Bheela’s Blog -085
02 July 2022
Episode 84 Recap
Sakuzo learns about Oshin’s wedding; he celebrates and gives her blessings. He passes away peacefully.
Oshin comes face to face with Kota again! Kota is uniting the youth at Yamagata village to reduce the rent fees the landlords take from sharecropper farmers.
She tells Kota about her wedding and feels relieved.
Please click the link to read the full Episode:
https://bheela-wadehra.medium.com/bheelas-blog-084-dc1bb550879f
Episode 85
FLASHBACK CONTINUES
Oshin is set to leave home after her father’s death. She completes her packing.
‘I am sorry I have no gifts for you to take home,’ says Fuji.
(It is a custom in Japan, like in many Asian countries, when the daughter returns to her husband’s home, the parents send her off with many gifts. Especially when the girl comes home for the first time post her marriage, she is showered with gifts)
‘Don’t you worry about it! I didn’t come home to get gifts from you,’ Oshin replies.
‘I only have soy and azuki beans that I grew,’ says Fuji, and she shows the beans tied in a cloth, ‘Please take it; it is my present to you both.
(We can find more on Azuki beans by clicking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adzuki_bean)
‘You grew the beans?’ Oshin is curious, and she opens the cloth bag to look at the beans. She is delighted to receive these unique home-grown beans.
‘Thank you!’ says Oshin and adds sheepishly, ‘Shoji and Tora won’t be happy!’
‘What are you saying? You have done so much for this family. Nobody can ever complain!’ Fuji is ever so grateful for the sacrifices Oshin made as a child, but she is aware of her son’s nature.
‘I only did it for you and father,’ says Oshin, ‘I don’t expect kindness from my brother! Even siblings can be very selfish. Now that he is married, he values his wife more. It is as though we were strangers.’ Oshin continues after a pause and a deep sigh, ‘But that is how things are. There is no use resenting him for that now.’
Oshin looks at her mom, takes her hands into her own, and says, ‘Mom, I am worried about you!’
‘There is no need to worry about me. This is my house; I won’t let my son’s wife act big!’ Fuji reassures.
‘Mom, if things get tough, just come and join me in Tokyo. Ryuzo is the third son, he is independent of his family, and he is kind.
‘Thanks! But I won’t have to. I am the head of this household. I can stay here for as long as I want,’ there is a hint of pride when Fuji speaks. She says, ‘If I went to live with you, I would have to mind your husband. I wouldn’t want to become the third wheel with you caught in the middle.’
Oshin laughs as she listens to her mom’s worries. Fuji continues, ‘just make sure that you are good to yourself. A wife can mould her husband anyway she wants to.’ Fuji has been advising Oshin from her practical experiences all along.
‘Now that father is dead, I probably won’t be able to come back here anymore. I will be good to Ryuzo. If he throws me out, I will have nowhere to go,’ Oshin speaks of her feelings about the place she was attached to and now seems so alien.
‘You should hurry,’ says Fuji; she closes the suitcase after putting the soy and beans and picks it up herself. Oshin tries to snatch the heavy bag from her mom, but mom doesn’t let her carry it.
***
Oshin decides to visit Sakata instead of returning to Tokyo. She wants to inform about her marriage to the Kaga-ya family. She reaches the Kaga-ya store and looks at the sign board fondly. She has so many memories associated with this house.
‘It’s you, Oshin!’ Kayo’s dad comes out looking at Oshin and exclaims with happiness. Oshin bows to him in greeting and goes inside. Kayo comes running as soon as she hears Oshin’s voice. Oshin is seated in front of Ms. Kuni, who is beaming with delight.
‘Oshin, it is really you!! I am so glad you are here.’ Says Kayo. Suddenly Kayo gets worried and asks Oshin, ‘Has something happened?’
‘Her father died, and she is on her way back to Tokyo,’ says Mino.
‘Not an age to die; he was still so young!’ remarks Ms. Kuni.
‘His time had come,’ says Oshin with her head down.
‘So, he died?’ Kayo asks
‘I feel so sorry for Fuji,’ says Mino.
‘I didn’t come to tell you about my father’s death. I came to tell you that I am married now,’ Oshin speaks up slowly.
‘What? You are married?’ Mino is surprised.
‘Yes, I am a bride!’ Oshin smiles as she replies. Ms. Kuni, Mino, and Kayo all of them sigh with pleasure!
‘You got married? Is he from Tokyo?’ Kayo can’t wait to know all about Oshin’s marriage.
‘You know him well, Ms. Kayo. He is Mr. Ryuzo Tanokura,’ says Oshin.
‘Oh, that fabric dealer?’ Kayo is excited to get this news.
‘Yes,’ says Oshin shily; both Kayo and Oshin burst out laughing; they can’t contain their happiness.
‘Since my father and his mother were against it, we had a wedding with just the two of us. But his father finally gave his approval, and even my father was happy in the end and congratulated me. That is why I wanted to come and tell you,’ Oshin shares all with the Kaga-ya ladies. She feels part of the family, although she never crosses the line.
