Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55
sylia74
Member
Global user
Registered: 08-2006
Location: Hollywood
Posts: 223
|
|
Quote
|
|
J-Drama: 篤姫 (Atsu-hime)
I have a hard time believing that the real Tensho-in didn't intentionally deny Kazunomiya a seat cushion to put her in her place. Regardless of what her background was Tensho-in is still technically Kazunomiya's mother in law and above her in rank. What better way to put someone in their place if they had been acting difficult with the attendants, etc. I was surprised that they glossed over how long Kazunomiya's trip to Edo took, how many thousands of people were in her entourage, and what a strain on the poor people who lived along Nakasendo Highway it was to accomodate them. I think that for the purpose of this taiga drama they made Tensho-in a lot nicer than the real woman. I'm sure the real Tensho-in never apologized about that situation either.
|
|
10/8/2008, 5:17 pm
|
|
Hiroshi66
Moderator
Global user (premium)
Registered: 02-2004
Location: Northridge, California
Posts: 8798
|
|
Quote
|
|
Re: J-Drama: 篤姫 (Atsu-hime)
Nchristi, that's true -- since Kazu is the emperor's sister and thus a member of the royal family, she would have a much higher social rank than Atsu (who was originally a member of the Shimazu branch family). I think this may be the reason why Kazu and the attendants from Kyoto were so angry with the idea of Atsu sitting in a higher seat (with a cushion) than Kazu. Its pretty interesting because in the Tokugawa family's traditional social ranking, the MIL has a higher rank, so I guess that's why Atsu told Kazu at the end of the episode that because she married into the Tokugawa family, she must follow their rules and honor her MIL (even though Kazu's social rank is one of the highest in Japan).
Sylia74, that's a good point -- I wish we had seen more of Kazu's trip along the Nakasendo Highway from Kyoto to Edo. That must have been some trip! It must have been so difficult for all the people carrying the heavy palanquins and personal belongings of the princess and the attendants all the way from Kyoto to Edo.
By the way, I was re-watching one of the earlier episodes where Atsu had first entered the Ooku, and I noticed something interesting during the scene where Atsu was meeting for the first time with her mother-in-law, Lady Honjuin. Atsu had the higher seat, while Lady Honjuin was sitting below her! I thought that Honjuin would have to sit in the higher position, since she was Atsu's MIL and thus had a higher rank within the Tokugawa family.
|
|
10/9/2008, 5:14 am
|
|
nchristi
Moderator
Global user (premium)
Registered: 03-2004
Location: Hotel California
Posts: 8809
|
|
Quote
|
|
Re: J-Drama: 篤姫 (Atsu-hime)
class blockquote Hiroshi66 wrote:
...I was re-watching one of the earlier episodes where Atsu had first entered the Ooku, and I noticed something interesting during the scene where Atsu was meeting for the first time with her mother-in-law, Lady Honjuin. Atsu had the higher seat, while Lady Honjuin was sitting below her! I thought that Honjuin would have to sit in the higher position, since she was Atsu's MIL and thus had a higher rank within the Tokugawa family. Very interesting, indeed, Hiroshi! It would appear that even in the Tokugawa rules of etiquette, being married to the Shogun makes one of higher rank than one's MIL. Or perhaps that was only in a public reception hall? When Atsu visited her MIL in the back quarters, was Lady Honjuin in the higher position?
The relationship between Kazu and her Shogun husband is interesting, since she is the Emperor's sister and outranks him by their rules. But she seems to like him and might rather naturally fall into the role of being very deferential to him as her husband.
BTW, what are their ages at this time? Sorry if this has been covered already. I just can't remember at the moment. 
(Thank you, Hiroshi for answering my "rank" question above.)
|
|
10/9/2008, 11:04 am
|
|
brad6
Member
Global user
Registered: 07-2004
Posts: 2266
|
|
Quote
|
|
Re: J-Drama: 篤姫 (Atsu-hime)
nchrsti,
Hiroshi posted that they were both 16 when they married. also I asked about Atsu and she was about 27 at tht time. Seems so strange to me that she is playing the role , as in real life, of being the shogun's mother.
No wonder she did not seem to get older in looks.
