Bheela’s Blog -052
13 Nov 2021
Episode 51 Recap
Oshin started getting involved in grocery and vegetable shopping. She shops within budget by bargaining the damaged yet fresh Tofu. This impresses the owner, but she does not say anything.
The worker ladies of the salon appreciate Oshin’s help. They also discourage her from taking up the hairdressing profession. However, Oshin clarifies her position and continues to work hard.
One day, Oshin offers to stitch a kimono of Ms. Taka, which generally was being done by a tailor. Oshin picked up the needle after a long time, reminding her of her time at Sakata. She also thinks of Kota.
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https://bheela-wadehra.medium.com/bheelas-blog-051-d2cd5a22e29
Episode 52
FLASHBACK CONTINUES
Oshin isn’t sure if Taka has agreed to train her or not. She continues to look after the kitchen and other household activities with complete sincerity and hard work!
She arranges flowers in the hall; she had learned this art at Sakata. A maid comes and appreciates Oshin, saying, ‘Nice flowers again!’
‘They are blooming along the river now. We can’t buy as flowers can be pricey.’ Oshin replies.
‘It is autumn!’ the maid observes; flowers start blooming in this season.
‘Osodo san! Please take this to the owner.’ Oshin takes out the finished kimono wrapped nicely with a paper and hands it over to the maid; her name is Osodo.
‘You’re done already?’ Osodo is surprised. She was very apprehensive if Oshin would be able to handle the expensive cloth.
‘I hope she likes,’ Oshin says.
‘You stayed up all night again?’ Osodo is concerned for Oshin.
‘She needed it in a hurry.’ Oshin replies.
Osodo is very impressed with Oshin’s work. She suggests that it is better if Oshin takes it herself to Ms. Taka. Oshin hesitates and says, ‘Yes, but you have the job of serving the owner directly. Also, I have been keeping track of what I have been spending on dinner shopping. The merchants will come to collect at the end of the month, so there is no mistake on what I charged.’ Oshin also hands a notebook with the account of her purchases written neatly.
‘You keep accounts?’ Osodo is taken aback. She hasn’t seen any maid who can write numbers or script! Most maids come from villages and know very little about numbers.
***
Taka opens the paper wrap and examines the kimono. ‘She finished it in three days!’ Osodo informs enthusiastically.
‘And this!’ She also hands over the account notebook Oshin gave her. Osodo tells Taka with pride, ‘Oshin knows how to write, and she can work with numbers!’
‘Osodo! This is tea for Ms. Taka,’ Oshin is at the door with a tea tray in her hand, and she calls out.
As she is about to go, Taka asks Oshin to stay and come closer. Oshin enters the room and sits in front of Taka.
‘Thanks for all that you have done.’ Taka appreciates, and she too is pleasantly surprised to see the bookkeeping done by Oshin. She is curious to know more about Oshin, so she asks, ‘How much schooling do you have?’
‘I have been working since age seven. I never went to any school!’ Oshin replies, with her head down.
Taka is still in shock; she asks, ‘Then where did you learn to sew? And how to write? Work with numbers?’
‘While I was at a rice dealer’s shop in Sakata, the Madame there taught me.’ Oshin says truthfully; she thinks of Ms. Kuni and has a smile of gratitude on her face.
‘How long were you there?’ Taka inquires.
‘For almost 9 years, until I came here.’ Says Oshin.
‘Why did you leave?’ Taka now asks a question, which Oshin finds awkward to answer. She bows her head down.
Taka smiles. She understands Oshin’s discomfort, and to ease the situation, she says, laughing, ‘I am not scolding you! You sew and write very well. Indeed, you have excellent skills. And you know how to arrange flowers, too. You can find work other than fixing hair!’ Taka appreciates Oshin and is also concerned for her.
Oshin gets alarmed! She immediately asks, ‘It is too late for me to learn to do hair?’
‘No! I am just curious why a girl like you decided to come all the way to learn hairdressing.’
‘My late sister said,’ Oshin starts to repeat the reason for her coming to Tokyo.
‘Yes, I know,’ Taka interrupts her.
‘I really do want to be a hairdresser.’ Oshin is convinced that this trade will help her to be independent.
‘You will really stick it out?’ Taka wants to have a final confirmation from Oshin.
‘Yes,’ Oshin says clear and loud.
‘I am sure you have your reasons; I won’t pry. As long as you are willing to learn.’ Taka is also getting assured of Oshin’s decision.
