Forum - View topicWe Rent Tsukumogami (TV).
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shosakukan
Posts: 292 |
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The sister-and-brother performers Tenhō and Tenten in Oh! Edo Rocket are onmitsu who serve Tōyama Kinshirō. ('Tenhō, Tenten' is wordplay on Kinkyūshirei 10-4・10-10, the title of a tokusatsu TV show which was broadcast in Japan in the 70s.) Onmitsu are spies or secret agents. Heizō in We Rent Tsukumogami is okappiki (This job was also called meakashi or goyōkiki). In the Edo period, machi-bugyōsho (the governmental offices, especially of Edo, which were something like an amalgam of the police, the court, and the municipal office) did not necessarily have many police officers. So dōshin (low-ranking officials of machi-bugyōsho) who did police work privately employed commoners, who were not samurai, under the pretext of employing them as navvies who carried luggage, but in fact dōshin used those hired commoners as unofficial police constables. These unofficial police constables whom dōshin privately employed were okappiki/meakashi/goyōkiki. Hanshichi Torimonochō by Okamoto Kidō is set-in-Edo mystery stories in which goyōkiki Hanshichi solves mysteries, and they are a classic in the torimonochō mystery subgenre. A good point of Hanshichi Torimonochō is that the readers can also enjoy things like manners and customs, language and culture, scenery and atomosphere of the Edo period. Hatakenaka Megumi, the creator of We Rent Tsukumogami, was a pupil of famous mystery writer Tuduki Michio, and Tuduki Michio, who liked Edo-period stuff, admired Okamoto Kidō. (Tuduki Michio, too, wrote mystery stories set in the Edo period.) So in a sense Hatakenaka Megumi may be a pupil of Okamoto Kidō's pupil. I read Hanshichi Torimonochō in the original, but it has some English translations. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0824831004/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/1933606037/ |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2834 |
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#6
First episode which isn't a Tsukumogami introductory showcase is a fun one; the supposed playboy and his infatuation with the sweets shop poster girl gets another airing. The former despite his wealth is absolutely hopeless with wooing girls and hasn't made any real progress with Ohana despite his delusions. What I really like about this episode is its retelling of the classic tale of the peasant getting wealthy via barter exchange of a simple, unwanted item to something more. First time I'd read this was in a different context, so it's nice to see the tale used in this series. Very fitting considering the lending shops essentially work on the same principle as the peasant in that tale, only with less profit and more sustainable because of the lend-lease principle. In addition, more exposition on Okou, Satarou and the Suou incense burner in question. Turns out Okou has a highly competitive streak and really doesn't like being bullied around by others who happen to be born with better material advantages. Just as well they had previous experience going for big money in a short time; although in this episode the Tsukumogami were more than happy to assist which shortened the timeframe required considerably. Cast members like Katsusaburou look like they get infrequent airings in this series, which is nice since it reinforces the notion that Edo is as big as the people as you know on a personal and professional level. Next week will get another guest Tsukumogami and possibly a formal request to the Izumo shop to resolve strange happenings relating to the sentient objects. It's a familiar pattern, but one I'm used to and looking forward to watch each week. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2834 |
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#7
This week's tale about the restaurant owner and his attempt at revenge is a very good one. A tale which is easy to relate to, especially when viewers find out all is not what it seems between Tokubei and Ookuyama. For good measure, the setting is in Nihonbashi which is where Okou used to live. The dream sequence even shows why Okou ended up moving in with Seiji as his adopted older sister as her household was one of the victims of the great fire. If the early scene of Seiji in Nihonbashi is any indication, then it looks like Satarou has returned to Edo and based on next week's trailer has made contact with Seiji without Okou's knowledge. Unlike the conventional Tsukumogami, Urayanagihagi is only sentient because a ghost possessed the incense burner. Without the ghost inhabiting its vessel, the incense burner reverts to being an ordinary item so it'll need the requisite number of years under the Izumo owners or others before it has a chance of becoming sentient in its own right. This week's guest Tsukumogami, Nuregarasu, looks like a teapot. One interesting tidbit about this series which is mentioned in passing is the ability of Tsukumogami to converse with ghosts, which is put into devastating effect as Ookuyama gets his just desserts. Now that the restaurant owner Tokubei is now a professional acquaintance with the Izumo proprietors, he might turn up again in future episodes like Souemon and Katsusaburou. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2834 |
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#8
