麻豆社

In 1969, a cartoon about a traditional Japanese family premiered on Fuji TV.

More than 55 years later, Sazae-san still airs in its original time slot. It is set in a more patriarchal time when women stay at home and do the housework, and men go to work and like getting drunk.

Shun鈥檌chi Yukimuro was one of the first writers. He tells Vicky Farncombe how young viewers watch it as a period drama and enjoy the closeness of the family.

鈥淭hey get most envious when they watch the scenes where everybody gets together to have a meal,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have such scenes in current families. People eat separately these days.鈥�

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

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We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron 鈥� Argentina鈥檚 Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous 鈥榯ear down this wall鈥� speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler鈥檚 List; and Jacques Derrida, France鈥檚 鈥榬ock star鈥� philosopher.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world鈥檚 oldest languages.

(Photo: Sazae-San. Credit: Hasegawa Machiko Art Museum/AFP via Getty Images)

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