2d35.7185858!3e2 )
‘I can walk! I want to walk! Back then, I had to ask people for directions. It brings back so many memories.’ Oshin replies.
Kei and Oshin are in the crowds; Oshin was lost in her memories of coming here all alone at age 16. She stops at a small temple where incense and candles are burning. She puts her palms over the flame, touches her heart.
(Similar practices are followed in India too. The burning flame in front of God is called Aarti. Everyone spreads their palm above the fire and touches on their forehead and heart!)
Oshin prays, and she is lost in the past!
FLASHBACK RETURNS
Oshin walks in the alleys of Tokyo; she has the hairdresser’s address written on a piece of paper. Three ladies pass by her, but Oshin can’t ask them as they walk too fast. She looks at the nooks and corners of the alley. At last, she comes in front of a door. There is a cloth signboard hanging from a rod next to the door. She looks at the signboard that matches the address. She takes a sigh of relief and smiles.
She puts her ear next to the door to assess the presence of people inside. Suddenly a woman dressed in fine clothes comes close to the door. Oshin steps aside and bows. Some girls open the door and let the woman inside, welcoming her.
Oshin looks at the girls who open the door and then closes it, sliding it carefully. Oshin exclaims, ‘There sure are pretty people here in Tokyo! She clutches the paper and brushes her hair with the back of her hand. Collecting all her courage, she slides the door open and enters.
‘Welcome!’ The girls greet her in unison. Oshin bows. Other clients are inside a large room. There is a waiting area, and one lady is waiting for her turn.
A girl comes out and asks Oshin, ‘You came to get your hair done?’
‘No,’ Oshin replies somehow.
‘If you are not a customer, please leave.’ the girl tells Oshin quite in a straightforward manner.
‘I came to see the owner,’ Oshin replies
‘What do you want with her?’ The girl asks; she wants the conversation to end soon. We learn that the owner is a woman, the name in the piece of paper Haru gave appears to be a man’s name.
‘I want to get a job here.’ Oshin is tired; still, she replies politely.
‘Too bad, we don’t need anyone now.’ Says the girl from the saloon, ‘please leave! You are blocking the way and disturbing our work.’
‘The owner, I want to meet!’ Oshin now pleads.
‘She is not here now. We are not the only hairdresser so go look elsewhere!’ the girl says.
Oshin steps back a little and stands sideways to let a woman come out of the room. The woman asks the girl to clean up inside. Another girl from the saloon, wearing a white apron, comes out, following the woman. She thanks the woman for visiting and asks her to come again.
The girl in the white apron turns towards Oshin and says, ‘How long will you stand there? If you persist, I will have to call the police.’
Oshin goes out of the main door without a word. The girl in the white apron tells the waiting customer, ‘we get so many girls like her. They all want to come to Tokyo. They think they can just show up and get a job! They are so pushy’ Oshin stands outside the door and can hear the conversation. She starts getting worried. But we know, Oshin is not the one to give up!! She decides to be really pushy, clenching her teeth to contain her anger.
She walks ahead and finds a stone against a wall; she sits there holding her cloth bag on her lap, and her eyes start dropping out of tiredness.
Suddenly she sees two ladies entering through the main door of the saloon. She gets up and runs towards them. She asks them eagerly, ‘are you the owner here?’ The elder of the two turns towards Oshin and looks at her.
‘Are you?’ Oshin asks her.
‘Who are you? The other lady asks.
Oshin says, ‘I am Haru Tanimura’s little sister. I was told to see Taka Hasegawa. I was told I could learn to do hair.’ Oshin speaks in one breath.
‘Do you know about this?’ The other lady asks the senior one.
‘My sister worked at a textile factory in Yamagata. She gave me your address.’ Oshin takes out the piece of paper which Haru gave her with the name and address of the hairdresser as she speaks. She hands the sheet to the elderly lady.
The elder one looks at the paper. The other lady says, ‘you are not the first one to come looking for work.’ She wants to dismiss Oshin.
The elderly lady is calm, and she says politely, ‘Sorry, but we are not hiring now. You can go to Keian, an employment agent. They will find you a job.’
‘No, I want to work here; my sister told me to come here.’ Oshin insists.
‘We are overstaffed, so go to Keian and see.’ The elderly lady tells Oshin again.
Meanwhile, the girl from the saloon comes out and tells the ladies that they have a guest waiting.
The elderly lady returns the paper to Oshin, says, ‘I am sorry about this,’ and enters the saloon.
Oshin rushes behind her calling her, ‘Ms. Taka, I want to see you!’
The other lady pushes Oshin out of the door, saying, ‘Can’t you understand? We don’t hire people without a proper introduction. We get too many dishonest people that come here. Our owner is nice, but she knows better. Go to Keian!’ She slides the door close on Oshin’s face.
Oshin stands there, looking at the door for a moment. The saloon girl comes out and gives some cash to Oshin and says, ‘Our owner says you can have this for train fare. So, please leave.’
‘I didn’t come here for handouts!’ Oshin retorts.
‘Don’t be so ungrateful! In any case, you can’t just stand out here!’ The girl says.
Oshin takes a right turn and walks ahead in the lane; she refuses to take the money. At the end of the street, she hears some people talking. She walks ahead a bit and sees a door leading to the backside of the salon. There is a hand pump in the yard. Oshin enters the open door.
