Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset

109 minutesCountryJapanLanguageJapanese

Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset (男はつらいよ 寅次郎夕焼け小焼け, Otoko wa Tsurai yo: Torajirō Yūyake Koyake) a.k.a. Torasan and the Painter and Tora-san's Sunset Glow^[1] is a 1976 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Kiwako Taichi as his love interest or "Madonna".^[2] Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset is the seventeenth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo 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.^[3][4][5]

Cast

• Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō^[6]
• Chieko Baisho as Sakura
• Jūkichi 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
• Asao Sano
• Hayato Nakamura as Mitsuo Suwa
• Senri Sakurai as Tourist agency manager
• Yoshiko Okada as Shino
• Akira Terao as Tourist agency employee

Critical appraisal

Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset was the third top Japanese box-office winner of 1976.^[4] The Japanese academic film journal Kinema Junpo named it the second best Japanese release of the year.^[4] For her role in the film Kiwako Taichi was named Best Supporting Actress at both the Hochi Film Awards and the Kinema Junpo Awards ceremonies.^[4][7]

Stuart Galbraith IV 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 Jūkichi Uno.^[4] The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset three and a half out of five stars.^[8]

Availability

Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset was released theatrically on July 24, 1976.^[9] In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1996, and in DVD format in 1997 and 2008.^[10]

References

Bibliography

English

• "OTOKO WA TSURAI YO TORAJIRO YUYAKE KOYAKE (1976)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2011-09-02. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
• "OTOKO WA TSURAIYO -TORAJIRO YUYAKE KOYAKE". Complete Index to World Film. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
• Otoko wa tsurai yo: Torajiro yuuyake koyake (1976) at IMDb
• Galbraith IV, Stuart (2005-12-12). "Tora-san 17: Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset (Region 3)". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2010-01-18.

German

• "Tora-San's Sunrise and Sunset" (in German). www.molodezhnaja.ch. Retrieved 2010-01-18.

Japanese

• 男はつらいよ 寅次郎夕焼け小焼け (1976) (in Japanese). allcinema.net. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
• "男はつらいよ 寅次郎夕焼け小焼け". Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Archived from the original on 2012-02-26. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
• 男はつらいよ 寅次郎夕焼け小焼け (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
• 男はつらいよ 寅次郎夕焼け小焼け (in Japanese). Kinema Junpo. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2010-01-18.

External links

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