This was easily one of the sweetest and most genuine moments in anime of 2013.
Tamako Market was an anime that wanted to do a lot of things, but never exactly excelled at any of them. Simply put, many aspects were underutilized. The actual market was one of them.
What was given a lot of focus, however, was love. “Everybody loves somebody!”, the series boldly proclaimed while dancing around the subject but never actually touching upon it. This was a little frustrating to say the least, but Tamako Market always managed to bounce back by every now and then giving some scenes that hinted at something more.
Throughout the series there was always one thing on my mind: “What about Tamako’s mother?”. She had long since passed away, yet it felt as if her presence was always part of the characters’ lives. This was especially clear when it came to Tamako’s father, who always was a bit overprotective (in a sense) when it came to his daughters.
In the ninth episode of Tamako Market, Tamako happen to overhear her father singing a song.
A love song.
During his younger years, he wrote a love song for the person who would eventually become his wife. As a viewer, we see their lives roll by as we listen to this sweet song.
This is a wonderful and genuine moment full of love.
Anime Viking 
Indeed I loved that part of that episode. Made me think of that episode of Lucky Star when we see Konata’s mother and what happened to her.
I have yet to see Lucky Star, actually! I should get around watching that too… but I do know of the scene you’re talking about. Very sweet.
This was my favourite episode by far!
Mine too!