aka Tora-san and a Lord is a 1977

1977 in film

The year 1977 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network....

 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 Kyōko Maya as his love interest or "Madonna". Tora-san Meets His Lordship is the nineteenth 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

Tora-san returns to his family home in Shibamata, Tokyo, but soon leaves again due to squabbles involving a dog they have named Tora-san. During his travels in Shikoku, Tora-san makes the acquaintance of a descendant of a local daimyō

Daimyo

is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

. The old man asks Tora-san to find his son's widow in Tokyo, whom he had previously alienated.

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
• Kyōko Maya as Mariko Tsutsumi
• 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
• Yoshio Yoshida as Leader
• Akira Terao as Officer

Critical appraisal

Tora-san Meets His Lordship was the ninth top money-maker at the Japanese box-office in 1977. Kiyoshi Atsumi

Kiyoshi Atsumi

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

 and 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...

 were nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress respectively at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony for their roles in Tora-san Meets His Lordship and other films in which they had appeared in 1977. 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:...

 writes that the film, though not as popular as its predecessor Tora's Pure Love

Tora's Pure Love

aka Torasan Meets his School-Mates and Tora-san's Heart of Gold is a 1976 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma , and Machiko Kyō as his love interest or "Madonna"...

, is a strong entry in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series, funny and with an exceptionally good supporting cast. The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san Meets His Lordship three and a half out of five stars.

Availability

Tora-san Meets His Lordship was released theatrically on August 6, 1977. In Japan, the film has been released on videotape in 1996, and in DVD format in 2005 and 2008.

External links

• Tora-san Meets His Lordship at www.tora-san.jp (Official site)