Warotenka

Synopsis

The late Meiji era was a time when the mercantile city Osaka prospered tremendously. Fujioka Ten was born into a family that runs Fujiokaya, a long-established drug wholesale business in Kyoto. She always makes the people around her smile brightly. She also laughs easily by nature and would burst into laughter at the pranks of her siblings Shinichi and Rin who love playing practical jokes, at the expense of important business discussions. But one day, Ten is ordered by their strict father Gihei not to smile in front of people. So she sulkily spends time at home without cracking a smile. At that moment, she meets Kitamura Tokichi, an itinerant entertainer, with a love for laughter and this transforms her life. Tokichi loves traditional performing arts and teaches her that laughter is the medicine that gives people the power to be happy. Ten falls in love with him. Shrugging off the opposition of her parents, she runs away to Osaka with Tokichi. He is actually the eldest son of a rice dealer in Osaka Semba so it is far from easy for the two of them to be permitted to marry. Moreover, he greatly fails in his attempt to save his family business and ultimately ruins it through neglect as a result of his deepening love for traditional performing arts. This prompts Ten to suggest making a business out of comedy. And so the couple who are little more than amateurs, begin their great adventure to make not only the people of Osaka but also Japan laugh.

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