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Hiroshi66 Profile
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Re: J-Drama: おしん (Oshin)


Glad to hear you'll be joining us for the viewing, Kingo Gondo! Sounds like this drama is just like the Taigas and the other asadoras, where the story starts off slow but really picks up towards the middle/end of the series.
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calimike Profile
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Re: J-Drama: おしん (Oshin)


I pick up Sushi & Sake (March 2013) Issue at Vons and Oshin ad turn to page 18-19
http://issuu.com/e.bookalljapannews/docs/ss201303?mode=window&viewMode=doublePage

I heard more UTB program is in Sushi & Sake issue next month?
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Hiroshi66 Profile
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Re: J-Drama: おしん (Oshin)


Yes, Oshin is beginning on April 7th (as mentioned on the front page of this thread).
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Re: J-Drama: おしん (Oshin)


<EPISODES 1, 2, 3>

I'm so happy this drama is being aired on UTB! Just after watching the first three episodes, I can see why this series was so well-received in Japan. I think this is one of those timelessly classic stories, and I'm glad we'll all be able to view this together.

There is something very mysterious about the character of Oshin. How did this woman, who was born into such poverty, end up raising a family that would open one of Japan's most successful chain of grocery stores? How did it come about that she adopted two children - under what circumstances did the adoption take place? Who was Oshin's husband? Who were her parents? Looks like all these questions and mysteries will be uncovered during the next 200+ episodes!

Before we move on, I just thought I'd make this mini-"family tree" of Oshin's four children we've been introduced to. They each have families of their own, so the names can get a bit confusing. I'm sure we'll get introduced to more characters as we begin looking into Oshin's childhood and adolescence, but this blurb below lists her children and grandchildren.

Adopted Children

Nozomi - Works as a welder. Has one son, Kei—who is Oshin's favorite grandson. Oshin and Kei have a wonderful relationship. Nozomi doesn't get along with his half-brother and sister, who don't allow Nozomi (or Kei) to get involved with the family business.

Hatsuko - Before Hitoshi was married, Hatsuko was the one who would take care of Oshin. When Hitoshi married Michiko, Oshin asked Hatsuko to leave, so that there would be no trouble between the sisters-in-law. Hatsuko runs her own sewing shop and frequently visits Nozomi.

Biological Children

Hitoshi - Owner of the successful Tanokura chain of grocery stores. He is married to Michiko, whose family apparently loaned money to Oshin's family in the past. They have one son (who is married and has a son of his own) and two daughters. Michiko doesn't get along with her MIL Oshin, and so she frequently badmouths her to the couple's two daughters—who also don't have the nicest things to say about their grandmother. Hitoshi doesn't seem to get much respect and is seen as a "momma's boy."

Tei - She is also involved in the family business with her husband. Tei doesn't get along much with her SIL, Michiko, and blames Oshin "running away from home" on Michiko.


There seems to be a clear divide between the adopted children and the biological children. It doesn't appear to have always been that way, but I think lines were drawn after the various children got married. Frankly, I find Hitoshi's wife and children to be extremely pompous and unpleasant. Watching Michiko badmouth Oshin to her two daughters was disturbing. How can the children respect their grandmother when their mother openly badmouths her to them? They seemed awfully disrespectful of Hitoshi, as well. That being said, I'm not a big fan of Hitoshi's. Him slapping his wife in the first scene wasn't a great first impression, and I think Oshin was right when she told Kei that nobody was really concerned about Oshin leaving home—they were just inconvenienced that the "vice president" wouldn't be present at the anniversary party of the grocery store.

Oshin's relationship with Kei is so wonderful. I loved how she pretended to be angry when he discovered her whereabouts and ran up to her, but then couldn't help grinning. I think he is the only person she can truly open up to about her past—a past she would rather not discuss. After so many years, it looks like Oshin is finally going to open up about what happened to her.

I wonder why Oshin seems to be closer to her adopted children than with her biological children? I'm curious to see what the turning point was in their relationship.

Oshin seems like a larger-than-life character and I look forward to watching this drama—all 200+ episodes of it! I actually enjoyed UTB's format of 3 episodes an hour. Less cliffhangers! LOL!

