About JDrama: Gochisousan (2013-2014)

To live is to eat

(Uno Meiko)

Director: Kimura Takafumi and Kobayashi Daiji

Screenwriter: Morishita Yoshiko

Stars: Watanabe Anne, Higashide Masahiro, Takahata Mitsuki, Suda Masaki, Nishihata Daigo

Episodes: 150

Broadcast Network: NHK

Aired Time: Sept 30, 2013 until March 29, 2014

Sinopsis: Meiji 44th year. Meiko is the daughter of Daigo, who owns a western restaurant in Tokyo. She loves to eat the omelette prepared by Daigo, and the nukaduke (pickles) prepared by her mother, Iku. Theirs is a warm, close knitted family and Meiko's love for food grows with age. Even now, when she is in an all-girls' high school, her mind is filled with thoughts of food all the time. Due to that, Yutaro, the university student who is boarding at the Uno's home, scathingly calls Meiko; "a person with no charms whatsoever". However, as Meiko changes from someone who loves to eat, to a person who loves to prepare food for others to eat, she starts to display an inner strength as foretold by her mother and her grandmother, "To crave for food is to have the will to live. The stronger the craving, the greater the will". Those are the words that help to encourage Meiko and her loved ones as they go through all the trials and tribulations in the lives (NHK)

perfect omelette from episode 1

My second asadora after Oshin and this is about the food. Oh, how I love this asadora. For the very first time, this asadora presents you with a feast of food and gradually makes you drool over the food. The story of this asadora is also good. Since the setting is around Meiji era and Osaka, you can see the life of Japanese people in the past and also you will be encountered with Osaka accent everywhere. My admiration toward this accent is also adding up, somehow this accent makes the ones who say it kinda adorable, imo. Oh ya, the relationship between the hero and the heroine in this drama is also cute and it's not surprising that Watanabe Anne and Higashide Masahiro eventually married in the real life. They have a strong chemistry and I'd hope their marriage will be long lasting. Okay, back to drama. Since this is an asadora, then you'll an extra time to watch all of the episodes. 

even raw fishes look so good

But, since the running time per episode is just 15 minutes, then it won't be long to finish all episodes. Then, about the plot, this is basically about the life of Uno Meiko, from her childhood to her adulthood. She's married with Nishikado Yutaro and changed her name to Nishikado Meiko. She has a loving and warm childhood, gathered with people who care about her and filled her with good food and that's what makes her into a kindness and food-oriented person. Then, she meet a young man from Osaka, who later become her husband. Her life is changed, after she followed her husband to Osaka. During her marriage, she is faced by many obstacles but, she can pass them through with her strong determination and support from her loved ones. But then, the war makes everything worse and she has to meet with an unfortunate incident that makes her hated American so much. Yet, this thing is gradually change by the power over food. Food is not only made for eating, but it can be used by uniting people. Imo, this is the message that drama carried on. The journey of Meiko's life is full of happiness, sadness, and love which makes the drama lovable. The conflicts when Meiko started to live in Nishikado family are also heart-wrecking. I'd like to see the character of Kazue in this drama, the relationship between her and Meiko is never good but, eventually she is the one who support Meiko when Meiko lost her house during the war. Then, about Meiko itself, she's famous for being 'Gochisousan'. Gochisousan is taken from Gochisousama which means 'thank you for the food. She's the one who's not hesitate in sharing her food to the ones who need it. Even though, she has some rough situations, she never forget to give food to other people. I imagine how magnificent the character of Meiko, supported by the war situation which can be harsh for some people.

However, the food made by Meiko never failed to touch the people's hearts. Food is the source of life that help us to continue for living and you know for sure, that's the truth. Every single day, we need to eat to keep living yet, in the real life, it's sad that there are some people who can't eat properly, or worse, they died of starvation. This drama shows me the powerof food and not to waste food. In sum, this asadora is definitely recommended for everyone. You can see the Japanese people's life in the past, warmful relationship between Japanese people, and an abundance of delicious food.