‘I am glad I am alive to help you celebrate!’ Ms. Kuni grins ear to ear as she speaks, expressing her joy.
***
Later in the night, the two friends, Kayo and Oshin, sit in the backyard and catch up.
‘I envy you. You get to live your own life. I am as good as dead. I live with a man I don’t love,’ Kayo shares her misery with Oshin.
‘He is a fine man,’ Oshin protests.
‘He just came for our family’s money,’ says Kayo; she avoids eye contact as she speaks, ‘he keeps a geisha as s concubine. He doesn’t even come near me. I have to pretend as if nothing is wrong. If he leaves, our family would be embarrassed.’
‘You don’t say anything?’ Oshin questions her friend.
‘I am not jealous; I am glad he doesn’t come home!’ says Kayo shrugging her shoulders.
‘Don’t talk like that!’ Oshin warns her.
‘I have thought of leaving, but I can’t. I gave up Kota for this?’ Kayo is thoroughly disappointed by her life. She continues, ‘If I had only waited for him in Tokyo. I am sure he came back. Oshin, are you sure he didn’t come back to me?’ Kayo asks desperately, ‘I still believe that he came back! Tell me the truth! If he is back, I am willing to leave this house. I am ready to leave! I just want the courage to do that! If I had reason to leave, I would. I can do it! I will wait for Kota if it takes a lifetime. Waiting for him would be better than what I have! Oshin, tell me, Did Kota come back for me? That will give me the courage to go back to Tokyo! I can leave this hell I live in. I want to still believe in him! Oshin!’ Kayo holds Oshin by the shoulder and shakes her. Kayo cannot take Kota out of her mind; such was her intense love for him.
Oshin remains quiet and stern. She is in a dilemma but makes up her mind after a pause.
‘He didn’t come back. I finally cleared out your apartment. I don’t know if he came back after that. But he didn’t come back while I was there.’ Oshin looks away as she speaks; she hides that she met Kota at Yamagata.
Kayo releases Oshin and turns.
‘Ms. Kayo, Kota has forgotten all about you. Why waste your time thinking about him?’ says Oshin harshly. She wants Kayo to face reality.
‘You are with a man that you love. You wouldn’t understand how I feel,’ says Kayo sobbing; she cannot control herself and start crying. She says, ‘I wish I could paint or do something. But I am too depressed to paint now. There is no sense in my living.’
Oshin is alarmed by Kayo’s miserable situation; she shouts with anxiety and tells Kayo, ‘Get yourself together, Ms. Kayo! You are being too unruly. You have a great family and wealth! Just take better care of yourself! It is because you are like this that your husband has distanced himself from you. You must change how you look at things!’
Kayo has some impact after listening to Oshin; she lowers her head and starts thinking.
‘I am sorry,’ says Oshin realizing that she probably hurt Kayo. She says, ‘I do know how you feel. And I have no right to talk like this. I just can’t stand to see you suffer.’ Oshin sits at Kayo’s feet and sobs. She continues, ‘I want you to be happy!’
Kayo, too drops to her knees and says, ‘I am sorry, too!’ Kayo holds Oshin and cries as she says, ‘I didn’t mean to ruin your homecoming. Forgive me.’
***
Mino enters and calls, ‘Kayo, your husband is back home. Oshin can meet him, too.’
‘Tell him I am in bed with a headache,’ says Kayo. She is in no mood to see her husband.
Mino tries to convince Kayo to introduce Oshin to Kayo’s husband. Kayo and Oshin come to the living room, where he is sitting in a drunken state.
‘Welcome home,’ says Mino as Kayo and Oshin sit in front of Kayo’s husband. Mino continues, ‘meet Oshin from Tokyo; she just got married.’
‘I am pleased to meet you,’ says Oshin politely and bows in greeting.
‘I need to tell you all something,’ the man starts speaking with a slur. He says, ‘Kosuzu, the geisha I am with, is pregnant with my child. It will be born next spring. I plan to recognize it as my own.’ He speaks casually, but it gives a severe blow to Kayo. She gets up and goes out of the room. Oshin runs after her.
Kayo takes a deep breath taking support of a wall in the corridor and says, ‘See what I have to put up with? There is nothing for me here. I have nobody I can count on. I envy you so much!’ Kayo suffers as she speaks. She doesn’t stop, ‘how nice to be with a man you love. Take good care of your love, Oshin!’ Kayo goes to her room, leaving Oshin speechless.
Oshin can see what a mess Kayo is in. She pities her for still loving Kota. Oshin has lied to Kayo for Kayo’s own good. But she wonders, did she do the right thing? Now she is feeling pangs of guilt.
***
Oshin takes a train to return to Tokyo. Seeing Kayo makes Oshin feel very fortunate to have met Ryuzo. She is now on her way back to Ryuzo in Tokyo. She smiles at his thoughts.
What will happen now? Will Kayo get any solace in her life? Will Oshin meet her again?
We will know more in the coming episode, no. 86, soon.