Ép. 112: Yamaoka réfléchit à sa mère tout en aidant Mme Kamura à torréfier des feuilles de thé.

112

On a hot summer's day, Yamaoka and Kurita see tea being roasted to make hojica which prompts him to recall the time he went home to visit his sick mother. Kaibara bullied her into make hojicha and she complied, even though Yamaoka tried to stop her and broke her roasting pot. Meanwhile, Manager Tanamura asks Yamaoka to visit the novelist, Mr. Riichi Kamura who is writing a series for Touzai News, but is behind schedule and has complained about the quality of the tea Touzai have sent him. Yamaoka reluctantly agrees although he dislikes fussy people like artists. Yamaoka and Kurita arrive at the Kamura household with some fresh tea to make hojicha, however Riichi is rude to his wife and storms out. Yamaoka then shows Mrs. Kamura how to slowly roast the green leaves on mulberry paper over hot coals, and then make hojicha. Yamaoka tells her how his mother did the same after he broke her pot, and Mrs. Kamura tells him that even though his mother was bullied, she may have derived comfort in her husband's success. Mr. Kamura returns home ready to work and praises the tea, giving Mrs. Kamura a strong feeling of satisfaction and causing Yamaoka to reflect on the relationship between his parents. (Source: Wikipedia)