aka Torasan and the Painter and Tora-san's Sunset Glow is a 1976

1976 in film

The year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...

 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 Kiwako Taichi as his love interest or "Madonna". Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset is the seventeenth 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.

Synopsis

During his travels, Tora-san meets Ikenouchi, a drunken old man whom he assumes is poor and homeless. Tora-san takes the old man home. When he wakes up, Ikenouchi begins ordering Tora-san's family around in such an authoritarian manner that no one can muster the courage to suggest he leave. On the road again, Tora-san meets Botan, a geisha who has lost her life savings to a dishonest customer. He and his family's neighbor are determined to help her out. It later turns out that Ikenouchi is a famous artist and a drawing he has made for Tora-san is worth ¥70,000.

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
• Jukichi Uno as Ikenouchi
• Kiwako Taichi as Botan (Geisha)
• Masami Shimojō as Kuruma Tatsuzō
• Chieko Misaki as Tsune Kuruma (Torajiro's aunt)
• Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
• Hisao Dazai as Boss (Umetarō Katsura)
• Gajirō Satō as Genkō
• Hayato Nakamura as Mitsuo Suwa
• Senri Sakurai as Tourist agency manager
• Yoshiko Okada as Shino
• Akira Terao
  Akira Terao
  is Japanese musician and movie actor.-Career:In 1966, he debuted as a bassist of Group Sounds band, The Savage. As an actor, he debuted as Kenichi in Chikadô no taiyô made, a film directed by Kei Kumai in 1968....
  
   as Tourist agency employee

Critical appraisal

Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset was the third top Japanese box-office winner of 1976. The Japanese academic film journal Kinema Junpo

Kinema Junpo

, commonly called , is a Japanese film magazine which began publication in July 1919. The magazine was founded by a group of four students, including Saburō Tanaka, at the Tokyo Institute of Technology . In that first month, it was published three times on days with a "1" in them. These first three...

named it the second best Japanese release of the year. For her role in the film Kiwako Taichi was named Best Supporting Actress at both the Hochi Film Award

Hochi Film Award

The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by the Hochi Shimbun.- Categories :*Best Picture*Best International Picture*Best Actor*Best Actress*Best Supporting Actor*Best Supporting Actress*Best New Artist*Special Award*Best Director- Winner :...

s and the Kinema Junpo Awards ceremonies.

Stuart Galbraith IV

Stuart Galbraith IV

Stuart Galbraith IV is an American cinema historian, film critic, and DVD special features producer, essayist, and audio commentator.-Early life and education:...

judges Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset to be one of the best of the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series, singling out the performances of guest stars Kiwako Taichi and Jukichi Uno. The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset three and a half out of five stars.

Availability

Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset was released theatrically on July 24, 1976. In Japan, the film has been released on videotape in 1996, and in DVD format in 1997 and 2008.

External links

• Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset at www.tora-san.jp (Official site)