Hello, I’m Shi-chan 😊 I’m an active clinical nurse sharing nursing knowledge. Today I break down NHK Morning Drama “Kaze, Kaoru” Episode 1 from a nurse’s perspective!
What you’ll learn:
✅ Episode 1 / Week 1 plot summary
✅ Cholera (korori) — the disease that shook Meiji Japan
✅ Isolation hospitals and modern infection control
✅ End-of-life care and grief care from a father’s death
✅ Oyama Sutematsu and learning to change the world
✅ Women in the Meiji era and the birth of nursing
“Learning becomes wings to navigate the world, and a sword to protect yourself.” Rin’s father Shinemon’s words — the drama’s origin and the essence of what it means to be a nurse.
- 📺 Chapter 1: Plot Summary
- 🦠 Chapter 2: What Was Cholera? The Disease That Shook Meiji Japan
- 🏥 Chapter 3: Isolation Hospitals — Separating the Infected
- 🌸 Chapter 4: Oyama Sutematsu — Learning to Change the World
- 💔 Chapter 5: Father’s Death — End-of-Life Care and Grief Care
- 👘 Chapter 6: The “Lady Goal” Board Game and the Birth of Nursing
- ❓ FAQ
- 💌 Shi-chan’s Message
- 📝 Summary
- Recommended Resources 🛒
📺 Chapter 1: Plot Summary
1882, Nasu region, Tochigi. 17-year-old Ichinose Rin (Mikami Ai) and sister An play a board game where the goal is “Becoming a Lady (Okusama)” — the entire Meiji ideal for women’s lives in one game.
“Becoming a Lady” as the goal sounds unbelievable today. But in the Meiji era, this was the socially accepted “happy life” for women. Rin will eventually break free — but Episode 1 is her entrance.
In Tokyo: Oke Naomi (Kamisaka Juri), an orphan earning 3 sen/day at a match factory, dreams of going to America. Two women from opposite worlds will eventually walk the same path.
Cholera — feared to kill 7 in 10 — breaks out nearby. In Episode 4, Rin’s father Shinemon contracts it. To protect his family, he voluntarily isolates himself in the barn. Rin folds paper cranes and sings to him from outside.
💬 Father’s last words: “Live. Rin. You will surely stir a gentle breeze.”
💬 The teaching behind the title: “Learning becomes, at times, wings to navigate the world, and a sword to protect yourself.”
“Stir a gentle breeze”… Is losing her father what drives Rin toward nursing?
Exactly. “If only I had medical knowledge” becomes her starting point. So many nurses were set in motion by exactly that kind of love for someone they lost.
🦠 Chapter 2: What Was Cholera? The Disease That Shook Meiji Japan
| Item | Details |
| Causative agent | Vibrio cholerae |
| Transmission | Oral infection via contaminated water/food |
| Symptoms | Rice-water diarrhea, vomiting, severe dehydration |
| Meiji fatality rate | Over 70% in some regions |
| Modern fatality rate | Under 1% with proper treatment |
| Year | Deaths |
| 1877 (Meiji 10) | ~13,000 |
| 1879 (Meiji 12) | ~105,000 |
| 1882 (Meiji 15) — drama setting | ~33,000 |
| 1886 (Meiji 19) — largest outbreak | ~108,000 |
People of the Meiji era fought desperately with whatever they had. Their efforts laid the foundation for modern infection control.
So Rin’s father was basically self-quarantining to protect the family…
Nursing Points — Infectious Gastroenteritis:
• Contact precautions (proper excretion disposal)
• Thorough hand hygiene
• Monitor urine output and vital signs
• Patient/family education on hydration
• Private room or cohorting
🏥 Chapter 3: Isolation Hospitals — Separating the Infected
Hibyoin (避病院) were Meiji-era facilities for forcibly isolating infectious disease patients, established under the 1880 Infectious Disease Prevention Rules. Feared as “places you go to die” — few staff, no family contact.
Being taken to a hibyoin was understood to mean you wouldn’t return. Rin’s father isolating himself voluntarily was a desperately loving act — protecting his family while controlling his own fate.
| Route | Examples | Key Precautions |
| Contact | Norovirus, MRSA | Gloves, gown, private room |
| Droplet | Influenza, COVID-19 | Surgical mask, maintain 1m+ distance |
| Airborne | TB, measles, varicella | N95 respirator, negative pressure room |
🌸 Chapter 4: Oyama Sutematsu — Learning to Change the World
Oyama Sutematsu (Tabe Mikako) traveled to America with the Iwakura Mission at age 6, studying nursing for ~11 years. She was one of the first women in Japan to receive formal nursing education, and Rin’s greatest role model.
