''aka'' ''Tora's Many-Splintered Love'' is a 1981 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

Keiko Matsuzaka (born July 20, 1952) is a Japanese actress. Early life Born in Ōta, Tokyo, her father was a naturalized South Korean while her mother was Japanese. Career In the 1960s, Matsuzaka became a child actress. Matsuzaka grew into adulthood in film ...

as his love interest or "Madonna". ''Tora-san's Love in Osaka'' is the twenty-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. It was the first film in the series in which

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 ...

played the role of Tora-san's nephew Mitsuo Suwa.

Synopsis

When his travels bring him to Osaka, Tora-san falls in love with a local geisha. He helps her to track down her estranged brother, and informs his family that he plans to marry her. His plans are foiled when the geisha informs Tora-san that she is engaged.

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 ...

as Sakura *

as Fumi Hamada * Shimojo Masami as Kuruma Tatsuzō * Chieko Misaki 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 *

as Mitsuo Suwa * Hisao Dazai 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 south ...

as Gozen-sama * Kannosuke Ashiya as Kikai

Critical appraisal

''Tora-san's Love in Osaka'' was the fifth top box-office money-maker in Japan for 1981. For her role in the film

was named Best Actress at the Japan Academy Prize and

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 ...

was nominated for Best Actor by the Japanese Academy. Stuart Galbraith IV writes that ''Tora-san's Love in Osaka'' is an "above-average entry in this consistently excellent series". He points out that some of the film's humor may be lost on western viewers since it stems from the contrast between Tokyo and Osaka culture. Director Yamada, according to Galbraith, "obviously favors rural, remote Japan to sprawling urban landscapes like Osaka," but nevertheless, "the film plays as a heartfelt valentine to the city and its people." The German-language site molodezhnaja gives ''Tora-san's Love in Osaka'' three and a half out of five stars.

Availability

''Tora-san's Love in Osaka'' was released theatrically on August 8, 1981. In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1986 and 1996, and in DVD format in 1998, 2002 and 2008.

References

Bibliography

English

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German

Japanese

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External links

''Tora-san's Love in Osaka''
at www.tora-san.jp (official site) {{Yoji Yamada 1981 films 1981 comedy films Films directed by Yoji Yamada 1980s Japanese-language films Otoko wa Tsurai yo films Shochiku films Films with screenplays by Yôji Yamada Japanese sequel films 1980s Japanese films