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Choyo no Jo(the beginning of childhood) and Komon-sama


It's been a while since Mito Komon aired. It is a long-running program that has been on the air for more than 40 years, having first aired in 1964, but many Japanese people, especially their middle aged men, watched the program on Mondays as an offering for drinks, and the scene in which they served inro(seal case) was very popular and it could have their grudge satisfied. At the beginning of the week, I think it's a good idea to quietly enjoy the good and punishing evil, but am I the only one who's hoping for a remake? The Mito domain was founded by Ieyasu's 11th son Yorifusa, the youngest of the three brothers of the Tokugawa family, and Mitsukuni, the second lord of the domain, was his second son. He and his older brother Yorishige were six years apart, and both were born to the same mother (Kyushoin), but their father Yorifusa ordered an abortion, so they were raised in hiding by his vassals, and they were recognized later in life.

There seem to be several reasons behind abortion, and I would like to write about it at another time, but I don't think you would have the nerve to order an abortion at least once, have a baby with the same woman, and then order an abortion again. It's not good to judge the past based on modern ethics, but what about this case? After Mitsukuni's raid, he adopted his own son (Yoritsune) to his older brother (Yorishige, lord of Takamatsu), and adopted his older brother's sons (Tsunakata and Tsunaeda) as his own heirs. Although the original order is reversed, we can see the bond he had with his older brother who was in a similar situation and shared hardships, and we can also feel the strong will and unique ethics of the prince who later began compiling "the history of Great Japan". On TV, he is said to have visited Takamatsu several times, and there is a line in which he expresses concern for his biological son, Yoritsune-dono, which is probably one of the highlights for history buffs (I know the background!).


On a different note, in Indiana Jones' Last Crusade, there was a scene where you had to correctly step on stones with letters of the alphabet written on them in order to get to the Holy Grail Hall (if he stepped on the wrong stone, it would collapse and he falls headlong into the abyss). I knew a little bit of Latin, so I watched the scene where Indy tries to spell Jesus Christ in order. I thought, there is no j in Latin, and the correct spelling for Jesus is "iesus." Indy was confused at first, but he calmed down and started stepping on the "i" and successfully passed, but this was a situation that only Westerners who learned Latin before high school could understand. The fun of this scene is to understand the background and feel among Japanese, I only might be able to understand it. Such situation never happens frequently, but it's fun.

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