Bheela’s Blog -121
26 March 2023
Episode 120 Recap
The hard times begin at Saga. Ryuzo and Oshin are given small quantities of meals. But Oshin decides to remain cheerful. She learns that Sawa used to be a sex worker, but that doesn’t make any difference to her.
Oshin, in the present time, shares her experience with Kei, her grandson.
She decides to do hairdressing on Sawa’s beautiful hair. Hell breaks out when her mother-in-law learns about this. Villagers appreciate Oshin’s skills, and Oshin considers this a business opportunity.
Ms. Kiyo gets upset, and she declares a cold war with Oshin.
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https://medium.com/@bheela-wadehra/bheelas-blog-120-811adda1fb9c
Episode 121
FLASHBACK CONTINUES
It is late at night. Oshin sits up on her bed and is in deep thought. She is upset.
‘You are still up?’ Ryuzo enters the room. He is surprised to see Oshin still awake. He says, ‘Mother wanted me to give her a massage.’ He looks at Oshin again, but she doesn’t respond. ‘You are still upset?’ he asks. He pats Oshin happily and says, ‘You should have gone to bed first.’
‘I needed to talk to you,’ replies Oshin grimly.
‘You will have trouble getting up in the morning,’ says Ryuzo. He is ready to sleep and takes the quilt cover.
‘Why can’t I do hairstyling?’ Oshin abruptly vents the question she had suppressed for a long.
‘Keep your voice down!’ says Ryuzo.
‘I don’t care if people hear me,’ says Oshin. Ryuzo tries interrupting her, but she says, ‘I want money. I want to do hairdressing here. Even for 10 cents a day! I want money for myself. Otherwise, I can’t even buy soap for the baby’s diapers.’
Ryuzo laughs and says, ‘There is plenty of soap here. Just use it!’
‘I would if I could! Your sister-in-law told me that. Your mother hasn’t given her money to buy soap for me to use. I can’t blame her. Soap costs money. Your mother gives her the bare minimum to live on.’
‘Then tell my mother!’
‘There are other things I need, too. I can’t ask mother for any extras. She already feeds us. Besides, I can’t even eat a second helping of the rice. I will be the first to eat tomorrow. I will have a second helping! I don’t even have paper or ink with which to write letters. There are no desks I can use either.’ Oshin is hungry, and she takes out whatever she feels.
‘You still have the money Ms. Kayo gave you; use it!’ suggests Ryuzo.
‘It will go in no time if we spend it on whatever we want. We need that money for emergencies. It is best if we earn our own money. We get fed here, but the household budget is tightly controlled by your sister-in-law. All we do is work! We have no freedom.’ Oshin tries her best to make Ryuzo understand the situation.
‘All right, I will ask mother for an allowance.’
‘No! That is not what I am saying,’ Oshin protests.
‘She will understand.’
‘She would scold me! Just ask her if I can do people’s hair. I am sure many women here want their hair done.’ Oshin’s eyes twinkle with a prospect of a business venture.
(Among many types of freedom, women also seek financial freedom. Oshin was ahead of her times, and she was wanted just that!)
Oshin continues, ‘I will do farm work, too!’
‘You don’t seem to understand what my mother is saying!’
‘What is the problem if I do people’s hair?’
‘A big trouble! You are a Tanokura! We might not be as well off now, but we have our family pride to consider! We can’t have the wife of a Tanokura going out to do people’s hair! It is shameful!’
‘Why is it shameful? What is the family’s name without money? It is not as if I want to steal or something.’ Oshin puts forward her logical point of view.
‘As long we are here, we must follow the rules! Otherwise, we should leave,’ Ryuzo loses his temper and shouts.
‘I would if we could! If it weren’t for Yu, I would get a live-in job in town.’ Oshin shouts back.
‘Be quiet! You two aren’t the only ones living here!’ Ms. Kiyo tells them, shouting from her own room.
Ryuzo fumes and lies down, and takes the quilt over his head. Not able to solve the issue, he hides behind the cover. Oshin shakes him; she is not the one to give up. As Ryuzo doesn’t respond, she bangs his back with several blows of a soft fist!
***
The following morning, Ryuzo goes to his mother’s room. Ms. Kiyo sits in prayer with folded hands facing the plaque. Ryuzo comes near her from behind and says, ‘Mom, I would like some money. I asked Father, but he told me to ask you. Five yens will do.’
‘What do you need it for?’ asks Ms. Kiyo turning to face Ryuzo.
‘Oshin needs soap and some other things for writing letters and sewing. We didn’t bring all the things we needed. But we can’t ask my sister-in-law for things. Oshin wants to do hairstyling to have her own money. She didn’t mean any harm by her request.’ Ryuzo quickly speaks up.
‘I see, I understand. I will ask Oshin how much she needs,’ says the mother. She finds another excuse to insult Oshin, although last night she said she didn’t want to see her face ever!
‘Thanks, I am sure she will be pleased.’ Ryuzo says happily, without understanding the politics of her mother.
‘You are pathetic. Your wife pushes you around. You are no man!’ says Ms. Kiyo and leaves the room. Ryuzo is thoroughly puzzled.
***
Oshin is ready to leave for the farm work. Yu tied to her back, she carries the sacks and the tools in her hand.
