Ep.18 A Table! ~Make and eat Historical Recipes~ pt.2
Written by Cordelia Shan; edited by Grace
In this episode, we will continue to talk about a Food TV dorama called A Table! ~Make and eat Historical Recipes~ (À Table!〜歴史のレシピを作ってたべる〜), part two. This time we will focus on the relationship and the interesting conversations that happen around the dinner table and in the kitchen.
Listen to full episode :
Summary
Different from the original work, the couple in the TV Show, Jun and Yoshio, who are making all the food based on the recipes from Professor Asuka Hamaguchi. Their life seems simple, not a lot of ups and downs. But, from Jun’s perspective, she is still trying to figure out their relationship.
To be honest, I was not 100% sure I understood what was the issue between Jun and Yoshio, since they did not talk about it directly in the show. What I have learnt is from the conversations Jun had with her aunt, Hiroko and Professor Asuka Hamaguchi.
Aunt, Obasan, Hiroko
In ep.9, Jun’s Obasan, Hiroko comes to visit her in Tokyo without any notice. Hiroko is the cool aunt you can find in a lot of families. You know, those cool ones. They left home early. They often travel a lot, don’t marry to meet expectations, are different from other females in their family, they are more independent, more free, love drinks, are passionate about food, and always have a cigarette in their hands when they tell stories, and the way how they hold the cigarette is always so charming and sexy. They are always the most unique ones, although everyone else in the family might be against their life choices or lifestyles, but they never allow themselves to just listen to what others say, but insist on being themselves.
Hiroko Obasan fits in every category above.
Upon her arrival, Jun and Hiroko Obasan make food based on Marco Polo’s journey’s path. They make cat-ear noodle soup, Venice dumplings, Mari-defired Salmon, and Oatmeal with a bottle of Japanese wine.
Hiroko Obasan shared about her trip to Mongolia when she was in university. She talks about the food she had, and the sky at night. Hiroko Obasan believes that personality is the key to one’s happiness, and she doesn’t agree that making decisions to endure or adapt is always correct for being an adult, but being true to oneself and good at drawing boundaries are the keys for being a happy adult.
Hiroko Obasan says, “even if no one understands you, you don’t have to care too much about them.”
Hiroko Obasan stays with Jun for several days when Yoshio is away. After makingMarco Polo’s recipes, they also made the recipes of Beethoven’s favorite foods.
They talk about how picky a person Beethoven was, but enjoyed the food that Beethoven preferred a lot. Then, they have a conversation about relationships around the dinner table, which I feel like we all need to hear.
Jun asks if Hiroko Obasan has ever thought about getting married.
Hiroko says, of course I did.
“Then, why not?”
Hiroko says, “oh well, I think to love someone needs effort and intelligence,” she pauses and then continues, “self-love requires effort, and to love others you need intelligence support. Love is not just give and take, it is how to give and what to take. Back then, I did not have both.”
Hiroko Obasan goes on, “Intelligence, knowledge, and literacy are three different things.”
“Knowledge is only to know about something. Intelligence is to use knowledge to make others, for example to help your partner gain happiness, and knowing how to give and what to take.Then, literacy is to judge whether intelligence is used on the right or wrong things. That’s why we learn and study, and use what we have learnt at work and in relationships to reflect on whether we did right or wrong. And then we learn again from those reflections as well.”
I cannot agree more. Hiroko Obasan’s coolness and independence can be very terrifying to those who just follow the crowd and do what they have been told to do. She owns her own life, she lives for herself. She never stops trying new things and never stops learning.
How powerful that she says, “Love is not just give and take, it is how to give and what to take.”
Jun listens to Hiroko Obasan’s talk in silence with no disagreement. I don’t think Hiroko Obasan criticizes Jun’s life neither her personality, or tries to give a lecture. She just wants to share more about her mysterious life with her niece.
Jun has a dream of becoming a nonfiction writer. She chooses to stay in academia because she is waiting for a chance to write more, but at the same time forgets about it once she gets comfortable with her own job. Her fears stop her from becoming the writer she wants to be.
With food and wine, Jun says to Hiroko Obasan, “there is no way I can become a writer, because I realized that I did not want to become a writer, I just wanted to become someone who has a unique skill, and is an expert in something.”
“Are you sure?” Hiroko Obasan asks.
“I wrote for a newspaper part-time before. I thought that if I could not become an essay writer, at least I could write light novels, but I don’t know why I got a full-time job at the university and stayed until today, like many others in my class. Working as a university staff member would give me time to write more, but… I just found an excuse for myself and allowed myself to stay settled at the job and get comfortable doing nothing.”
Does it sound familiar to all of us? I heard it, been here, and know how it felt. But I only allowed myself to be like that for three years during the COVID, right after that, I took action to change that, and it's still going on.
Hiroko Obasan listens and then asks back, “But, do you actually get more time to write more? If not, is it not too late to start writing again?”
“No way, it is too late.” Jun says with hopelessness.
And then Hiroko Obasan responds, “WHAT?! There is nothing that is too late, never, ever. I still have a lot of things I want to do,” and then Hiroko takes a deeper breath and says, “the opposite of success is not failure, is never trying or doing it.”
I cannot agree more.
About the Actress
Mikako Ichikawa, who portrays Jun, the lead actress for this TV show.
Mikako Ichikawa started her career in the entertainment world as a model. Her sister, Miwako Ichikawa is a model as well. Mikako first appeared in the fashion magazine as Miwako’s Sister in 1994.
In 1998 she debuted as a actress in a short film,
I started paying attention to her after watching Omameda Towako and Her Three Ex-Husbands. Ichikawa played Omameda Towako’s best friend who unified herself in the middle of the story.
I was impressed by her natural and relaxed acting, as well as her classy look.
Since then, I have been watching any show she is involved in. She has been in roles of strong, unique, and independent females which I appreciate the most.
Similar to Professor Asuka Hamaguchi, Jun asks her how she deals with her marriage when she and her husband live apart most of the time, just like how it sometimes happens between Jun and Yoshio.
Professor Asuka answers, “I did not get married because I was lonely, I got married for the partnership of building something together.”
This gives Jun a wake-up call and gets her to think about her marriage from another new perspective. Falling in love is not hard, the hard part is how to manage it or frosting it into a healthy one.
This is another TV Show about food, but it’s not just about food. Just like how food tells us about history, structures, and human relationships, this TV show tells us much more.
Another thing, I hope to highlight again to my dear listeners is, “The opposite of success is not failure, is never trying or doing it.” If you have some dreams or projects you have always wished to do, take action. Now is always the best time.
Reference
TV Show Website in Japanese: https://www.shochiku-tokyu.co.jp/atable/
TV Show trailer on Youtube: 「A Table！～歴史のレシピを作ってたべる～」最終話 番組紹介
TV Show Recipe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_table_recipe/
@a_table_recipe
The original book on Amazon Japanese site: https://amzn.asia/d/iuCydZX