Peg
|
|
10/9/2008, 1:29 pm
|
|
Hiroshi66
Moderator
Global user (premium)
Registered: 02-2004
Location: Northridge, California
Posts: 8798
|
|
Quote
|
|
Re: J-Drama: 篤姫 (Atsu-hime)
Atsu-hime: Episode #35
Hidden Dagger
 
For one thing, it looks like there's more and more conflicts between Tenshoin and the Kyoto faction in the Ooku (consisting of Kazunomiya, Lady Niwata, and Lady Kangyoin). Kazunomiya and the others were refusing to pray to the Tokugawa family ancestors at the altar in the morning (even when Iemochi was present). I found it shocking that Kangyoin told Takiyama that from here on out, Kazunomiya was not to be referred to as "Her Ladyship", but as "Princess"! Then the matter with the dagger... looks like it only turned out to be a mirror. I was surprised when Tenshoin tried to physically remove the shiny object from Kazunomiya's kimono.
Lady Honjuin and her attendant/sidekick, Utahashi, are back! Those two are hilarious. They're now trying to blame Tenshoin for Kazunomiya's behavior.
It was nice to see Takiyama and Tenshoin have a nice and leisurely talk. Even though Takiyama has been around in the Ooku ever since Atsu first married Iesada, she hadn't had the chance to really befriend Tenshoin. It was nice to Takiyama mention that she would want to remain in the Ooku for the rest of her life, by Tenshoin's side. Like Ikushima before her, I think Takiyama is a very loyal friend and confidante to Tenshoin. Same with Shigeno.
Back in Satsuma...
Ouch, Hisamitsu was not a very happy camper in this episode! I was shocked to see Saigo so directly insult him, even referring to him as a "bumpkin" who was not aware of Edo politics (unlike Nariakira). It was amusing to see Saigo simply express his discontent about marching to Kyoto/Edo and then exiting the room, leaving Okubo and Naogoro to deal with Hisamitsu's temper.
It was sad to see Hisamitsu's treatment of Atsu's mom and brother. Rather than allow Atsu's brother to head the Imaizumi Shimazu family, Hisamitsu ordered his fifth son to be adopted by the Imaizumi family and thus replace Atsu's brother as head. I wonder why Hisamitsu doesn't trust them and believes that they will be discontent with his decision to reform the shogunate? In any event, I thought it was interesting that Hisamitsu sent Naogoro to notify the Imaizumi family of this turn of events. I think Hisamitsu might have been simultaneously testing Naogoro's loyalty to him and the Satsuma clan. As Hisamitsu expressed, he was well aware that Naogoro was close to the Imaizumi family.
I'm glad that Shogun Iemochi and Kazunomiya were able to grow closer together by the end of the episode. While part of the reason might have been because she was no longer being suspected of carrying a dagger, I think another reason was that she and Iemochi were alone in their bedroom (rather than being surrounded by pages and attendants). I remember, the same thing happened with Atsu and Iesada. The two finally became closer when they were allowed to talk privately. It looks like we're seeing the same situation with Kazunomiya and Iemochi. They're able to be alone and talk openly about their feelings.
I was surprised how quickly Kazunomiya changed her mind about expelling the foreigners. Once Iemochi told her flat out that expelling the foreigners was impossible and would only bring war and disaster to Japan, Kazunomiya changed her mind and agreed with him. She said that it was "for the sake of Japan." I wonder how Lady Kangyoin and Lady Niwata, the Kyoto faction in the Ooku, would react if they ever found out about Kazunomiya's decision to support the Tokugawa policy of deeming it impossible to expel foreigners and to opening the country.
I noticed that after Kazunomiya's and Iemochi's heart-to-heart talk, Kazunomiya finally began to pray to the Tokugawa family ancestors at the altar! Tenshoin also looked very excited about it. The shocked and surprised look that Lady Niwata and Lady Kangyoin had when they saw this turn of events was hilarious... they probably hadn't expected Iemochi and Kazunomiya to get along at all!
That last scene was funny... as soon as Kazunomiya and the others saw Tenshoin, Shigeno, and Takiyama walking in the garden, they walked off to look at flowers in the opposite direction. I guess even though the relationship between Iemochi and Kazunomiya is closer, there's still a lot of tension in the Ooku!
We're now in March of 1862, and the Satsuma armies led by Hisamitsu, Okubo, and Naogoro, are marching to Kyoto/Edo to reform the shogunate. Saigo said he was told by Hisamitsu to meet them at the port of Shimonoseki (north of Satsuma). I wonder how the Tokugawa regime (especially Tenshoin) will react to this turn of events.
Episode 36 airs next Sat. (10/18)
|
|
10/12/2008, 8:51 am
|
|
Add a reply
Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55
|
You are not logged in (login)
11/30/2009, 5:28 am
|
|
|
Las Vegas Vacations