The popular Japanese television series “Oshin” is now being broadcasted on the local television channel Caribbean New Media Group (CNMG). This broadcast will be aired every Tuesday from 4:05pm to 4:20pm.
Oshin originally aired on the broadcaster NHK from April 4, 1983 to March 31, 1984 as a Japanese serialized morning television drama. The series chronicled the life of Shin Tanokura during the Meiji period up to the early 1980s. Shin was called “Oshin”, which is Japanese archaic cognomen.
In total, 297 15-minute episodes were shown. In Japan, the annual average audience share was 52.6%, with a peak rating of 62.9% for a single episode. As of today, Oshin airs in 59 countries, with subtitle ranging from English to Arabic.
The drama centres on the life of its heroine, Oshin. Born in 1901 in a remote mountain village to a poor family of tenant farmers, Oshin is sent by her father at the tender age of seven to work as a servant girl for another family. At the age of 18, Oshin returns to her own family, only to discover that her father wants her to work as a bar maid. Asserting her independence, Oshin instead sets out alone for Tokyo to begin a life of her own.
The story continues through the years up to the present, and follows Oshin's life and struggles: her marriage, her daughter's death, her husband's deep commitment to Japan's war effort and his suicide at the end of the war, and her eventual success as the founder and owner of a supermarket chain.
Played as it is against the backdrop of the events of the 20th century and with the many characters who enter and leave Oshin's life, the drama is more than just a story of one Japanese woman; it is a story of Japan itself.
Format: Biography, Drama
Created by: Sugako Hashida
Starring:
Ayako Kobayashi
Yuko Tanaka
Nobuko Otowa
Izumi Pinko
Shiro Ito
Masatoshi Nakamura
Tsunehiko Watase
Narrated by: Tomoko Naraoka
Country of Origin: Japan
Language(s): Japanese
No. of episodes: 297
Production: Executive Producer: Yukiko Okamoto
Camera setup: multi-camera
Running time: 15 minutes per episode, across 297 episodes
Broadcast:
Original Channel: NHK
Picture format: NTSC Interlace
Original run: April 4, 1983- March 31, 1984
Embassy of Japan in Trinidad and Tobago 