Oshin

Oshin
Created by	Sugako Hashida
Starring	Ayako Kobayashi Yūko Tanaka Nobuko Otowa Pinko Izumi Shiro Itō Masatoshi Nakamura Tsunehiko Watase
Narrated by	Tomoko Naraoka
Music by	Koichi Sakata
Country of origin	Japan
Original language(s)	Japanese
No. of episodes	297
Production
Executive producer(s)	Yukiko Okamoto
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	15 minutes per episode, across 297 episodes
Release
Original network	NHK
Picture format	NTSC Interlace
Original release	April 4, 1983 – March 31, 1984

Oshin (おしん^?) is a Japanese serialized morning television drama, which originally aired on NHK from April 4, 1983, to March 31, 1984. The 297 15-minute episodes follow the life of Shin Tanokura (田倉しん, Tanokura Shin^?) during the Meiji period up to the early 1980s. In the work, Shin is called Oshin, an archaic Japanese cognomen.

It was one of the country's most watched serials of all time and has aired in 68 other countries, with subtitles ranging from English to Arabic. In 1984, the earlier episodes of the drama (focused on young Oshin) were made into an animated movie by Sanrio. The movie reused Sugako Hashida's scripts, and Ayako Kobayashi, who played young Oshin, did Oshin's voiceover.

Oshin is based on the fictional biography of a Japanese woman, modeled after the mother of Kazuo Wada, a Japanese businessman who created Yaohan, a Japanese supermarket chain. The structure of the story was developed through a collection of anonymous letters assembled by Sugako Hashida (橋田壽賀子, Hashida Sugako^?). "It is the untellable past of a woman of the Meiji period, composed right on her deathbed," Hashida said. "I felt that the telling of her hardships while serving as an apprentice and being sold at a brothel was an obligation our generation needed to honor. However, the themes were so harsh and dark that the show was rejected by every [Japanese] television network. Even NHK opposed it.” Hashida said she was told "We can't confront Meiji issues." It was settled when then-station director Mikio Kawaguchi (川口幹夫, Kawaguchi Mikio^?) gave his approval.

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