Manpei-san from the Morning Drama 'Manpuku' and My Husband

The morning drama for the first half of 2018 was 'Manpuku,' which was based on the lives of Momofuku Ando, the inventor of Nissin Cup Noodles, and his wife, Masako Ando.

I often stop watching morning dramas halfway through, but 'Manpuku' was one of the few I watched until the very end.

I had learned a little about Momofuku's great achievements and life, as it was covered in books like the 'Hajime Hajime Monogatari' found in elementary school libraries.

However, I was stunned by the sight of him preparing pots, stoves, and experimental tools with the sole intention of 'making sure everyone is full,' starting in his own kitchen and eventually building a shed to immerse himself in his experiments.

This... his wife must have had it so tough...

But in the show, Fukuko (modeled after Masako), played by Sakura Ando, is always smiling, encouraging and cheering on Manpei (modeled after Momofuku), played by Hiroki Hasegawa.

What impressed me throughout the drama was that Fukuko was always full of energy and smiling, and I think that's why I, as a viewer, felt energized and was able to enjoy it for half a year without getting bored.

I have the impression that Sakura Ando herself is that kind of powerful woman.

I heard that she was filming when her daughter was one year old, and they lived in a hotel together, and she even brought her daughter to the set to get through the filming; hearing about the behind-the-scenes, I was overwhelmed by Sakura-san's power.

While watching this drama about an incredible couple, I felt a sense of déjà vu that made my blood pressure rise.

My husband at the time was exactly like Manpei-san.

He bought a huge device and was working in the kitchen to extract extracts and oils from various trees.

He was fired up, saying that if this went well, he could make essential oils using trees from the prefecture!

Day and night, the scent of cedar and spicebush (kuromoji) drifted through the house.
Kuromoji certainly has a lovely scent, and that was when I discovered its charm.

But I was busy raising children and couldn't really bring myself to go along with my husband's dreams.

I would coldly say things like, 'Isn't someone already doing that?'

My husband needed a Fuku-chan, but I was just a wife who frowned at her husband, a dreamer who always seemed unrealistic.

Eventually, my husband started talking to our children, who would listen to his dreams and even ask questions, saying 'Uh-huh, uh-huh.'

The drama was airing right around that time, and I was captivated by Sakura-san—or rather, Fukuko-san's—powerful cheering for her husband, and then I felt a bit of regret.

A wife who furrows her brow every time her husband talks about his dreams, saying 'Let's look at reality' or 'Take care of things around the house,' must have been a sad presence for him.

Since then, even if I think 'Huh...', I try to say, 'Why don't you give it a try?'

My husband is always thinking and moving, wanting to do something using forests, timber, and the prefecture's agricultural products.
I do have respect for his indomitable drive, which is just like Momofuku-san's.

If it weren't for the Ando couple, Cup Noodles wouldn't have been born, and the partners of Nobel Prize winners must have also been supporting their genius spouses with all their might, setting aside their own hardships.

I do think I'd like to take a leaf out of their book, even just a little.

Well, this year-end.

My husband looked at some soybeans he'd received from someone and said, 'I want to try making natto with these.'

While I was in Tokyo with a few of the children, my husband conducted an experiment where he mixed a little store-bought natto into steamed beans and let them sit for a few days to turn them into natto.

What caught my eye when I returned were natto packs placed here and there, and pots containing the experimental natto.

Wow.

But I channeled Fukuko-san and cheered him on with a smile.

A few days later.
Finally, I heard my husband's voice: 'It's done!'

All the beans had turned into natto, and my husband immediately ate some, saying, 'Delicious!' He even made natto soup.

'It's so warming! Yuru, you try some too.'

Ugh, sorry, I just can't...

I still couldn't fully become Fukuko-san.

But this morning, my eldest son, who had been helping with the natto experiment, said:

'I didn't really like large-grain natto before. But my perspective has changed. Soybeans are naturally large, aren't they? It really feels like a bean dish.'

I was actually quite moved, thinking that what my husband did had some significance if only for that reason.

Since the natto bacteria from the store-bought packs were weak, my husband says he's going to try again.

He even went to the library to copy a book about fermented beans from around the world, and it seems he wants to experiment with various other dishes from now on.

Aiming to be like Fukuko-san, I want to be a smiling, powerful wife too, but that might be a lifelong challenge.