Her fluent English earned her the nickname “Flower of the Rokumeikan.” But her true passion was transforming Japanese medicine and nursing.
💔 Chapter 5: Father’s Death — End-of-Life Care and Grief Care
Four Pillars of End-of-Life Care:
• Physical: pain management, oral care, repositioning
• Emotional: presence, listening, fulfilling wishes
• Spiritual: accompanying fears about death
• Family: grief care for bereaved family
Rin folding paper cranes and singing outside the barn — as a nurse, I thought: that IS end-of-life care. You can’t touch them directly, but staying near, communicating your presence — that alone makes someone feel they are not alone.
| Grief Stage | Applied to Rin’s Situation |
| ① Denial | Confusion when father confines himself to the barn |
| ② Anger | Rage at cholera |
| ③ Bargaining | Folding paper cranes, praying for a miracle |
| ④ Depression | Deep loss after father’s death |
| ⑤ Acceptance | Carrying father’s final words in her heart |
👘 Chapter 6: The “Lady Goal” Board Game and the Birth of Nursing
Nursing was one of the few legitimate ways for women to enter Meiji society: Nightingale’s image of “nursing as a woman’s calling,” demand from the Sino-Japanese/Russo-Japanese Wars, and the Japan Red Cross (founded 1877) training nurses.
| Year | Event |
| 1885 (Meiji 18) | Japan’s first nursing school (Tokyo Jikei Hospital) |
| 1890 (Meiji 23) | Japan Red Cross begins full-scale nurse training |
| 1899 (Meiji 32) | First legally codified nursing license system |
Women were partly pushed into nursing as an “extension of motherhood.” But they used that opening to build nursing into a true profession. Women like Rin and Naomi paved the way.
❓ FAQ
Q1. Can you still get cholera in Japan?
Extremely rare domestically, but imported cases still occur. With modern sanitation and medical care, recovery with appropriate treatment is expected.
Q2. Is grief care only done by nurses?
No — physicians, social workers, psychologists, chaplains, and palliative care teams all collaborate. Nurses play a key role detecting early signs of grief.
“What do I say to a grieving family?” Honestly, there are no perfect words. Just being there, holding their hand, crying together — that is often enough.
Q3. Why was Meiji-era cholera so deadly?
(1) No sanitation infrastructure. (2) IV therapy not widely available. (3) Bacterium not identified until 1883 (Koch). (4) Chronic malnutrition weakened immunity.
Q4. What should a nurse do when a family member is crying?
Don’t rush to fix it. Sit quietly nearby. Say “This must be so hard for you.” Don’t fear silence — it means “I am with you.” Connect to specialists if needed.
💌 Shi-chan’s Message
Thank you for looking back on Episode 1 with me! That sugoroku scene — Rin born into a world where “Becoming a Lady” is the goal, yet clearly heading somewhere completely different — I was captivated from the start. Father Shinemon’s words “Learning becomes wings and a sword” resonate deeply even now. During grueling board exam study days, I kept going believing “this knowledge will one day save a patient.” Episodes 2 onward get even more compelling. Let’s follow Rin and Naomi’s journeys together! Thank you for reading 😊
📝 Summary
✅ Episode 1 (1882): Rin plays a board game where the goal is “Becoming a Lady.”
✅ Cholera killed over 70% in some Meiji regions. Modern treatment centers on rehydration.
✅ Hibyoin were forced isolation facilities; modern practice uses transmission-based precautions.
✅ Grief care: do not judge — just be present.
✅ Oyama Sutematsu pioneered formal nursing education in Japan.
✅ Rin’s model: Ozeki Kazuchika. Naomi’s model: Suzuki Masa.
Recommended Resources 🛒
🛌 看護師の疲れた体に。特許取得の整体枕で熟睡できる眠りを
立ちっぱなしのシフト勤務、夜勤明けの肩こり・首こり……看護師のカラダって毎日本当にしんどいですよね。そんな私が出会ったのが、整体師が開発した特許取得の枕「Cure:Re THE MAKURA」。首・肩・背中のコリをほぐしながら寝られる設計で、翌朝の目覚めが全然違います。ふだん整体に行く余裕がない方にこそ試してほしい一品です。
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