Bheela’s Blog -054
27 November 2021
Episode 53 Recap
It is the New Year’s Eve. Oshin is given the charge of combing hair ahead of her turn. This creates unrest among the workers of the salon. Oshin refuses the raise. Taka decides to retain her as a maid and doesn’t give her any hair work.
The Tanakura business is facing trouble. It appears that Oshin knows the Namiki business owner, and her son, Hitoshi, feels that Oshin can find a way out. He and his brother-in-law, Takeshi, wait for Oshin to return. Oshin seems to know that her business is in bad shape.
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https://bheela-wadehra.medium.com/bheelas-blog-053-85a11265467c
Episode 53
FLASHBACK CONTINUES
Two years have passed since Oshin began working for Ms. Taka. She is still a maid, and she isn’t allowed to touch the customer’s hair. She is now 18 and in the prime of her youth. She spends all her days working hard.
As Oshin fills water into the boiler in the kitchen, a worker, Onatsu, enters and complains, ‘Oshin, the toilet is dirty!’ Oritsu, who is helping Oshin in the kitchen, comes forward. She doesn’t like how the girl spoke to Oshin; she tells Oshin, ‘you two are the same age, and she talks down to you! I feel so bad for you.’
‘It can’t be helped; Onatsu is my senior here.’ Oshin replies softly.
‘You should have let her quit. Then you could have had her job of combing hair every day.’ Oritsu reminds Oshin; she cannot forget when the two girls wanted to quit, and Oshin saved the situation. In the process, Oshin lost a chance!
‘Go mind the parlor!’ Oshin smiles and mildly scolds Oritsu. She doesn’t regret her decision.
Oshin’s days were the same routine over and over. Sometimes she felt as though time had stopped, and she felt desperate. But the world was fast-changing around her. The hairdresser’s world was changing too.
‘Where is the owner?’ A customer asks the worker attending to her hair.
‘She is out making house calls with Osodo today,’ the worker replies; the demand for house calls seems to have increased, so Taka has to do the same herself.
‘It is too hot for some of our customers to come to the salon,’ the worker clarifies.
‘Why do we have to get our hair done anyway?’ Another customer remarks jokingly.
Suddenly a customer arrives wearing a colorful western dress. Her hair, only up to her shoulders, is kept loose, unlike the other women with long hair. She seems to be a woman of modern views.
The girls welcome her and help her get seated in front of a vacant mirror. A worker approaches to start the work draping a cloth around the client’s shoulder, and cheerfully starts a conversation, saying, ‘Isn’t it too hot today!’
‘Don’t comb; I just washed it! I am in a hurry; just do me in an easy casual way.’ The women in Japan now prefer different hair-styling instead of traditional Japanese style. The customer asks, ‘do you know the latest Taisho-maki style? Give me a style that nobody has done yet. Maybe you can put waves in my hair.’ She demands.
(Japanese hairstyle has undergone changes over the last 100 years, click this link to know more https://www.tokyopop.com/blog/how-much-japanese-beauty-has-changed-in-100-years)
The worker is confused; she looks towards the senior girl. The elderly worker comes forwards, saying, ‘we only do traditional Japanese hairstyle!’
‘Then you should have told me as I came in. You can’t even do western style hair! What a waste of my time!’ the woman is upset; she throws the cloth off her shoulders and leaves the salon in a hurry.
Everyone is shocked. The senior says, ‘listen to this woman! What is wrong with her; she is so rude!’
‘I would like to see her parents!’ an elderly customer comments, unhappy with the behavior of the young generation.
‘Western-style sure is popular now; Sagami-ya’s wife quit her traditional style. She says her head feels lighter now.’ Another client says.
‘Maybe I will do the same,’ a younger client adds; it appears that the hairstyle is changing in Japan at that time!
‘Please stop joking! A restaurant owner can’t have modern hair,’ says the senior worker, ‘I am sure the geisha will never change their hairstyle.’
(In Japan, a geisha is a member of a professional class of women whose occupation is to entertain men. She must be adept at singing, dancing, and playing the samisen, a three-stringed musical instrument, in addition to being skilled at making conversation. Source:Internet)
Oshin can hear the talks as she works in the kitchen. She could sense that a day would come when the traditional hairstyles would be gone. She had seen Ms. Kayo preferring a western dress a long time back.
‘Mail!’ her train of thoughts is interrupted by the voice of a postman. Oritsu picks the letters and finds one of them for Oshin; she hands the envelope to Oshin. Oshin is taken aback. Immediately, she thinks, ‘It must be from mother!’ She runs to the backyard, holding the letter close to her heart. She opens the envelope tearing the edge, and starts reading.
‘I haven’t heard from you, but I hope all is well. I am well and still working in the fields, so don’t worry about me. I am having Oriki write this letter for you. There is a piece of sad news. Kaga-ya’s younger child Miss Sayo just passed away due to severe pneumonia. Miss Kayo is still missing. The family is heartbroken.’
Oshin is shocked to hear this. Sayo was the baby she carried on her back, and by the time she left Sakata, Sayo was almost 9 years old. She immediately decides to visit Sakata.
***
Oshin comes to Ms. Taka’s room and tells her about the situation. She says, ‘I owe them so much. I raised the girl on my very back. I know there isn’t much sense in me going, but I should offer my condolences. I realize that I am asking a lot of you, but.’
Ms. Taka was upset with Oshin for not taking the chance she gave, but she is extremely fair and kind when helping an employee. She takes out cash from the desk drawer, places it in front of Oshin, and asks her, ‘will this much be enough for your trip?’
‘Thank you! I will be sure to pay you back!’ Oshin bows with gratitude.