‘Oshin, what do you need? Why didn’t you ask me instead of your husband? We have given you a lot of things already. We gave you old clothes, and you complained to Ryuzo about it! Like we haven’t done a thing for you!’ charges Ms. Kiyo to Oshin in her caustic voice. Ryuzo joins, and he tries to appease them.
‘She was just being considerate!’ says Ryuzo, taking Oshin’s side, ‘she couldn’t ask you, so she told me.’
‘You want your own money? And you want to do people’s hair? Everyone will think, we don’t do enough for you! In that case, I will buy you anything you need!’ says Ms. Kiyo disgustingly.
‘I am sorry; I will be more mindful,’ says Oshin; her pride hurts, but she swallows. She wants to halt this conversation. Oshin takes a turn and starts walking toward the field.
‘See the way she talks to me?’ Ms. Kiyo tells Ryuzo to add fuel to turn him against Oshin.
Oshin waits for Ryuzo outside the house. Ryuzo walks ahead, ignoring Oshin. Oshin catches up with him running and says, ‘I told you not to ask her!’
‘How else can we get money? She holds the purse string in the family,’ says Ryuzo, trying to clarify.
‘You know I would get yelled at!’ says Oshin.
‘All you do is complain. I just wanted to help,’ says Ryuzo, defending himself.
‘Then I will never complain to you again!’ shouts Oshin, getting fed up, and she walks ahead.
‘I am sick of it all, too! Mother calls me the lowest of men. And all I ever hear from you are complaints! I am sick of everything!’ shouts Ryuzo in return, and, throwing the tools to his shoulder, he, too, walks to the field.
***
Ryuzo and Oshin work in the field quietly. Sawa watches them; she understands something is wrong. She hints with her eyes at her husband.
‘It is looking good, more like a field now. Your brother wants wheat planted here,’ says Kozo to cheer Ryuzo.
‘Wheat?’ Ryuzo is somewhat surprised as he thought they would grow rice.
‘We must clear another field after this, so we must hurry,’ says Kozo.
‘Another one?’ Ryuzo is shocked.
‘He says he has more mouths to feed,’ Kozo explains.
‘He is telling me to grow my own food?’ Ryuzo understands the situation.
‘It is not like the old days; he can’t collect as much rent from the sharecroppers.’ Informs Kozo; the movement of sharecroppers fighting against the landowners has reached most of Japan by now. Saga also sees the impact.
‘I would rather die than work like this,’ says Ryuzo, tired. He continues ploughing, though.
Sawa fills water in the kettle from a tap and looks at Oshin. Oshin puts a wet cloth on her face to get some relief.
‘Is something the matter? You haven’t said a thing all day,’ says Sawa coming close to Oshin with concern. Oshin shrugs it off and sits on a stone.
‘Did you get scolded for doing my hair?’ Sawa asks. Oshin looks down, and Sawa understands. She says, ‘I have been worried. I used to be a harlot. I am sure that is why you got into trouble.’ Sawa sits at Oshin’s feet.
‘It is nobody’s business what you used to be. I get fed up living among strangers,’ says Oshin; she wipes her hand using the wet cloth and smiles.
‘Your mother-in-law is a strong woman. Things must be challenging for you. I live with my in-laws, too, so I understand. Kozo sold off his land to buy me out. That is why he must work as a farm labourer. I take the brunt of his family’s wrath now. But considering my past, I can’t say anything. I am just happy to be Kozo’s wife,’ says Sawa, and she gets up to sit next to Oshin.
She continues, ‘If I were his mother, and my son married a harlot, I would be angry, too. That is why I can’t talk back to her. Just put yourself in your mother-in-law’s place.’
Sawa’s kind words have a soothing effect on Oshin. She begins to think, looking down.
‘I am sorry, I shouldn’t be lecturing you,’ says Sawa laughing, embarrassed by the class difference between herself and the Tanokura family.
‘You are right,’ says Oshin, smiling, ‘I am a daughter of a poor sharecropper from Yamagata, so I had no dowry to offer. My family can’t help us out this time either. A son of the Tanokura could have married better. I am sure his mother was looking forward to that. Then her son goes and marries someone like me. I am nothing but trouble. No wonder she is upset. I guess I will have to put up with it. It is better than starving.’
Oshin feels better after talking to Sawa. She takes a deep sigh.
‘That is right, at least you two get to work together. It would help if you consider yourself lucky,’ says Sawa with the hope that she managed to uplift the sad scene.
‘Thank you,’ says Oshin gratefully, ‘I will stop feeling sorry for myself. Let us go back to work!’ Saying this, Oshin makes a little dance; spreading her arms, she looks up at the sky. They go to the field together.
‘I quit! I refuse to work like this again!’ Oshin and Sawa are startled to hear Ryuzo shouting with resolve. Ryuzo is too tired from the hard labour.
Ryuzo removes his head cloth, throws it aside, and drops himself onto the ground. He rests his head against a pile of debris and closes his eyes.
Oshin can understand how Ryuzo feels, but she also knows they have no choice. She worries about having more trouble with his family.
She looks at Ryuzo lovingly and starts thinking.
Will Oshin take any drastic steps?
We will find out more in the next episode, number 122, soon!