Otoko wa Tsurai yo

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.

Preceding the first theatrical film of Otoko wa Tsurai yo, a teledrama version was broadcast from 1968 to 1969. It was originally titled "Gukei (or "Gukyō")-Kenmai" (愚兄賢妹), meaning "Goofy Brother and Wise Sister." The name comes from the final subtitle of Naite tamaruka (泣いてたまるか). (The star of Naite tamaruka is also Atsumi Kiyoshi.)

Kobayashi Shun'ichi renamed the show Otoko wa Tsurai yo. In the final episode of the TV series, Torajirō dies of a snakebite. This denouement made the audience angry and a film version of Otoko wa Tsurai yo followed.

Initially, Shochiku, the distributing agency, was not enthusiastic about the film's prospects but Yōji Yamada's persuasiveness ultimately prevailed. The film series went on to become a huge success with films released every summer and New Years. The series became part of Japanese pop culture. With the exception of Morikawa Shin, the supporting cast of the television version did not reprise their roles in the film series – though Sato Gajiro appears in most of the films as "Gen-chan," Nagayama Aiko is the Madonna in the 5th film and Hisashi Igawa is her suitor.

• Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma
• Aiko Nagayama as Sakura
• Shin Morikawa as Tatsuzō Kuruma
• Tokuko Sugiyama as Tsune Kuruma
• Gajirō Satō as Yūjirō (Torajiro's little brother)
• Hisashi Igawa as Hiroshi Suwa (a doctor)

• 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

• 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

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.

General

• "Yoji Yamada's Films at IMDb". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2009-05-25.

Specific

• "Tora-san" in Schilling, Mark. The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture. New York: Weatherhill, 1997, pp. 268–272. ISBN 978-0-8348-0380-0.