is a 1959 Japanese

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

Shōhei Imamura was a Japanese film director. His main interest as a filmmaker lay in the depiction of the lower strata of Japanese society. A key figure in the Japanese New Wave, who continued working into the 21st century, Imamura is the only director from J ...

. The screenplay is based on the diary of ten-year-old

zainichi comprise ethnic Koreans who have permanent residency status in Japan or who have become Japanese citizens, and whose immigration to Japan originated before 1945, or who are descendants of those immigrants. They are a group distinct from South ...

(ethnic Korean Japanese) Sueko Yasumoto, which became a bestseller upon publication.

Plot

The film tells the story of four orphans living in an impoverished mining town.

Cast

Hiroyuki Nagato , stage name of Akio Kato (加藤晃夫), was a Japanese actor. He starred in ''Season of the Sun'', '' Endless Desire'', '' My Second Brother'', '' Stolen Desire'', and '' Sukeban Deka'', and ''Yo-Yo Girl Cop''. Life and career Nagato was bo ...

as Kiichi Yasumoto, eldest brother *

Kayo Matsuo is a Japanese actress. Partial filmography # '' Endless Desire'' (''Hateshinaki yokubo'', 1958) # '' My Second Brother'' (''Nianchan'', 1959) # '' Hikaru umi'' (1963) # '' Gate of Flesh'' (''Nikutai no mon'', 1964) # '' Story of a Prostitute'' ( ...

as Yoshiko, eldest sister * Takeshi Okimura as Kōichi, second brother * Akiko Maeda as Sueko, younger sister *

Kō Nishimura was a Japanese actor who appeared in supporting roles in such films as Akira Kurosawa's ''The Bad Sleep Well'' and '' Yojimbo'', Kihachi Okamoto's ''Sword of Doom'', Yoshitaro Nomura's ''Zero Focus'', and Kon Ichikawa's '' The Burmese Harp'' ( ...

as Gorō Mitamura * Yoshio Ōmori as Seki *

Toshio Takahara was a Japanese actor. Notable film appearances were ''Seven Samurai'' and ''Twenty-Four Eyes''. He is also known for his role as Commander Gonpachi Edogawa in the tokusatsu superhero series ''Himitsu Sentai Gorenger''. He started his acting ca ...

as shop assistant (bicycle shop) *

Taiji Tonoyama was a Japanese character actor who made many appearances in films and on television from 1939 to 1989. He was a close friend of Kaneto Shindo and one of his regular cast members. He was also an essayist. In 1950 he helped form the film company Ki ...

as Gengorō Henmi *

Shinsuke Ashida was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1952 and 1996. Selected filmography Film * ''Gendai-jin'' (1952) * ''Mahiru no ankoku'' (1956) * ''An Actress'' (1956) * ''Underworld Beauty'' (1958) * ''Arashi no naka o tsuppash ...

as Sakai *

Kazuko Yoshiyuki (born 9 August 1935) is a Japanese film actress and voice actress essayist. Biography Early life Kazuko was born in Tokyo as a first daughter of Eisuke Yoshiyuki, a writer, and Aguri. She has an older brother, Junnosuke Yoshiyuki, a novelist, ...

as Kanako Hori *

Shōichi Ozawa was a Japanese actor, radio host, singer, and prominent researcher and expert on Japanese folk art. He also founded the Shabondama-za theater company. Ozawa, who was born in Tokyo, graduated from Waseda University. He began acting after college, ...

as Haruo Kanayama

Reception

Film scholar Alexander Jacoby called ''My Second Brother'' an "uncharacteristically tender film" for the director.

Awards

Mainichi Film Award The are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since 1946. It is the first film festival in Japan. History The origins of the contest date back to 1935, ...

– Best Supporting Actress (Kanako Hori), Best Sound (Fumio Hashimoto) *

Blue Ribbon Awards The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by movie critics and writers in Tokyo, Japan. The awards were established in 1950 by which is composed of film correspondents from seven Tokyo-based sports newspapers. In 1961, the six major Japanes ...

– Best Actor (Hiroyuki Nagato), Best Supporting Actor (Shōichi Ozawa)

References

External links

* * 1959 films 1959 drama films Japanese drama films Japanese black-and-white films Films directed by Shohei Imamura Nikkatsu films Films with screenplays by Ichirô Ikeda 1950s Japanese films {{1950s-Japan-film-stub