I attended a talk event with Erika Yoshida, the screenwriter of 'Tora ni Tsubasa'

On December 14, 2025, I went to listen to a conversation held at the Chiba Prefectural Lifelong Learning Center between Erika Yoshida, the screenwriter of 'Tora ni Tsubasa' (Tiger and Wings), and Hiroko Goto, a board member and vice president of Chiba University. I have had an AI summarize the various notes I took. Even for those who have never seen 'Tora ni Tsubasa,' the arguments are easy to understand, so please take a look.

What did 'Tora ni Tsubasa' want to convey?

The core of this conversation is 'the importance of speaking up' and 'questioning the "taken-for-granted" norms in society.'

1. The beginning of the drama and the focus on 'Article 14 of the Constitution'

Ms. Yoshida had a strong commitment to the opening scene (the first cut) of the drama.

• 【Drama scene explanation: The Constitution by the riverbank】

  • What kind of scene is it?: The story begins with a scene where the protagonist, Tomoko (nicknamed Tora-chan), is reading a newspaper by the riverbank. That newspaper features the newly enacted 'Constitution of Japan,' specifically 'equality under the law (Article 14).'

  • Ms. Yoshida's intention: Usually, morning dramas often follow a chronological order starting from 'childhood,' but she intentionally chose not to do that and wanted to start with 'Article 14 of the Constitution (All of the people are equal under the law...)' instead. This was to declare that this drama is 'a story that turns its eyes toward the hardships of women's lives and those who have been excluded from society.' Although Tomoko is in a privileged environment, she wanted to structure the story so that she faces social inequality with the ideal of the 'Constitution' as her axis.

2. The meaning behind the famous catchphrases 'Hate?' and 'Sun'

They also talked about the unique expressions that frequently appear in the drama.

• 'Hate?' (Huh?)

  • A catchphrase Tomoko uses when she cannot accept something. It is a signal that 'it is okay to be angry when something is wrong' and 'it is okay to feel uneasy.' It is also a phrase used to avoid giving up on dialogue with others.

• 'Sun' (The sound of shutting down)

  • An onomatopoeic word representing the state in which women shut their hearts, kill their emotions, and fall silent in unreasonable situations.

  • Message: It contains the wish that instead of blaming those who 'shut down,' people should notice the social structure that forces them to do so.

3. The scene that received the most response: 'Not handing over the bouquet'

The most exciting part of the conversation was the episode where Tomoko refused to present a bouquet to her mentor.

• [Drama Scene Analysis: Refusing the Bouquet]

  • Background: Tomoko had a mentor named Professor Hodaka. However, when Tomoko was pregnant, Professor Hodaka deeply hurt her by saying, "You are going to be a parent now (so you should quit your job and focus on your family)," effectively cutting off her career.

  • Scene Content: Time passes, and a retirement celebration is held for Professor Hodaka. The atmosphere is filled with the expectation that "Tomoko, as a woman, should present the bouquet to create a clean, reconciliatory image." However, Tomoko refuses this role. She rejects it, saying, "I will not hand over the bouquet," choosing to remain angry at the professor.

  • Yoshida's Intent: In society, women are too often forced to "read the room" and "act like an adult," making them "somehow reconcile" with people who have treated them unreasonably (Yoshida describes this as an act of "closing the lid on the gates of hell"). This scene was infused with a strong message: "You don't have to force yourself to forgive things that are unforgivable," and "Women don't have to take on the role of smilingly handing over a bouquet to smooth things over."

4. "Care Work" and "Sisterhood (Solidarity among women)"

Through the character of "Hanae-chan," Tomoko's sister-in-law, the drama rejected the oppositional structure of "working women vs. full-time housewives.".

• Hanae-chan's Role: Tomoko is able to work hard outside because Hanae-chan is there to protect the home and care for the family. Both "working" and "caring (housework and childcare)" are depicted as noble and as partners (solidarity) that should respect each other.

5. Stance on facing children (Juvenile Law and Family Court)

The latter half of the discussion touched upon themes like "Family Court" and "juvenile crime."

• Not looking down on children: The importance of facing children as equals, as human beings, rather than looking down on them as "immature because they are children," was discussed.

• [Drama Scene Commentary: Dinner of Sweets]

  • Scene content: There is a scene where Torako is busy with work and doesn't have the energy to cook dinner, so she and her daughter decide, "Let's just eat sweets today!"

  • Yoshida-san's intention: This is a message that "making a warm, home-cooked meal is not the only correct answer." She depicted that it is more important to be released from the curse that a mother's love equals home cooking, and that sometimes it is more important to cut corners and spend time smiling with your child.

Conclusion of the talk: A warning to a society that hasn't changed even after 100 years

Vice President Goto and Yoshida-san shared the sentiment that "even though nearly 100 years have passed since the era of the drama (Showa), Japan today still faces similar issues (gender inequality, selective separate surnames for married couples, etc.)."

• The most frightening people are those who are unaware and think, "I don't discriminate against anyone."

• We must not give up on dialogue (asking "Why?") and need to change society, even if it's little by little.

The talk concluded with this sense of hope for the future and the raising of these issues.

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Although I may have missed writing some things down,
it was a very educational talk event.
Thank you to the organizers.

This might be a bit of an ethical question, but
the values that "discrimination" is evil and "equality" is good,
I am left with the question of when these values were born in the world and when they were born in Japan.
I will look into it when I have time.

Well then.