Hitsudan Hostess [2010 Winter]

Posted by :: sixtwentyseven :: | Posted in , | Posted on Thursday, December 22, 2011


Instead of watching a full drama series, I've decided to watch one of the various one episode TV special instead. Digging through the trough of SP that I have not touched, I've decided to watch Hitsudan Hostess first since it's was aired close to 2 years ago.

Histudan Hostess is based on the real life story of Saito Rie, who became Ginza's number 1 hostess despite being deaf. Kitagawa Keiko star as Saito Rie in this adaptation. Rie became deaf at age 1 due to an illness. Despite that, her mother attempted to give Rie as normal a childhood as possible compared to normal children. She also sent her to calligraphy classes when she was young. However, as she graduated from high school, she begins to realise that people still have prejudice against the deaf. Her family wanted to protect her by asking her to stay at home but she is determined to find her own footing. A chance encounter with a host owner lead her to join her club to be a hostess. Initially, she still had obstacles in her job but gradually began to excel in her job by communicating with her clients with pen and paper. "Hitsudan" means communicating through writing in Japanese. However, her mother disapproved of her job. Determined to prove her mother wrong, she strive to be Japan's No. 1 hostess.

I have not read the original novel by Saito Rie, but I would like to believe the scriptwriter has more or less followed the novel. Hitsudan Hostess does not serves to be heavy, but I was touched by the story, especially at the ending 15 minutes which is essentially the essence of the TV special. The ending footage includes the real Saito Rie as well, and I got to say she is a real beauty in person. But what I was more impressed was the acting of Kitagawa Keiko in this drama as she almost has no lines in the whole 90 minutes, save for a few. Even so, when she speaks, she has to speak creditably like how a deaf speaks, which I feel is pretty convincing. Most of her acting require a strong display of facial expressions, which for an actor requires some skill as well. I do think that in this aspect, she has pulled it off creditably. Of course, with as a hostess, Keiko is dressed in several beautiful dresses and kimonos, which is a great plus point to watch the drama as well.