‘No matter how long it takes, I want to learn hairdressing as a skill. I don’t want to have to rely on a man to make a living.’ Says Oshin with humility.
‘You sure have good hands. I can tell by the stitches.’ Taka examines the kimono and is very impressed. She continues, ‘That is why I let you sew this. It was a test.’ Taka smiles, and then after a pause, her expression is more serious. She says, ‘Oshin, you have worked hard for the past month. You can stay if you like. But it is all up to you whether you make it or not. It is for you to learn, not for me to teach! Do you understand?
‘Yes, thank you very much!’ Oshin is happy to have cleared the initial struggle and the so-called ‘test.’ She bows down to Taka in gratefulness. Taka is pleased with the kimono, and she smiles as she tries the dress on.
***
That night, Oshin wrote a letter to her mom for the first time after coming to Tokyo.
***
Oshin’s mom, Fuji, just returned from work. As she approaches her home, Oriki, the employment agent, stops her. Oriki asks Fuji if she is all alone.
‘My husband and son are both out working at the field. I came home early to make dinner.’ Fuji removes the bags from her back and keeps them in a corner.
‘You have a letter from Oshin.’ Oriki announces. She hands the letter to Fuji and says, ‘Oshin addressed it to me. There was no return address, so I didn’t know who it was from.’
‘Thanks,’ says Fuji, her hands shaking as she touches the letter. She says, ‘She didn’t want her father to know where she is now.’
‘Sakuzo doesn’t know?’ Oriki is somewhat puzzled.
‘If he knew, there would be big trouble. Oshin would be brought back and sold! Please don’t mention this to anybody.’ Fuji pleads.
‘Of course not!’ Oriki understands the situation as she has known the family for a long time.
‘She doesn’t have to write to me; I can’t read. I always think no news is good news.’ Fuji is apologetic about her illiteracy. She wanted her daughters, specially Oshin, to go to school.
‘That is why she sent the letter to me, I can read.’ Oriki is helpful.
Both of them enter the house and sit in front of the fire. Oriki starts reading the letter.
“Mother, I am sorry I hadn’t written before. I arrived safely in Tokyo. I wasn’t sure if I would be allowed to learn hairdressing. But today, I have been formally given permission to learn. I can now be a hairdresser if I really try hard. It will take many years, but I will do my best for Haru. I don’t know when I will start earning money for my work, but I will send you some as soon as possible. I want you to stay well and live a long time. I look forward to us living together again. Please take care of yourself.”
As Oriki reads, she has tears in her eyes, so has Fuji too. Both of them cry silently. Fuji can hear Oshin’s voice although Oriki is reading.
‘Oshin sure is a responsible child.’ Oriki comments, and this brings motherly pride to Fuji’s face! Oriki continues reading.
“I’ll bet Father beat you for not divulging where I had gone. Thanks to you, I was able to come to Tokyo. Winter will be upon us soon. I remember what you look like and what the hills and streams look like back home as I write this letter. I look forward to seeing you again. Again, please take good care of yourself. Dear Mother, I will write again soon.”
As the letter ends, both women cry and laugh simultaneously. Fuji wipes her tears and says, ‘She refers to me as ‘Dear Mother?’
‘So, she is going to be a hairdresser. Had she stayed in Sakata, she could have had a good life. And she could have gotten married too. What made her want to start over in Tokyo? They always ask me about her in Sakata. They think of her as their family member.’ Oriki comments. She, too, is curious to know the reason behind Oshin leaving Sakata’s job.
‘They were all so good to her. She ended up disappointing them all. But Oshin knows what she is doing.’ Fuji is always confident about Oshin’s actions.
‘Miss Kayo also has gone to Tokyo. The Kaga-ya family must miss them both.’ Oriki informs Fuji.
‘Kayo is not back home yet?’ Fuji is alarmed to know.
‘They never heard from her. They have given up on her. The younger girl, Miss Sayo, will be taking over the business. Young people today all want to go to the big city!’ Oriki visits Sakata often, and she could share the news with Fuji.
Fuji looks at the letter one more time, then throws it into the fire.
‘Don’t burn it!’ Oriki is shocked to see the letter getting burnt.
‘I don’t want her father to find it. I want Oshin to live her own life the way she wants. I don’t want to pull her down on account of us. I don’t want her to suffer as Haru did.’ Fuji has taken it upon herself to ensure a better life for Oshin.
