Otoko wa Tsurai yo (男はつらいよ; It's Tough Being a Man) is a Japanese film series starring Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma, whose nickname is Tora-san (寅さん), a kind-hearted vagabond who is always unlucky in love. The series itself is often referred to as "Tora-san" by its fans. Spanning 48 installments released between 1969 and 1995, all of the Otoko wa Tsurai yo films except episodes 3 (Azuma Morisaki) and 4 (Shun'ichi Kobayashi) were directed by Yōji Yamada, who also wrote (or co-wrote) all the screenplays.
Each film featured a different leading lady, called a Madonna, and a different region of Japan. (There were also episodes that featured scenes in Arizona and Vienna.) Two films were usually made each year between 1969 and 1989, one for summer and one for New Year release. From 1990 to 1995 only one film was made each year, for New Year release. AnimEigo released a box-set of the first four films in the United States in 2009 under the title "Tora-san". The series holds the Guinness World Record for the longest-running movie series starring a single actor.
The film series had presumed to have ended with Atsumi's declining health and death from lung cancer at age 68, without Tora-san ever settling down and finding domestic happiness. Atsumi was so identified with the Tora-san character that his death was also considered by fans to be the death of Tora-san. Yoji Yamada had decided at the time not to continue the series after Atsumi's death, but reworked a Tora-san script stuck in development as Niji wo Tsukamu Otoko starring Toshiyuki Nishida as a traveling cinema operator. Although Niji was a tribute to movies in general, the final scenes were Yamada's touching, loving posthumous tribute to the Tora-san series and to Atsumi Kiyoshi. Almost all of the principal actors from Otoko wa Tsurai yo have cameos in the Niji film, and the Tora-san character even makes a surprise cameo appearance near the end of the movie. The film ends with a dedication to Kiyoshi Atsumi.
However, the 50th Tora-san film, Tora-san, Wish You Were Here, was released in Japan on December 27, 2019. Atsumi appears throughout the film as flashbacks, using footage from his dozens of performances as Tora-san in the previous films, with the cast members in contemporary Tokyo recalling his presence in their lives.
Contents
Basic plot
Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san) is a traveling salesman whose sole possessions are the contents of a small suitcase, the clothes on his back and some pocket money. He wanders from town to town peddling his wares. He yearns to return to his home in Shibamata, Katsushika, Tokyo.
His family members include Sakura (his kind-hearted half-sister), Hiroshi (Sakura's husband), Mitsuo (Sakura and Hiroshi's son), Tatsuzō (Tora-san's elderly uncle), and Tsune (Tora-san's elderly aunt). Tatsuzō and Tsune run a traditional sweet (dango) shop in Shibamata. The film often begins with Tora-san dreaming of doing grand deeds, anxious to be worthy of his family, usually resulting in disappointment and subsequent awakening.
Tora-san unexpectedly drops in on his family. While they are glad to see him, Tora-san's stay eventually causes some kind of ruckus and usually a violent family argument ensues. He then storms off with his belongings just as suddenly as he arrived.
In each film he falls in love with a "Madonna," an attractive woman, but he invariably ends up heartbroken.
Television drama version
Otoko wa Tsurai yo started off as a TV drama on Fuji Television. Between 1968 and 1969, a total of 26 episodes were aired (though only the first and last episodes are preserved). Episodes were written by Yoji Yamada, Shun Inagaki, Azuma Morisaki, Yuichiro Yamane, and Sekiro Mitsuhata. Episodes were directed by Shunichi Kobayashi, and music was written by Naozumi Yamamoto. The technological director was Toshio Nagashima, the arts producer was Osami Yamamoto, and the designer was Ryusuke Nakata.
Production
The series is slightly based on Marcel Pagnol's Marseille trilogy, except set to a Japanese background.
The title for the drama underwent a series of changes. At first, the title was "Foolish Brother, Wise Sister (愚兄賢妹)," but was dropped due to Fuji Television's disapproval. Based on the song "Iji no sujigane," and the last episode ("Otoko wa Tsurai") of Atsumi Kiyoshi's show "Naite Tamaruka" (泣いてたまるか) , director Shunichi Kobayashi renamed the show Otoko wa Tsurai yo.
Shibamata was chosen as the film's location as it had escaped damage from war; and as result had older, historical scenery.
Plot
Sakura is living with her aunt (Tsune) and uncle (Ryuzō) in the shop Toraya.
In the summer of 1968, Torajirō (Tora) Kuruma (Sakura's brother) comes back to Toraya after 18 years of silence. Unfortunately, Tora angers Sakura as he becomes drunk with friends and causes a ruckus. As a result he decides to go on a trip again.
Before embarking, he stops by temporarily at a teacher (Teacher Sanpo)'s house, and falls in love with Fuyuko, the teacher's son. As a result Tora decides to stay in Toraya, where he continuously causes trouble for his sister, uncle, and aunt. Eventually Sakura marries Hiroshi Suwa (a doctor from when Tora was previously in the hospital), Teacher Sanpo dies, and Fuyuko marries Mr. Fujimura, a violinist.
Cast
TV series
Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma
Aiko Nagayama as Sakura [Kuruma, later Suwa] (Torajiro's Sister)
Shin Morikawa as Ryuzō Kuruma (Torajiro's Uncle)
Tokuko Sugiyama as Tsune Kuruma (Torajiro's Aunt)
Orie Satō as Fuyuko Tsubouchi (Tora's "Madonna")
Eijirō Tōno as Sanpo Tsubouchi (Fuyuko's father)
Hisashi Igawa as Hiroshi Suwa (Soon-to-become husband of Sakura)
Gajirō Satō as Yūjirō Kawashima (Torajiro's half-brother)
Masaaki Tsusaka as Noboru Kawamata (Torajiro's best friend and worker at Toraya)
Toyoko Takachi as Someko (Torajiro's real mother)
Films
Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma
Chieko Baisho as Sakura Suwa
Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
Shin Morikawa – as Ryuzō Kuruma (in films 1 to 8)
Tatsuo Matsumura – as Ryuzō Kuruma (in films 9 to 13)
Masami Shimojō as Ryuzō Kuruma (in films 14 to 48)
Chieko Misaki as Tsune Kuruma
Hidetaka Yoshioka as Mitsuo Suwa (in films 27 to 50)
Hisao Dazai as Boss (Umetarō Katsura)
Chishū Ryū as Gozen-sama
Gajirō Satō as Genkō
Anime
Kōichi Yamadera as Torajirō Kuruma
Yumi Tōma as Lilly
Mari Okamoto as Sakura Suwa
Hōchū Ōtsuka as Hiroshi Suwa
Minori Yada as Tatsuzō Kuruma
Mie Azuma as Tsune Kuruma
Mine Eken as Umetarō Katsura
Ryūji Saikachi as Gozen-sama
Naoki Tatsuta as Genkō
Madonnas
Each movie had a female guest star with whom Tora-san would usually fall head over heels (or, in the later movies, play a surrogate father figure). These characters were referred to as "Madonnas". Each Madonna was played by an ingenue who was popular at the time of the movie's release.