Bheela’s Blog -120
19 March 2023
Episode 119 Recap
Oshin, on the very first day at Saga, is made to understand the family dynamics.
Her mother-in-law doesn’t spare a moment to insult her. Oshin tries to do her best.
Fukutaro decides that Ryuzo and Oshin must work in the fields. As they reach the place, they meet a farmhand couple, Kozo, and his wife, Sawa. Oshin is pleased to meet the kind woman and finds a ray of hope.
Please click the link to read the full episode:
https://medium.com/@bheela-wadehra/bheelas-blog-119-4f37c9005706
Episode 120
FLASHBACK CONTINUES
Oshin and Ryuzo have come to stay with his parents in Saga. They were put to work in the fields from the following day. Oshin thinks it is only natural that they work for their room and board. But working on a newly opened plot for cultivation proves hard for Ryuzo.
Ryuzo starts ploughing the field, which is full of weeds. Oshin takes a grass cutter and cuts using her own hands.
‘I am so hungry; let us eat!’ says Ryuzo; he is exhausted as he has never done hard labor work.
‘There is another hour of work before lunch,’ reminds the farmhand Kozo.
Ryuzo sits on the ground keeping his tool aside. Oshin looks at Ryuzo, and then she looks at the couple. The woman, Sawa, is continuously ploughing the field without any gaps. Oshin is amazed to watch the couple putting on so much hard work. She is tired, too.
***
‘They can’t possibly do that kind of work!’ says Daigoro to his wife, Ms. Kiyo.
‘I was put to work in the fields by your mother!’ says Kiyo; she remains defiant.
‘They are not like you,’ Daigoro tries to reason out.
‘How is that? It is only natural that they work. It is only fair to Fukutaro. We can’t spoil them. It is for their own good. Ryuzo and Oshin must work to preserve the harmony of the household. Of course, you wouldn’t understand these things. You ignore the household and do what you like,’ accuses Kiyo.
Unable to respond any further, Daigoro walks off.
***
Sawa pours water into four cups. She serves all of them. They thank her.
‘Why didn’t you bring tea?’ asks Ryuzo.
‘I am not allowed to touch things in the kitchen,’ says Oshin.
‘Just say it is for me!’
‘Why don’t you ask for it yourself?’
‘Men don’t do such a thing!’ responds Ryuzo; he, too, understands the family politics.
Ryuzo opens the lunch wrap and freezes. He is shocked to see just two rice balls.
‘Is that all?’ he asks.
‘That is what she gave me,’ replies Oshin; she remains calm.
‘You must be kidding! I can’t work with just this much rice!’ Ryuzo starts shouting.
‘Why get upset at me? I guess she felt it was enough. It can’t be helped. We are freeloaders! Tsuneko is just letting us know; that is all she is willing to give us!’ says Oshin.
‘That is nonsense!’ Ryuzo still can’t believe it.
Ryuzo then looks up at the peasant couple. They are sharing potatoes.
‘At least you get rice; we can’t afford it. We don’t have rice unless it is a festival,’ says Kozo.
‘You only have potatoes?’ Ryuzo is shocked.
‘Sharecroppers and farmhands eat potatoes,’ says Kozo coolly!
‘We can’t even get our fill of that,’ informs Sawa.
‘Mother still rules the kitchen at home. And I still have three unmarried sisters. I feel bad for Sawa,’ says Kozo.
‘I don’t mind, really!’ says Sawa shily, ‘all new brides have to endure hardships.’
‘So that is how things are here in Saga?’ Ryuzo starts realizing everything isn’t rosy at his parents’ place.
Oshin changes the topic and says, ‘I will just eat half of a rice ball.’
‘No, you need to make milk for Yu!’ saying, Ryuzo gives a whole rice ball to Oshin. Oshin smiles at his care and feels good.
‘This reminds me of my childhood in Yamagata. We were hungry every day. And I wanted so much to get away from it. I guess I will have to bear with it again!’ says Oshin cheerfully as she eats tiny portions to savor the small meal she has for lunch.
‘I will go tell them that. We can’t work all day on a single rice ball each!’ says Ryuzo with a resolve.
***
Oshin pours water on Ryuzo’s feet as they return home after the hard day’s work. Ryuzo scrubs hard to remove dirt.
‘You are back!’ Ms. Kiyo comes out running and welcomes Ryuzo. As expected, she ignores Oshin. She tells Ryuzo, ‘Go take your bath.’
‘I am starving!’ says Ryuzo.
‘Oh, come on! Be a man!’ says Kiyo.
‘I can’t work with a meagre lunch like that!’ says Ryuzo as he continues to wash his feet.
‘I understand!’ says Kiyo, patting Ryuzo’s back.
‘I worked with Kozo. He has a pretty wife. She works hard, too. Where did he find her?’ Ryuzo asks his mom.
‘She is a former harlot from Shimabara,’ whispers Kiyo. (Shimabara is a town about 100 km south of Saga)
‘A harlot?’ Ryuzo is shocked.
‘She is five years older than he is, too!’ Kiyo shares the village gossip. Then she turns to Oshin and says, ‘Oshin, don’t talk to that woman. She is an outcast!’
(We can see a stereotyping here. Even if a sex worker wants to join the mainstream society to lead an everyday life, the people won’t let her! She will carry the baggage of her past.)
‘She sure didn’t seem like that. She is warm and friendly. What if she was a harlot. She is a decent woman now,’ Oshin, of course, thinks differently and tries to place her views.
‘Don’t you dare speak to me like that!’ retorts the mother-in-law! Women shouldn’t be speaking their minds; the eternal rule!
‘What is wrong with having been a harlot?’ questions Oshin. This results in colossal agitation. Kiyo loses her cool, and she wants to hit Oshin.
