Atsuhime (篤姫)

Frequently on Japanese television, there are period dramas which tell the stories of people in Japanese history.

One of those programs that's been running since before I arrived here in Kagoshima is Atsuhime.

The show was playing in the background as I was engaged with something on the computer, but I realized then that I wanted to remember the Atsuhime drama because I consider it to be part of the times now for me.

The story of Atsuhime and the fact that her story is now being aired on national television is something very special to the people here in Kagoshima prefecture. That is because Atsuhime was originally from Satsuma (former name of Kagoshima).

During the time it takes place, the clan ruling the Satsuma area was very strong unlike other clans located closer to the shogunate that were kept weaker in order to keep the shogunate in power. Satsuma was too far away to control as much as other areas. Naturally, one would conclude that this was a proud time for Kagoshima.

I'm having trouble feeling like I can explain this further very well, so here's the wikipedia article on the show.

For me, personally, I find the show a little hard to follow because of how quickly the characters speak and the heavy dose of polite language (keigo) that they use. Not to mention the fact that I haven't really took the time to watch each and every episode as it airs.

But it is something that the people here seem to take pride in and I think that's great.

Sometimes, though, I watch just the theme song sequence at the beginning because not only is the song absolutely beautiful, but also the images they choose to go along with the song.

Here's a YouTube video.



When I went with Aya, Jenny, and Kathryn to a big fireworks show in Kagoshima city, they put off fireworks to this song. It was really, truly amazing.

While I can't call myself a fan, I wrote this blog because it is something I want to remember when I am thinking about when my time living here in Japan had just begun.