A Word in Your Eye

aka And away we go!

Fumie's friend congratulates her, and gives her... zabuton covers! Fumie is going to have well-covered cushions. They go sit at the outside shrine, and reminisce about all the times they sat here. The friend asks about the honeymoon, and Fumie says she thinks they are just staying in Tokyo. The friend says that isn't very exciting, and Fumie says Tokyo will be exciting enough for her. They pray at the shrine. Then Fumie drops by the river, and looks around at the scenery. The voice over explains that she doesn't know when she might be able to come back...
( Homesick before leaving? )
So I think next week we'll see the wedding, and maybe get Fumie's first reaction to her new home.

a.k.a. we've met, now let's get married!

Everyone is eating at the miai. Shigeru picks up a bowl of kai (shellfish), looks at it, and comments that it's hard to get in Tokyo. He talks a little with Genbee about his work on manga. Kinuyo (Shigeru's mother)  tries to hush Shigeru. Genbee makes a joke, and there is general laughter.

Then the matchmaker sneezes. And they realize that the little oil stove in the corner has gone out. The sister-in-law tries to pump it -- the voiceover explains that the oil stoves at that time required pumping to get the pressure. Then Genbee tries. Fumie is fretting, making hand motions... and suddenly says let me do it and stands up. Everyone looks up and up at her...
( And next we set a date? )
Next, Miyako is on the phone. The brothers are scrambling. Miyako gets off and tells Fumie that she goes to the beauty shop tomorrow (26th). Fumie writes it on the calendar, along with a red circle on the 28th and 30th. Wedding bells in store?

To be continued...

a.k.a. worries and preparations

The sister-in-law (very pregnant) and Fumie are sitting by the river singing. They laugh, and the sister-in-law said she wants to meet someone who draws manga. Fumie seems hesitant, and the sister-in-law asks whether she doesn't want to have the wedding interview?
( Do you really want to do this? )
Fumie with a radish face pack, wondering what kind of man he is...

To be continued

aka last-minute hesitation...

Fumie running into her home... What's wrong? Mother? Sister having baby? Are you sick? No, no, the matchmaker is coming! But Father has instructions -- let's do this carefully. You kneel outside, slide the door open, I'll introduce you, then you slide the door shut. Don't stand up!
( Do you really want to do this? )
I guess this was a sort of "refusal of the call" episode. Although it seems more like a hesitation or hiccup than a real refusal?

aka Don't count your chickens before they hatch

Fumie was daydreaming in sewing class about getting married, and we saw a little clip of her at the cake shop with the handsome boy calling her... which turned into her friend trying to get her attention, because the teacher wanted to talk to her. Then Fumie explained to the teacher that she can't take the teaching position, and the teacher said it's too bad but of course if she's getting married... They'll look for someone else, but if her situation changes, please let the teacher know. Fumie went back to the small group of girls and they all congratulated her on the wedding interview. The teacher ordered them to be quiet.
( What happened then? )
And Fumie was sitting with her sewing machine, with her dreams broken. Grandma interrupted, and took Fumie into her room. Grandma got out a hairpin. She said she was going to give this to Fumie for her miai, but she wanted to give it to her now for her marriage. Fumie said there probably won't ever be one, no one wants a tall girl. Grandma reassured her that someone is out there. And she said that her mother gave her the hairpin for her marriage, and now...

I have to admit, these are nice slice-of-life episodes, good background, but I feel as if I haven't yet gotten engaged with the basic story. Somehow they're building a character, but I'm missing the underlying story. That may be because it's based on a biography, but I wish they would have spent a little more time building up a story to hang the characters and background on. 15 minute episodes... I think they need a really strong hook, and I haven't seen one yet.