‘Did you make the hot water?’ Oshin hears a woman’s voice, asking a girl to prepare hot water. Oshin comes inside, and she looks at a burner with pieces of firewood lying around. Oshin sits in front of the burner, keeps her cloth bag to a side, and starts arranging the wood in the furnace mouth. The girl from inside the house and sees Oshin.
‘Thief! Thief!! The girl shouts.
‘What are you doing here?’ the senior girl in the white apron recognizes Oshin. She says, ‘I thought you left!’
‘I am making the fire to boil you some water!’ Oshin replies cheerfully to the senior girl. Meanwhile, other workers ladies from the saloon gather after hearing the commotion. Oshin continues to blow the air pipe to the furnace mouth for the fire to pick up.
The senior girl in the white apron asks another girl to go and get the police!
‘Stop all this noise!’ the owner lady comes forward, and the senior girl says, ‘she is acting like a thief!’
‘I just wanted to help because all of you seemed so busy.’ Oshin says. The owner asks the girls to get back to work.
The one in the apron tells Oshin, ‘mind your own business,’ she then turns to the girl and tells her, ‘it is your fault for letting the fire go out!’
‘I thought it was still lit.’ the girl is somewhat nervous now.
‘You have to keep feeding a fire!’ Oshin says with all her wisdom to the young girl. She then turns to look at the water kept on the furnace and say, ‘Ah, it is beginning to boil! Let me help you with this!’ Oshin tells the young girl. She picks up the bowl from the young girl’s hands and starts pouring the hot water.
‘Stop that!’ The one in the white apron tries to take the bowl.
‘Don’t keep our customer waiting!’ The owner comes out and sends everyone back to work. As the girls go inside, the owner comes towards Oshin.
‘Please let me stay; I will do anything.’ Oshin pleads to the owner again, sitting near the feet of the owner. I came out from Yamagata to learn hairdressing from you! My sister, Haru, was supposed to come, but she died, so I am here in her place. I am following Haru’s last words!’ Oshin blurs out everything; she believes that it is her last chance as she got to talk to the owner alone.
The owner lady sits on a bench near Oshin. Oshin bows to her feet and continues, ‘I will work hard; I want to do it for Haru. Her dream was to be a hairdresser. I will do anything to realize her dream!’
‘The fire is going out again.’ The owner says, does not commit, but she thinks of giving Oshin a chance. She says, ‘I don’t want to have to tell you to do everything! I am busy now!’ she goes inside.
Oshin looks on. She gets some hints but is not sure, and a smile returns to her face. She rolls her kimono sleeves and gets back to adding water to the boiling water pot on the burner. She carries the hot water bowl holding with some rags lying there. After removing her shoes, she goes inside the saloon carrying the large bowl. The parlor has a room with several mirrors. The ladies are getting their hair done in the traditional Japanese style.
(I found a blog on the internet covering the history of hairdressing and salons in Japan, here is a link http://the-history-girls.blogspot.com/2016/10/of-hair-and-hairdressers-in-historic.html )
To the horror of the young girl who was supposed to do the task, Oshin keeps the bowl at the designated place.
Oshin then goes to the waiting area. She asks the customer ladies there if they need more tea. She goes inside and refills the cups with tea. The young girl is upset looking at Oshin doing her job. Oshin helps the girl with the hot water bowl and goes to the reception area to serve tea to the waiting ladies. The ladies are pleased to taste the tea and appreciate Oshin.
Oshin then picks a rag and cleans all the shoes and slippers of the customers. The owner comes out to see off a customer. The customer lady says, ‘She is a good worker. I have never got service like this before.’
The owner lady is pleased, but she comes inside quickly to attend to other waiting customers. She tells one of the worker girls to go and have lunch.
Oshin comes to the saloon area and folds the towels.
The young girl comes to the kitchen, and she says, ‘I am hungry. The girls say a prayer and start their lunch. Oshin fills hot tea for the waiting customers. The supervisor enters the kitchen and asks the girl to change the towels. Oshin joins the young girl and picks up the towels. Oshin goes to the washing area and starts the hand pump to fill water in a bucket, and she washes all the soiled towels.
The girls quickly finish their lunch. The owner is still attending to one of the customers, and she is using the thread to do styling on the customer’s hair. Meanwhile, Oshin has completed washing, and she dries all the clothes. As she is drying the towel neatly spreading them on a bamboo rod, the owner comes to the backyard and tells Oshin to take her lunch now.
The owner is in the kitchen, and she sits to have her lunch. Once Oshin enters, she tells her, ‘we have only Daikon pickle but plenty of rice. Eat your fill.’
‘But I am not the real employee yet!’ Oshin still hesitates.
‘Hurry up and eat, or you will miss your chance.’ The owner avoids the question and says matter-of-factly.
‘Thank you! I haven’t eaten since last night.’ Oshin suddenly feels very hungry.
The owner gestures her to sit at the table next to her. Before taking her meal, Oshin sees that the owner’s bowl is empty; she picks up a teapot and fills the bowl. The owner tells her by hand movement to serve more.
Oshin feels some good vibes. She asks the owner, ‘May I stay?’
The owner finishes the drink from her bowl. But does not reply.
What will happen now? Where will Oshin sleep in the night in the strange place? Has the owner really hired her?
We will find the answers in the next episode no. 50, coming soon.