May 19, 2015
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Massan Spin-offs
I watched the two sessions of Massan spin-offs. The first one was about how Massan's younger sister Sumire runs away from home in Hiroshima to Osaka to settle an affair of the heart. It seems that the teacher who inspired her to pursue a career in teaching is going to quit the teaching profession himself to become the family successor in his wife's kimono business. Sumire sees this as unacceptable and takes him to task. She is also a bit in love with the fellow. She finally ends up returning to Hiroshima to enter into an arranged marriage with a fellow who understands her desire to be a modern, independent woman who wants both a home and a career. We were provided with a lot of silliness at the "Only Restaurant in Town" crew again. I would actually like to see a program that praises a woman who understands the importance of supporting a husband in his work and being there for the children that they produce. Perhaps Gegege no Nyoubou was a story like that, if anyone remembers. I find husband and wife team stories much more interesting than the "I am Woman, Hear ME Roar" stories.
The second Massan spin-off story was an attempt to solve the never ending battle of the sexes. A couple of employees of Sumiyoshi Brewery (Massan's first workplace) show up at the brewery in Hokkaido saying that they have eloped and could they stay with Massan for a while. Yoshiko is bored with her jinrikisha pulling husband and has fled with the younger Ikeda, who wants to work in international trade. (Nothing has actually "gone on" between the elopers, according to Ikeda.) To make a long story short, three couples split up for the night (Yoshiko and Ikeda, Toshio and Hana, the barber and his wife) as the ladies go on strike. They are sick of men who take them for granted. The respective groups mull over the real meaning of marriage. The women remember what first charmed them about their husbands and the husbands realize that they can't get along without their wives. Everyone looks at the example of Ellie and Massan, the ideal couple and decides to emulate them. Yoshiko's husband comes to take her back home, and the other two couples reunite. Medetashi medetashi. (and they all lived happily ever after.)