‘Never mind, it is for your hard work to date.’ Taka replies; she does not show much emotion, but she understands Oshin’s needs very well. Taka continues, ‘take five or six days off. Stay as long as it takes.’ Oshin is speechless. She keeps the money in her dress pocket.
‘Will you be coming back?’ Taka has some doubts. She knows that people at Sakata took good care of Oshin. Taka feels for Oshin and says, ‘I haven’t taught you much about hair yet. I wouldn’t want to have any regrets. Before Oshin answers, Taka takes a dress out of her cupboard and hands it to Oshin. She says, ‘wear this dress; it is too young for me.’ Oshin is mesmerized to see Taka’s sympathetic gesture. Taka drapes the dress over Oshin’s shoulder and is pleased.
***
Oshin had vowed never to return to Sakata after the bitter experience with Kota and Kayo. But now that Sayo was dead, she wanted only to comfort the Kaga-ya family. She had been gone from Sakata for two years.
Oshin sits in front of a plaque kept in Sayo’s memory. Ms. Kuni sits next to her. Both of them bow in prayer for the departed soul. Mino also joins them with a tray. ‘I am so glad that you came.’ She says and offers a cup of tea to Oshin. ‘Sayo must be pleased too!’ Mino and Ms. Kuni are delighted to see Oshin. Mino inquires, ‘Where are you now? Oriki said you went to Tokyo to learn hairdressing.’
‘Yes!’ says Oshin, and looking at Ms. Kuni, she continues, ‘As you always told me, I feel I should have a skill so that I can live life on my own.’
‘Oshin, have you any news of Kayo in Tokyo? You don’t know about the man she is with? You haven’t heard anything at all?’ Mino is anxious, and she asks Oshin about her missing daughter.
Ms. Kuni interrupts her and says, ‘We promised not to talk about Kayo.’
‘Yes, but now that Sayo is dead, we need Kayo to come home.’ Mino says; her eyes are filled with tears.
‘I would never let her take over the business anyway. Even if she comes home, I will not let her inside!’ Ms. Kuni is angry and hurt by Kayo’s actions.
Suddenly, Mino comes close to Oshin and pleads, ‘Oshin, why don’t you just stay here with us? Please!’ Ms. Kuni tries to stop Mino, but she sobs and says, looking at Ms. Kuni, ‘Oshin grew up here just like Kayo and Sayo. She is like a daughter to me!’ Mino turns towards Oshin and continues, ‘Grandma wants you here too. You don’t have to suffer in Tokyo.’
‘Stop talking nonsense.’ Grandma is sad too, but she tries to be calm and tells Mino.
‘Now that both of my daughters are gone, I am so lonely. There is no laughter in the house. Please Oshin, stay with us!’ Mino holds Oshin’s hands and starts crying.
Grandma is sad, too; she too wipes her tears.
***
It is late in the night. Oshin gives shoulder massage to Ms. Kuni, same as she used to do when she was with them.
Ms. Kuni gets relief after the long day. She starts talking to Oshin and says, ‘It is like old times. Those were such good days. It is not good to live a long life.’
‘Please don’t say that!’ says Oshin.
‘It is not just about Kayo and Sayo. I don’t know how long our Kaga-ya can remain as is. Have you heard about the rice-riots in Toyama?’ She starts sharing with Oshin as she used to do all about her business. (Toyama is a fishing district about 400 km south of Sakata, at the east coast of Japan, next to the Sea of Japan)
‘Yes, I heard rumors,’ Oshin replies, but she is not aware of the situation entirely.
‘America has declared war on Germany, and in Russia, they had a revolution. There is high inflation in prices here in Japan. The price of rice just keeps going up. The wives of fishermen in Toyama began demanding lower rice prices. If one hoards rice, one can just sit back and get rich as the prices keep going up. People resent all rice dealers now. Maybe it is a punishment that we lost both Kayo and Sayo.’
(Japan witnessed high prices of rice in 1918. A group of rebels led by fishermen in Toyama demanded a price reduction. This followed nationwide unrest, and the Government of Japan collapsed with the resignation of the then prime minister Mr. Terauchi Masatake. To know more on this historic event, please click https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_Riots_of_1918)
Oshin is taken aback hearing this. She thinks of the movement Kota mentioned against the authorities for higher rice prices and sharecropper farmers’ share. Her thoughts are interrupted when Ms. Kuni conveys thanks and asks her to stop massaging. Ms. Kuni invites Oshin to join for another cup of tea.
Oshin sits next to Ms. Kuni for tea, and she starts blowing air using a hand-fan. Ms. Kuni pours tea in two cups and says, ‘Happiness isn’t found in money or material things.
No matter how much money we have, we cannot change what happened to Kayo and Sayo. Happiness based on material things is fleeting. The important thing is to live life without regrets. I will happily give up on Kayo if that is how she is living her life. If you should ever run into Kayo, please tell her what I just told you. But if she is having a hard time in life, please try and help her.’ Ms. Kuni seems to have some regrets in life, especially about her expectations from granddaughters. She shares all of these with Oshin.
‘Yes, I will,’ Says Oshin with her head down.
‘I am so happy to see you again and talk. You have lifted a great weight off my shoulders.’ Ms. Kuni laughs as she speaks.
***
Oshin’s visit to Sakata reopened the wounds in her heart that she had tried to heal. She is on a train from Sakata to Tokyo. She comes out of the Ueno station in Tokyo. She gets tired and sits on the steps of the station. Suddenly, she hears a crowd of men shouting.
‘There is a rice-riot in Hibiya!’ some men shout as they run to take cover.
(Hibiya is a colloquial name for a neighborhood of Chiyoda Ward in Tokyo, about 4 km from Ueno station.)
Oshin gets up and looks around. She, too, runs in the direction of the crowd.
What will happen next? Will she be able to meet Kayo or Kota?
We will know in the next episode, no 55, coming soon.