''aka'' ''Tora-san,

Bluebird of Happiness The symbol of a bluebird as the harbinger of happiness is found in many cultures and may date back thousands of years. Origins of idiom Chinese mythology One of the oldest examples of a blue bird in myth (found on oracle bone inscriptions of th ...

'' is a 1986 Japanese comedy film directed by

Yoji Yamada is a Japanese film director best known for his ''Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' series of films and his Samurai Trilogy (''The Twilight Samurai'', ''The Hidden Blade'' and '' Love and Honor''). Biography He was born in Osaka, but due to his father's job ...

. It stars

Kiyoshi Atsumi Kiyoshi Atsumi (渥美清 ''Atsumi Kiyoshi''), born Yasuo Tadokoro (田所康雄 ''Tadokoro Yasuo'', 10 March 1928 – 4 August 1996), was a Japanese actor. He was born in Tokyo, and started his career in 1951 as a comedian at a strip-show the ...

as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and

Etsuko Shihomi Etsuko (written: 悦子, 英津子, えつ子, えつこ in hiragana or エツコ in katakana) is a feminine Japanese given name. The most common meaning is joy child. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese football player *, Japanese c ...

as his love interest or "Madonna". ''Tora-san's Bluebird Fantasy'' is the thirty-seventh entry in the popular, long-running ''

Otoko wa Tsurai yo is a Japanese film series starring Kiyoshi Atsumi as , 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 ' ...

'' series.

Synopsis

During his travels, Tora-san comes across a traditional theater he used to visit, and discovers that one of his old friends has died. Tora-san and his family help the friend's daughter, who becomes romantically involved with an aspiring artist.

Cast

as Torajirō *

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 from 1969 until 1995. In addition, she has acted in many films directed by Yōji Yamada since the 1960s. She won th ...

as Sakura *

as Miho Shimazaki *

Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, poet, and human-rights advocate, who is a prominent figure in Japanese popular music. He has sold more than 20 million records worldwide and has appeared in movies and television dramas. His wife Etsuk ...

as Kengo Kurata * Shimojo Masami as Kuruma Tatsuzō *

Chieko Misaki Chieko (written: , , , , or ) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese sprint canoeist *, blind Japanese computer scientist *, Japanese actress and singer *, Japanese voice actress and singer *, Japanes ...

as Tsune Kuruma (Torajiro's aunt) *

Gin Maeda (born February 21, 1944) is a Japanese actor. He had a regular role in the ''Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' films, beginning with the first in the series (1969), as Sakura's husband. Filmography Film *''Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' series (1969–2019), Hiroshi S ...

as Hiroshi Suwa *

Hidetaka Yoshioka is a Japanese actor known for his performance in several movies as a child and lately the award-winning TV drama Dr. Coto's Clinic. He notably played the part of Tora-san's little nephew in the "Otoko wa Tsurai yo" film series, and he appeared ...

as Mitsuo Suwa *

Hisao Dazai Hisao (written: 央生, 久生, 久雄, 寿雄, 寿夫, 尚雄, 尚久 or 尚勇) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese voice actor *, Japanese government official *, Japanese baseball player *, Japa ...

as Boss (Umetarō Katsura) * Gajirō Satō as Genkō *

Chishū Ryū was a Japanese actor who, in a career lasting 65 years, appeared in over 160 films and about 70 television productions. Early life Ryū was born in Tamamizu Village, Tamana County, a rural area of Kumamoto Prefecture in Kyushu, the most southe ...

as Gozen-sama *

Jun Miho Jun or JUN may refer to: People and anthroponymy * Jun (given name), a common Japanese given name * Jun (singer), a member of South Korean boy band U-KISS * Tomáš Jun, Czech footballer * A spelling of common Korean family name Jeon (Korean surn ...

as Akemi * Issei Ogata

Critical appraisal

Stuart Galbraith IV Stuart Eugene Galbraith IV (born December 29, 1965) is an American film historian, film critic, essayist, and audio commentator. Early life and education Raised in Livonia, Michigan, Galbraith first worked professionally as a film reviewer and ...

judges this to be one of the weaker entries in the ''

'' series, but still recommended. Perhaps the most notable aspect of the film is that the co-star,

, was the star of the ''

Sister Street Fighter is a spin-off of ''The Street Fighter'' (1974). The plot revolves around Lǐ Hóng-Lóng (李紅竜 ''Li Kōryū''), the female martial artist of the title. When her brother Lǐ Wàn-Qīng is kidnapped by drug lords, she seeks revenge. The drug l ...

'' series. It was on the set of ''Tora-san's Bluebird Fantasy'' that she met

, whom she married the following year. The German-language site molodezhnaja gives ''Tora-san's Bluebird Fantasy'' three and a half out of five stars.

Availability

''Tora-san's Bluebird Fantasy'' was released theatrically on December 20, 1986. In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1988 and 1996, and in DVD format in 2005 and 2008.

References

Bibliography

English

* * * * * *

German

Japanese

* * * *

External links

''Tora-san's Bluebird Fantasy''
at www.tora-san.jp (official site) {{Yoji Yamada 1986 films Films directed by Yoji Yamada 1986 comedy films 1980s Japanese-language films Otoko wa Tsurai yo films Japanese sequel films Shochiku films Films with screenplays by Yôji Yamada 1980s Japanese films