Massan Episode 1

Episode 1: Going to Japan

Characters:

Kameyama Massaharu 'Massan': The titular main character who married a foreign woman while studying how to brew whiskey in Scotland

Ellie: A Scottish woman who married Massan

Sumire: Massan's youngest sister who appears accepting of her brother's choice in marriage problem

Kameyame Sanae: Massan's mother

Chikako: Massan's other sister (?)

The family clerk is met but I don't recall his name

--This is a Japanese morning drama so each episode is only 15 minutes long

1.Our story opens to a crowd of people sitting. On a table in the front are two things: a photo of a pretty blonde woman, smiling, and a bottle of whisky named 'Ellie'

2.The camera focuses on an elderly man who seems to have tears in his eyes as the whiskey receives international recognition for being really good whiskey. But his eyes are only on the photograph of the woman...

3.We are then transported to many, many years ago and in about a minute we learn, through narration and flashbacks, that a young Japanese man by the name of Massan traveled to Scotland to study about the ways to make whiskey. We also see he met a pretty woman, they fell in love, and were married. Ellie is her name, and she agrees to return to Japan with him.

4.Massan tells Ellie that his parents instantly approved of his marriage and look forward to meeting her, which help her commit to returning with him and ease her fears of meeting his parents

5.Ellie has studied very hard to learn Japanese but she still mispronounces some words, and while others know it is because she is still learning the language, it gives people some hesitation like 'did you say that?' but overall the people she meets are impressed with her mastery of the language

6.From the moment they set foot in Japan, heads turn left and right because foreigners, especially a foreign woman, are incredibly uncommon in Japan. I don't think anyone actually thinks that the two are married since it is such an alien idea.

7.Ellie repeatedly talks about how excited she is to meet his mother and Massan constantly changes the subject--already sending the message that MAYBE he wasn't quite so honest about them being excited--he is also uncomfortable, because the narrator reveals that Ellie deeply likes the fact that he is so honest. Welp.

8.It is truly funny to watch Ellie through her encounters as she meets people--Massan tries to hide his face in his home town it seems he is not only well known but he is referred to as 'master' by the townspeople, suggesting he is pretty important. He can't hide his face from his sister, Sumire, or an elderly man who is happy to see him.

9. Sumire immedietly guesses the nature of their romance and teases her brother about how afraid he must be to see their mother. Meanwhile, Ellie mistakes the old man--who is actually their clerk--for his father and warmly embraces him. The old man freaks out, and Ellie is initially surprised and then embarrassed to learn of her mistake. She greets Sumire with a hug, who is clearly uncomfortable but does not freak out

10.They reach his home, and she keeps talking about how excited she is to see his mother, and he keeps looking more and more uncomfortable. She gets a brief tour of the place where they make sake (bc that is what his family does) and a man who works there says she isn't allowed directly in the distillery. She is confused and asks why, and he doesn't even know why. He basically just says 'because you are a woman and that's the way it is'.

11.Another sister (?) appears and she immediately does not seem to warm up to Ellie. She ignores her and the couple is led to their mother's room. Ellie admires the flowers, and touches them--Massan panics and tells her not to touch them as they are his mother's work (she seems unaware of the tradition of Japanese flower arranging) and she accidentally knocks the vase over. While the two are hastily cleaning up the mess, a severe old woman enters--this is his mother. She wants to hug her but Massan yanks her to her knees and tells her she should not be so physical with people.

12. He then bows his head and tells his mother this is his bride. His mother is utterly flat and tells her point blank she will never accept a foreigner for a daughter-in-law. Ellie is shocked, and looks at Massan who can't look her in the eye....

Thoughts: This was really funny. And not in a cheesy way. The actors are good, and I really like the actress who portrays Ellie.

Background:
So this is based off of two very real people. To read the account of that, here is a link: http://justhungry.com/masataka-taketsuru-father-japanese-whiskey-and-his-two-loves

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