Sazae-san
Retro Pop Culture

Sazae-san was originally a manga created by one of the first female mangaka, Machiko Hasegawa. It ran as a series of comic strips in newspapers, first the Fukunichi Shimbun followed by the Asahi Shimbun, from 1946 through 1974 and was collected into 45 volumes.

The anime adaptation proved even more popular. It began its weekly run in October of 1969 and continues to have new episodes air every week. The series follows the heroine, Sazae and her life as a stubborn, somewhat bossy, yet caring housewife and mother.

Relevance to Kyokai no Rinne

In chapter 7, Sakura is transported to the abandoned club building where Rinne has begun sleeping. She tells him that she can't go home because she has no shoes or her wallet and Rinne comments that she reminds him of Sazae Fuguta, an anime he used to watch as a little boy. Since the anime has aired weekly in Japan since 1969, every child in Japan would be aware of it. It is the longest running animated television show in history.