is a 1993

1993 in film

The year 1993 in film involved many significant films, including the blockbuster hits Jurassic Park, The Fugitive and The Firm. -Events:...

 Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada

Yoji Yamada

is a Japanese film director best known for his Otoko wa Tsurai yo series of films and his Samurai Trilogy ....

. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi

Kiyoshi Atsumi

Kiyoshi Atsumi , born Yasuo Tadokoro , was a Japanese film actor....

 as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Keiko Matsuzaka

Keiko Matsuzaka

is an actress.Born in Ōta, Tokyo, her father was a naturalized South Korean while her mother was Japanese. Active as a child actress in the 1960s, she came into her own as an adult with Daiei, then in 1972 with Shochiku....

 as his love interest or "Madonna". Tora-san's Matchmaker is the forty-sixth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo

Otoko wa Tsurai yo

Otoko wa tsurai yo is a Japanese film series starring Kiyoshi Atsumi as "Tora-san" , a kind-hearted vagabond who is always unlucky in love. The series itself is often referred to as "Tora-san" by its fans...

series.

Cast

• Kiyoshi Atsumi
  Kiyoshi Atsumi
  Kiyoshi Atsumi , born Yasuo Tadokoro , was a Japanese film actor....
  
   as Torajirō
• Chieko Baishō
  Chieko Baisho
  is a Japanese actress and singer.In Japan, she is well known for her performance as Sakura in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series . In addition, she has acted in most films directed by Yōji Yamada since the 1960s...
  
   as Sakura
• Hidetaka Yoshioka
  Hidetaka Yoshioka
  ', is a Japanese actor known for his performance in several movies as a child and lately the award-winning TV drama Dr. Koto Shinryojo. He notably played the part of Tora-san's little nephew in the "Otoko wa Tsurai yo" film series, and he appeared in Akira Kurosawa's "Rhapsody in August" and...
  
   as Mitsuo Suwa
• Shimojo Masami as Kuruma Tatsuzō
• Chieko Misaki as Tsune Kuruma (Torajirō's aunt)
• Hisao Dazai as Boss (Umetarō Katsura)
• Gajirō Satō as Genkō
• Keiroku Seki as Ponshū

Critical appraisal

For their work in Tora-san's Matchmaker, the Japan Academy Prize awarded Yoji Yamada

Yoji Yamada

is a Japanese film director best known for his Otoko wa Tsurai yo series of films and his Samurai Trilogy ....

for Best Director and Screenplay, Yoshitaka Asama for Best Screenplay, and Isao Suzuki for Best Sound. Also nominated at the Japan Academy Prize were Yutaka Yokoyama and Mitsuo Degawa for Best Sound and Iwao Ishii for Best Editing. The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san's Matchmaker three and a half out of five stars.

Availability

Tora-san's Matchmaker was released theatrically on December 25, 1993. In Japan, the film has been released on videotape in 1994 and 1996, and in DVD format in 2000 and 2008.

External links

• Tora-san's Matchmaker at www.tora-san.jp (Official site)