Bheela’s Blog -050
30 October 2021
Episode 49 Recap
Elderly Oshin travels with Kei from Yamagata to Tokyo, a journey she also took 67 years ago all by herself when she was just 16.
In the flashback, she finds the address of the hairdresser, Ms. Taka. She is not welcome there as they are not hiring, but the owner wants to take a chance with Oshin.
Oshin is unsure if she got the job, but she eats lunch at the saloon kitchen and starts helping with the saloon work.
Please click the link to read the full Episode:
https://bheela-wadehra.medium.com/bheelas-blog-049-a128a932ba60
Episode 50
The young girl at the saloon conveys thanks to a customer asking her to visit again. With the last customer gone, the busy day at the hairdresser’s parlor was coming to a close. The girl inserts the key to close the main door. Oshin comes to the waiting area with a bucket of water. She still wasn’t sure if she was hired, but she spent her first day in Tokyo working feverishly.
As the girl goes inside, Oshin squeezes the wet rag and starts sweeping the floor. Taka, the owner, is the only one she could turn to in a strange city, so she decides to preserve. She blinks her eyes several times to keep them not dropping due to lack of rest. The young girl uses a broom to clean part of the waiting area and throws the dust towards Oshin disregarding her presence. Oshin doesn’t say anything; she closes her lips tightly!
Inside the main room, the girls are winding up. ‘Hurry up with dinner!’ Taka tells the girls.
‘I will get to it after I am done cleaning,’ the girl working at the front area replies.
‘Never mind, we are all hungry!’ Taka tells her; she is concerned about the girls.
The girl goes inside, but Oshin keeps working. She looks towards the door. Taka tells one of the girls to help out in the kitchen. Oshin takes a deep breath and continues cleaning the reception area.
***
Taka sits in her room, her shoulders aching with day’s work. One of the senior ladies enters the room, sits in front of Taka, and says, ‘What will you do with that new girl? Will you hire her?’
‘We have extra bedding. Put the new girl to bed with the rest of you.’ Taka replies. She lights a cigarette. Some Japanese women, by this time, have taken to smoking. Somehow it shows a sign of independence of working women.
‘You will keep her?’ The senior worker is alarmed.
‘She has nowhere else to go,’ Taka replies, taking a drag.
‘You don’t even know her. The last girl stole money and ran off. Haven’t you learned?’ The senior lady is concerned and warns Taka.
‘I hired that last girl because I owed someone a favor.’ Taka is convinced of her decision and continues to smoke, remaining calm.
‘Does this new girl have a guarantor?’ The senior lady keeps alerting Taka.
‘What good is that? The last one had a guarantor, and she stole our money! What is important is the person herself!’ Taka replies
‘You trust her? She has only been here half a day.’ The senior lady continues.
‘Don’t tell me what to do!’ Taka loses her patients and says clearly to the lady, ‘Let us give her a chance. We will find out in 10 days or so if she can take it. Someone with a guarantor can always find work. But that girl has nowhere else to go. Her whole life is at stake. I don’t want to feel guilty about it later. If she doesn’t work out, we can let her go.’ Taka has now decided about Oshin and won’t take any resistance from others. After she finishes speaking, she takes a drag and exhales the smoke which engulfs the room.
(We find same streaks of Ms. Kuni in Taka, although both are businesswomen of different generations, they share similar business senses, based on humanity)
***
All the worker girls sit around a table and take dinner. Oshin is seated separately in a corner, eating her soup.
Taka enters the room and asks, looking at Oshin, ‘What is your name?’
‘It is Oshin!’ Oshin puts her bowl down quickly, bows, and replies.
‘Take Oshin to the bath with you.’ Taka addresses the group of girls.
‘I am not worthy of a hot bath.’ Oshin hesitates and says somehow. Taka turns to go back.
‘Madam, Will I get to stay?’ Oshin is not yet sure, so she asks Taka.
‘I can’t chase you out since you have nowhere to go. But you will have to go if I tell you “you’re fired.” Keep that in mind always.’ Taka gives a firm reply.
‘Thank you very much!’ Oshin is delighted; the happiness is all over her face now.
‘It is too early to thank me yet!’ Taka remains cryptic; she turns and goes back to her room.
