The first episode of the drama series " Taigan no Kaji ~Kore ga, Watashi no Ikiru Michi~" (TBS, Tuesdays at 10pm), starring actress Mikako Tabe , aired on April 1st. The words spoken by full-time housewife Murakami Shiho (Tabe) to "working mom" Nagano Reiko ( Noriko Eguchi) became a hot topic on social media.
◇The following contains spoilers
With her husband (Kenshiro Kawanishi) working late into the night, Reiko is left to raise the children on her own. One night, Reiko is pushed to the brink of "game over" by the need to juggle her work and housework, and goes alone to the roof of her apartment building. Shiho, who happens to be passing by, secretly follows Reiko.
Seeing Reiko looking exhausted and about to jump off at any moment, Shiho called out, "Umm!" "I know! The night view from here is pretty beautiful, isn't it? I come here to see it sometimes too. Do you want to climb up there?" she invited.
"You're not supposed to climb up there," said Reiko, confused. Shiho replied, "It's okay! I often climb up there to relax!" Even so, Reiko said, "You'll probably get in trouble for this," to which Shiho replied, "It's okay. Even if you get in trouble, it's better than having the game over, even if you break the rules a little."
Reiko had previously made fun of Shiho, a full-time housewife, by saying, "You can do housework on the side while working. Full-time housewives are an endangered species."
"I couldn't do housework without taking one step. There were days when I only ate ready-made meals and I always took shortcuts. After putting the kids to bed, I did the laundry and then did some work I'd brought home from work, and it was already 1 or 2 in the morning when I finished. I lay down, closed my eyes, and when I opened them, it was already morning. It was the same thing every day. I dreaded the morning coming," she confessed.
Shiho, who was listening, was shown saying, "It's just housework. It's okay to cut corners. We'll manage it. As long as Nagano-san is healthy."
On social media, people were talking about the topic, saying things like, "'It'll be fine, as long as Nagano is doing well.' I suddenly heard this line on TV and it encouraged me. I think I'll watch it every week," "How can a full-time housewife call something that takes up everything in her life just housework? She has such a generous heart," "It's just housework, but it's still housework, but Shiho's words, 'As long as Nagano is doing well,' must really resonate with Nagano right now," and "It's ok, you don't have to be so perfect...these days there are pre-made meals that are packed with nutritional value so it's ok to cut corners."
The show is based on the novel "Taigan no Kaji" (Kodansha Bunko) by Akeno Kayoko. It depicts the "endless work" of housework through the protagonist's interactions with "people on the other side of the river" who have different positions and ways of thinking. This will be Tabe's second time starring in the same time slot, five years after "My Housekeeper Nagisa-san" (2020).