The series has mostly been light-hearted, with last week being the first time some of the darker themes in life are briefly touched on in this series. But this week probably won't be topped as the most melancholic of all the episodes to air to date. Kounosuke's request to investigate the background of a seaweed merchant who is good to him throws up a very surprising denouement to this week's mystery. I'm not good at working out the solution to mysteries like these, but after learning Hansuke's secret it's hard not to feel sorry especially when Hansuke finds out something else when Kohana and Kounosuke were both on the cruise boat. Goi takes his role as a matchmaker very seriously, so it's not a surprise he doesn't like it when he makes one connection at the expense of breaking another. Without his story there is absolutely no way Seiji (and the audience) could make the connection since there was nothing to go on bar the initial reaction on the cruise. I wouldn't be surprised if there were real-life examples like Hansuke in the past, but with contemporary society norms back then making it big with that huge a secret would have been next to impossible. There aren't many extant examples of individuals who led such a double life, but there is no doubt it would have been a hard one no matter how commercially successful it was. The restaurant owner is back again next week. On top of that there's a pivot back to the main storyline to boot. No guest Tsukumogami this week but there might be one next week since there are still a few of them from the OP who haven't made their bows. |
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Panino Manino
 Posts: 734 |
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#10
Still my little beloved gem, it only gets better. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2834 |
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#11
A lot certainly happened in this episode. Besides the romantic subplots which have received a considerable push in the right direction, Hansuke's story gave Seiji a route out of the mystery that's been surrounding the mystery of Suou since the last few episodes. It's sheer chance that brings Tsukuyomi and the two previously unintroduced guest Tsukumogami from the OP together, but the former's love of chatting is the trigger that brings everything to a head. Even the retelling of what happened between Satarou, Seiji and Okou prior to Satarou's departure has perfect timing as far as the adaptation is concerned. With that flashback, everything that happened between the trio right up to Satarou's departure is now known, which is just as well as the trailer for next week's final episode has revealed Seiji's hunch to be perfect timing. One more to go, and I'll be sorry to see this adaptation end. I wonder how it's all going to end, but interest in the franchise should be picking up now that a manga adaptation of the work is now retailing at present in Japan. |
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Panino Manino
Posts: 734 |
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Fim.
I liked seeing Seiji "cucking" Sataro on his face. Not the more memorable but even so very honest, very well made. [/img] |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2834 |
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#12
The big finale, and it doesn't disappoint. Satarou has indeed returned to Edo after making enough of a fortune to open his own shop. His efforts to make it up to Okou ended up being for nought though. It's a little silly to end up in the situation the uncle and nephew found themselves in, but I suppose the Iida clan might be looking for a new clerk sooner or later. One of the big ironies was always seeing Okino featured in the OP, but she never made another reappearance in this series. At least until the short cameo this week when she was asked about Satarou's whereabouts. It seems not much time has passed since the debtor episode and this week's. The reward money was more than enough to pay off the principal on the fisherman's debt. Also, this episode is the first and last time the items will ever talk to a human. No way Okou could have found Seiji or learnt about his condition otherwise. Considering how Notetsu has always assumed humans as callous and superficial, it shows how much he trusts the pair as owners that he'd break the unwritten rule between the two worlds in addition to volunteering to tag along with Seiji on his shop hunt. Speaking of Tsukumogami, who was the sixth addition to the regular five in the shop? Hopefully there's another adaptation so that it gets properly introduced. Of all the series I've watched over the last quarter, this was the one I always looked forward to each week the most. Never a dull moment and clever use of recurring characters with distinctive personalities recreates a colourful Edo of the Tokugawa period with the supernatural Tsukumogami usually stealing the show with their comedy antics. If there's another adaptation, I'll be eagerly looking forward to it. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11340 |
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That was a very nice wrap up. Looks like everyone got a reasonably happy ending except Satarou, though I feel like he kinda was asking for it, since he seemed to take it for granted that Okou would just be hanging about waiting for him, which I don't think she ever said she would, at least not in so many words. I hope it gets another season.
Best character though was Hansuke, who reminded me a little of Olympia Dukakis as Anna Madrigal in Tales of the City - just quietly elegant and enjoying life. I could watch a whole series just centered around this character. 
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