As she leaves, Oshin says to the group of girls, ‘you all go on to the bath; I will clean up.’ Oshin gets up and tries to collect the cutlery, but the girls quickly pick up their plates and do not allow Oshin to touch them. Oshin feels a bit left out.
***
It is dark outside; the girls have gone for a public bath. Oshin, finding an opportunity, enters Taka’s room after knocking. Taka looks up; she is painting on a piece of cloth in her free time.
‘Shall I bring you tea?’ She asks.
‘The girls didn’t take you to bath? They left you behind?’ Taka asks; her voice is harsh, but there is concern hidden in her tone.
‘I was slow, and I have no change of clothes. I have never been to a public bath before.’ Oshin replies.
Taka laughs and advises Oshin, ‘You will have to learn to do things like the others. They only get to bathe once every three days.’
Oshin nods and says, ‘Yes!’
‘You probably don’t know where your bed will be. Follow me!’ Taka says in a commanding way and gets up. She takes Oshin to a room in the inner area, lights an electric lamp in the room, and tells Oshin, ‘You will be using this room and use the spare bedding.’ She slides open the door of a cupboard full of mattresses and quilts. She continues, ‘Don’t expect people to do things for you. And don’t get left behind again doing to the bath.’ She leaves Oshin in the room and proceeds towards the door.
‘What will my job be?’ Oshin stops her and asks; she is anxious about her employment and conditions as things seem pretty uncertain.
‘Don’t expect to be told. Learn things on your own. You will never amount to much if you can’t figure it out.’ She replies curtly and returns, leaving Oshin speechless.
***
Oshin goes to the kitchen and looks at the utensils. She calculates the numbers of girls and says to herself, ‘I will make about two Sho of rice. They had cold rice for lunch and dinner. That means it is cooked once a day.’ She observes.
(One Sho is approx. 1.8 liters of rice. For more popular units of measurement used in Japan, please click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_units_of_measurement#Volume)
***
Oshin returns to the room and starts spreading mattresses. The young girl, who met her in the morning, helps her in spreading. The girl finishes her job and, without a word, leaves the room.
Oshin counts the mattresses and realizes that it is one short. This means the girl did for everyone but did not put a bed for Oshin. Oshin takes out one mattress from the cupboard and spreads at the last corner space left out.
***
Another busy day starts at the parlor. A worker is combing the long hair of a customer. The customer asks, ‘what is next?’
‘Use the comb in your hair,’ the worker replies.
‘Pull it harder,’ the customer is not satisfied, she says with irritation.
‘You are pulling my hair out!’ Another customer complains about combing too hard! The young girl is at the receiving end; she is new. She apologizes.
‘ouch!’ The customer shouts with pain.
‘Tie it well,’ The third customer demands.
Oshin enters the main hall; she sits and watches the activities keenly.
***
Oshin goes to the kitchen, and she blows air through the pipe to the furnace to raise the fire. Kitchen work is done; she takes a bucket and starts cleaning the doors with a wet cloth. She then cleans up all the mirrors blowing air from her mouth. The air condensates on the mirror surface, and Oshin uses a dry cloth to wipe and clean the mirror.
(We in India do the same to clean the mirror or any glass surface, blow the moist air from the mouth and wipe!!)
The young girl enters the room, and Oshin greets her, saying, ‘Good morning!’ The girl doesn’t reply and goes to the kitchen. She lifts the lid and watches that the rice is already cooked. Steam comes out from the pot. Oshin follows her to the kitchen.
‘The rice is done, and I have done the cleaning also.’ Oshin tells the young girl cheerfully. She asks the young girl, ‘Shall I make miso soup also?’
‘You are taking my job away!’ the young girl shouts rudely at Oshin; she is scared and is pained to see all work completed by Oshin. She fears for her job!
As the girl takes out a turnip and starts washing it, Oshin asks her ignoring the rudeness, ‘Will you put that daikon in the miso soup? Then let me make it.’ Oshin puts the woke on the stove fire and asks the young girl, ‘How old are you?’ Oshin wants to be kind and strikes a conversation. She says, ‘You must be still 12 or 13? I am 16! I can do more hard work on less sleep than you. From now on, you can sleep some more.’ Oshin says in a friendly way to the girl.
‘If I don’t work, I will be sent home!’ the girl retorts, shouting.
Oshin stops adding water to the soup. She looks kindly at the girl and says, ‘I am sorry, I am not trying to steal your job. I just felt for you because you are young.
