TV Drama: Oh-Oku: Hana no Ran

“SERU ABISSS!” Hahaha, sorry, I couldn’t find a suitable synonym for that reaction in English. I was kind of bored with Black Jack ni Yoroshiku, so I tried to watch this taiga dorama instead. New problem aroused: I was hooked to the story and the casts.

I got the perfect description for the term “suka maen perempuan” when watching the Ue-sama’s (the shogun) embarking on his love adventures. Really, a quick glance of a pretty face would seem to do the trick for him. Lelaki oh lelaki…But I have to admit the shogun was quite handsome and nice looking for a “buaya darat” ;-p

This Oh-Oku series took place in the fifth Shogun Tsunayoshi reign. Oh-oku itself bore the resemblance of a sultan’s harem; in it, lived the shogun’s mother, the number one lady (official wife from a political marriage, came from a wealthy and powerful family) and the shogun’s concubines. From all of those ladies, the story revolved mostly on the shogun’s mother who have the biggest power in Oh-Oku, the main lady who felt stripped from her rightful position because she haven’t bore any children, Oden the ambitious concubine who gave the shogun two children, and a new concubine—the shogun’s true love—Yasuko.

Just like Indonesian sinetron that revolves on the theme of inheritance feud, the men here were almost puppets-like where as the women play as the puppeteers. The shogun was so helpless against his mother; she always pressed him with religious threats such as the country will be damned if he don’t obey, etc.

But over all, the mother didn’t constrained her son from other mischiefs as long as they didn’t interfere with her master plan. But the shogun’s typical mischief was the one that began the story. The shogun was visiting one of his loyal servant’s home when he requested the lady of the house—was a maid at Oh-oku—to “serve” him that night. Being the loyal servant, the husband swallowed his pride and granted this wish, while Yasuko the daughter and her husband were helpless to do any other. But the problem didn’t submit only for one night, the shogun kept coming again and again with the same request.

Ashamed and hurt, the lady committed seppuku, leaving the family into a devastated state. The drama didn’t stop there, hearing this tragic event and in order to “help” the family back on its knees, the shogun requested Yasuko to enter Oh-Oku as his concubine even though she’s already married. Yasuko agreed and answered this summon, with only one thing in her mind: revenge for the death of her mother. Complications rose when she realized how fragile the shogun really was, his true love for her and a child in her womb.

Oh yeah, must of course praised the three ladies on the main casts; while Rina Uchiyama who played Yasuko was really loveable, Norika Fujiwara showed her powerful acting as Nobuko, the main lady, she was really fit the description of Snow White's beautiful yet evil queen.

Eiko Koike as Oden also was notable, the twitch of her almost not visible eyebrows were the horror of the screens, really reminded me of Japanese lady ghost character. Brrr.....

Japanese title: Oh-Oku: Hana no Ran a.k.a. War of the Belles Casts: Rina Uchiyama, Norika Fujiwara, Shosuke Tanihara, Eiko Koike Genre: Taiga Dorama Language: Japanese Duration: 9 episodes Broadcast Network: Fuji TV, 2005 Theme Song: Shuraba by Tokyo Jihen
Source: www.ilbondrama.net; http://wiki.d-addicts.com