***
Sakuzo and Shoji return from the field. Shoji is upset; his back is aching due to the laborious fieldwork. After dropping his tool bag from his back, Shoji stretches out and shouts with pain. He looks at Fuji and remarks, ‘Loafing around again! Where is our dinner? You left the fields early to make dinner!’ he rubs his back and says disrespectfully to his mom.
‘Is that any way to talk to your mother?’ Fuji tries to correct him immediately.
‘Stop it. Shoji is upset today!’ Sakuzo comes forward to his son’s rescue.
‘You are much too easy on him!’ Fuji protests.
‘You can’t blame him. Our crop is a failure again.’ Sakuzo shares the bad news, the same situation as many other years.
‘After we pay our land use rent, we will have to take out rice loans again!’ Shoji retorts, ‘The Great war has driven up the price of rice. But we sharecroppers don’t benefit at all! Only the landlords and merchants get rich! We have to take out rice loans at higher rates. How can we go on?’ Shoji is highly frustrated by a never-ending vicious cycle of poverty. He continues to blame his mom, saying, ‘You let Oshin run away while father and I slave!’
‘I don’t know anything about Oshin.’ Mom wants to protect Oshin even if she has to lie.
‘Wait till I get my hands on her!’ Shoji has been hateful towards Oshin since childhood, and his approach remains the same.
‘Leave Oshin alone!’ mom doesn’t want any interference with Oshin’s life. She says, ‘let this house of ours go bankrupt! If you don’t want to farm, go work someplace else!’ Mom gets frustrated too.
‘Stop it! At least we have land to the farm!’ father, like many other sharecroppers, cannot escape the situation. They just continue to farm the rented land and remain in poverty. He shouts at mom, saying, ‘Once we leave the farm, nobody will ever let us work their land again! We must continue planting rice. If Shoji goes, who else will do it?’
‘Go make dinner,’ Shoji too shouts at his mom, getting encouraged by his father. Fuji walks off without saying another word.
***
Oshin comes out of the salon building, sliding the main door; she has a broom and a bucket in her hand. She knows that she will never go home again. If she were to go home, she would have to bring a lot of money with her. This is the primary drive for Oshin to work harder. She starts cleaning the area in front of the gate.
***
RETURN TO PRESENT TIMES
Oshin is on a journey to her past with her grandson Kei. They arrive in Tokyo and are looking for the Hairdresser shops in the lanes of Asakusa, a suburb of Tokyo.
‘Where was this hairdresser’s salon?’ Kei asks
‘I think it was around here.’ Oshin replies, looking around the street and the newly built shops.
‘Is it gone? The whole area was burned down during the war.’ Kei says. He did some study of the history of places around Tokyo.
‘But I can still see it, how it used to be! I used to walk these streets!’ Oshin reflects.
‘I never knew that you were once a hairdresser. I bet nobody else knows either in our family. I can’t imagine you as one! I have never seen you fixing anybody’s hair,’ Kei chirps to Oshin. He has admiration in his eyes for his grandma.
Oshin stops suddenly and starts staring at a door where a girl cleans the area using a broom.
Kei continues talking, he says, ‘I haven’t seen you visiting any parlors also to get your own hair done. I see that you never made it as a hairdresser!’
Oshin doesn’t listen to Kei’s words. She suddenly sees herself in the cleaning girl’s face. The cleaning girls bows in greeting, and Oshin imagines the girl to be herself as a young girl of 16.
Kei notices that grandma is quiet, so he comes closer and asks Oshin, ‘If you had, you wouldn’t have opened a supermarket! You would have opened a chain of beauty parlors!’ Kei tries to cheer up his grandma.
‘There used to be fields around here,’ says Oshin; she is puzzled to find the total change in her past surroundings. She remembers, ‘Dragonflies and butterflies would be flying around. I wonder what happened to the other girls. We all went our separate ways. I never saw them again. Some were my age, and others were younger. I am sure some are still living. I would like to see them. Oritsu, Otoyo, Osono and Osodo. And there was Okei, and Onatsu too’ Oshin takes a deep breath; she laughs and thinks of all the girls who worked at the hairdresser’s salon.
RETURN TO FLASHBACK
Oshin starts working on hair before the customers arrive. She tries to set Oritsu, the young girl’s hair.
What happens further; now that Oshin would start learning to do hair. Will she be able to complete her training?
We will find out more in Episode number 53, coming soon.