‘I have to work; I can’t go home.’ The girl now calms down and speaks politely.
‘Where is your home?’ Oshin asks.
‘Chiba.’ Says the girl.
‘What does your family do?’ Oshin says.
‘We are sharecroppers, and we are poor. My brother got married so there is no room for me. I want to learn to do hair and be able to make a living on my own. My mother told me not to depend on anybody. If you do everything, then I will get thrown out!’ The girl now opens up and pleads to Oshin.
Oshin is in deep thought; she sees herself in the young girl. Same story, same situation!!
‘We all have it rough.’ Oshin says affectionately.
‘I have to work as a maid for three years before they teach me anything about doing hair. I have no idea how many years I have to apprentice.’ The girl now starts confiding in Oshin.
‘You have to do maid’s work for three years?’ Oshin is taken aback.
‘That is how everybody learned here. Onatsu is the youngest at 18. She started at 12 and just started doing hair six months ago. Otoyo and Osono are good enough to teach. It took Otoyo ten years and Osono seven years to get that far.’ She spills all the beans in front of Oshin.
‘That is a lot of work! Oshin sympathizes.
‘But it is good to have our owner teaches us. She is good, and she has a lot of important clients.’ The young worker and all others too admire their owner, Ms. Taka.
‘What do you use for miso soup stock?’ Oshin wants to be friendly and helpful.
‘Are you really planning to work here? I am no match for you. They don’t need two maids, and rice prices are going up. I will surely be fired!’ The young girl gets alarmed by how Oshin is doing all the work she is supposed to do.
***
Ms. Taka is getting ready in her room, giving final touches by tying the ribbon over her kimono belt. A worker who cleaned the room says, ‘I will bring you tea,’ and leaves the room.
Oshin is at her door. She greets Taka by saying good morning and sits on her knees.
Oshin comes forward, bows down, and says, ‘Thank you for everything, but I can’t stay. I will look for other work. I am sorry to have forced my way in on you.’ She lowers her eyes and bends in an apologetic gesture.
‘You have had enough after just one day?’ Taka is calm, as usual, but she is somewhat surprised. She continues, ‘I guess you are shocked at how tough it is to learn to be a hairdresser. I won’t stop you if you can’t take it.’ Taka knows that working as a hairdresser from morning till evening takes away all the energy.
‘I don’t mind hard work. I have had worse jobs. But I don’t want Oritsu (the young girl) to lose her job. I realized that, and I am sorry.’ Oshin decides to quit after her conversation with Oritsu to save Oritsu’s job.
The other worker enters the room bringing a tray with teacups and teapot. Taka is giving a patient hearing to what Oshin has to say.
‘Nobody spoke to me yesterday, and now I know why. They were all trying to protect Oritsu. If I stay, I will be taking her job away. I don’t want to have to do that to stay. I know that it is a burden on you to hire an extra person. I am grateful to you for giving me a chance. Thank you.’ Oshin bows again with gratitude.
Taka has a hearty laugh; she looks at Oshin and wonders! A girl of 16 has so much kindness to sacrifice her own job for a younger needy person. But she puts up a stern face and says, ‘How can you tell me such nonsense!! You think I am that narrow-minded?’ Taka also looks at the other maid who stays on after serving tea to Taka. Taka turns towards the other girl and says, ‘The rest of you too! As long as people prove themselves, I will keep them. Even if they are slow or not perfect. I would never turn my back on them! Oritsu is still just 13; she will learn. You have to have determination. Even if you have to take jobs away from people! If you think you are as good as Oritsu, let us see it!’ Taka is frustrated, and she continues, ‘I don’t have to hear this kind of nonsense. Go polish the mirrors instead of talking!
Taka collects her material, gets up, and leaves the room in a hurry. Oshin is once again speechless by the turn of events. Taka enters the main hall of the parlor and is happy to see the mirrors are already cleaned. She has a good laugh looking at herself on one of the mirrors.
***
Oshin is happy to hear Taka talk like that. She is impressed by Taka’s style of functioning! She operates the hand-pump to collect water in a large tub for the day’s washing. She still hasn’t received full approval to work, but now she can work as hard as she likes.
How will her life unfold at the hairdresser’s saloon?
We will find out more in the next episode no. 51, coming soon.