Episodes 4-6 air next week.
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nchristi Profile
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Re: J-Drama: おしん (Oshin)


Shucks, I missed the first round of episodes! Sundays at 8a and 8p are about the most impossible times for me to watch or record. I'm not keeping my fingers crossed at finding another way of watching this one. Maybe having missed only the first three episodes, and having Hiroshi's above outline of the characters will fill in most of the blanks for me.

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Hiroshi66 Profile
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Re: J-Drama: おしん (Oshin)


Ahh, sorry to hear that, Nchristi! I wonder why UTB only picked those two times (8:00a and 8:00p) to air Oshin. Usually they repeat new episodes three times a day, so it would be great if they could add another time slot on Sundays. I'll keep posting episode/character descriptions for this one, so hopefully that will help you fill in some of the blanks. It can be hard to find NHK's morning dramas elsewhere... I wish J-drama DVDs were more readily available and affordable!
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kingo gondo Profile
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There is also a repeat showing of Oshin on Monday at 1:00 AM.



Last edited by kingo gondo, 4/16/2013, 10:00 pm
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Re: J-Drama: おしん (Oshin)


<EPISODE 4, 5, 6>

What a great asadora so far! I’m glad we’re starting to go back and look at Oshin’s childhood, though it was undoubtedly a very sad and difficult one. It can help us understand more about who she is as a person today, and why she went on this trip in the first place. Oshin was born in 1901, and this drama begins examining her life in 1908, when she was only 7 years of age. Oshin had twelve people in her family—9 brothers and sisters (including herself), her grandmother, and her parents.

Even though 1908 was the latter part of the Meiji Period, many regions in Japan’s rural provinces still did things the way they did during the samurai era. Instead of working on feudal manors, farmers now had to work as sharecroppers and on their own, making life even more difficult for them. What’s more, as was the case with Oshin’s family, farmers often had very large families, and children were often malnourished. As such, children were often sent away to go work as household help in rich families from a very young age—where they were often beat and mistreated. Now, it was Oshin's turn to go.

This drama was aired in 1983, before the bursting of the bubble. Japan's economy was still doing very well, and I can see now why Oshin made those comments to Kei about how people of his generation haven’t had to see “real poverty.” I suppose that for younger audiences who viewed Oshin, seeing what life was like for sharecropping families was something they had never seen or experienced before. A child being forced to go out and work instead of being able to go to school was something they had never and probably would never be forced to witness. I guess it's a lesson to appreciate what we have today... being able to attend school is a privilege.

The most difficult scene was watching Oshin's mother go into the freezing cold river, so that she could miscarry the child she was carrying. If this child wasn't born, Oshin could stay in the family. Then, we had Oshin's grandmother, who was starving herself so that her dear grandmother could stay with the family. What a stark contrast in Oshin's life. Her children and grandchildren are squabbling about business and family matters, but did they ever stop and think about what difficulties their grandmother had to go through to get to where she is today? I don't think so. Maybe that's why Oshin is sharing all this with Kei. He is the only one who will listen—and who will actually "get it."

What a stark realization for Oshin when she realized that her life was being exchanged for a bushel of rice. She couldn't say no now—if she left, the entire family wouldn't go hungry. Oshin is such a mature young girl for her age. She always puts others first, especially her parents and her grandmother. I guess that's why it must be so difficult for her to watch the bickering amongst her selfish children and grandchildren.

Can't wait for next week! This one is getting good. Love the 3 episodes-in-1 format.

(Nchristi, I hope you were able to find a way to somehow view/record this one. I know you'll really like it! emoticon)
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kingo gondo Profile
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One advantage of having 3 episodes in one hour is the broadcaster doesn't have to cut out scenes to fit the time slot. Each Oshin episode (with title credits) runs almost the full 15 minutes so if it was aired in a 15 minute broadcast they would have to delete 30 seconds of story for every 30-second commercial.
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Hiroshi66 Profile
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Re: J-Drama: おしん (Oshin)


You’re right, Kingo Gondo! Before we’d get a commercial break in the middle of the 15 minute episode, but now we can watch each episode without any interruptions. Also, with three different episodes in one sitting, we can get a bigger picture of the story. Not much happens in 15 minutes, but if you put three of them together, it’s a lot more interesting.
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