Ryuzo holds his mom and shouts at Oshin, ‘Don’t talk back to my mother!’
‘She has no manners at all!’ Kiyo starts sobbing. No daughter-in-law has ever questioned her. She pushes Ryuzo and says, ‘just get inside.’
Oshin is puzzled. Tied to Oshin’s back, Yu starts crying, hearing all the commotion.
***
‘Here, have some mochi. I will make you some tea. Eat them here; there is not enough to go around.’ Kiyo hands some snacks to Ryuzo, taking him to the kitchen.
‘I will take them back to Oshin,’ says Ryuzo.
‘There is not enough for both of you. A man works harder than a woman,’ Kiyo repeats age-old beliefs.
‘Oshin works harder than I do,’ protests Ryuzo, ‘Besides, she gives milk to Yu! She needs to eat, too!’
‘Ryuzo, don’t spoil her so much! No wonder she is like that!’ says Kiyo, disappointed with her son’s love for his wife. She continues, ‘I don’t hate Oshin. It is just that I must control her. That is all. It is only natural that a son’s wife serves her husband’s family. I can’t treat her any differently. She must learn the rules of this house! Eat them now, you love mochi!’ she walks off.
Ryuzo looks at her as she goes out. He thinks of ways to take the meal to Oshin.
***
Oshin picks up the dried diapers.
‘Oshin!’ calls Kiyo as she comes close to Oshin.
‘Yes!’ says Oshin, turning to look at Kiyo.
‘A woman shouldn’t complain to her husband about her hunger. A wife should give her share to her husband if he is still hungry. Saga women are all like that! Keep that in mind if you want to be one of us!’ giving the sermon, Kiyo returns to the kitchen.
Oshin is speechless! All her fears about Saga are coming true. She takes a deep sigh.
***
RETURN TO THE PRESENT TIME
‘So, here we are at the Ariake Seas,’ says Kei. He and Oshin have now reached Saga, traveling from Tokyo. Oshin is passing through all the cities her life had taken her in the past. Kei is eager to know about her grandma, and he travels with her.
As she recalls her time at Saga, they stroll next to the Ariake sea on the southwest coast of Japan.
‘I told you that we would be traveling for a long time,’ replies Oshin; she looks at the sea and remembers her past.
‘I had no idea you spent time here,’ Kei comments.
‘Sawa and I used to talk here. She was my only friend. She and I were outsiders,’ says Oshin.
‘That former harlot?’ asks Kei and Oshin nods.
‘I wonder how she has been. She seemed young, but she was already about 33 back then. I would like to see her. She used to console me. So many things happened here,’ Oshin goes into her past and misses Sawa.
Suddenly Oshin remembers an incident, and she starts laughing.
‘There was this silly incident that I remember,’ she tells Kei laughing, ‘I wanted to do Sawa’s hair one day. She had thick beautiful hair.’ Oshin looks far and remembers the day clearly.
FLASHBACK RETURNS
Oshin starts doing Sawa’s hair during lunch break. Both men, Kozo and Ryuzo, hold their breath in awe as Sawa’s beauty and Oshin’s hair skills create magic.
Sawa holds a mirror, and Oshin completes her job.
‘That is beautiful,’ says Kozo, mesmerized.
‘I longed to wear my hair like this again, so I kept my hairdressing tools. But I never thought I would see my hair dressed again,’ exclaims Sawa; she is delighted.
‘You lucky man!’ Ryuzo teases Kozo.
‘I am glad you like it; I haven’t done hair for a long time; all my tools were destroyed in the fire,’ says Oshin.
Sawa is somewhat scared; she asks Kozo, ‘What will your mother say about my hair?’
‘Let her say what she wants; that hairstyle is perfect for my wife! I won’t let anyone say anything!’ Kozo declares
Sawa gets up and sits facing Oshin. She bows to the ground to express her gratitude.
‘Thank you! You have realized my dreams!’ says Sawa; she is on cloud nine today!
‘You are so beautiful,’ Oshin appreciates again.
***
As soon as they enter the main door of their house, Tsuneko comes out of the kitchen and says, ‘Oshin, mother wants to see you!’
Oshin and Ryuzo get worried.
Kiyo is sitting in her room, fretting and fuming. Looking at Oshin, she begins, ‘Oshin, you have disgraced the Tanokura family! I told you to stay away from that harlot! And you did her hair!’ she bangs her fist onto her forehead in disgust.
‘She was just having fun,’ Ryuzo tries to defend.
‘You are too easy on her,’ Kiyo interrupts Ryuzo, ‘the whole village is talking about it! People even come to ask if Oshin could do their hair, too! Not just one!’
‘Really?’ Oshin’s business sense awakes.
‘It is so shameful. A Tanokura woman can’t admit that she used to be a hairdresser!’ Kiyo fumes and sobs as she speaks.
‘I will go do their hair,’ Oshin gets excited with the business prospect. She continues, ‘we need the money! Please let me go! I can earn more by doing that than working in the fields!’
Kiyo’s jaws open in disbelief.
Ryuzo tries to stop Oshin, but Oshin bows to her mother-in-law and pleads, ‘Please!’
This loses Kiyo’s patients. She is enraged and says, ‘what kind of woman have you married, Ryuzo? She is an embarrassment to our family name! I don’t want to see your face again!’ Kiyo shouts and leaves the room.
Oshin and Ryuzo are stunned to see her outburst. Ryuzo rushes behind her.
Oshin doesn’t know why Kiyo is angry. But this was to cause an even bigger rift between them.
Ryuzo feels stuck between his mother and wife. He doesn’t know what to do.
What will happen? How will this matter resolve?
We will know more in the coming episode, number 121, soon!