is a 1986 Japanese film directed by

Keisuke Kinoshita was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Ronald Berganbr>"A satirical eye on Japan: Keisuke Kinoshita" ''The Guardian'', 5 January 1999. While lesser-known internationally than contemporaries such as Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi and ...

, revisiting his melancholic earlier work, '' Times of Joy and Sorrow'' (1957), of a

lighthouse keeper A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...

and the transient lifestyle he and his family endure. Shot at 10 different lighthouses, four temples, and various scenic locations (including two of the famous Three Views of Japan (日本三景)), spanning the length of Japan from

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

, the film serves a secondary purpose as an insightful time capsule travelogue of early 1980s Japan. It is Kinoshita's 48th and last film.

Plot

Fujita, a lighthouse keeper of the Maritime Safety Agency, prepares to transfer to another lighthouse as his father and a young protege drop in to see him off, identifying what will be a story told over the course of a decade from the perspectives of 3 generations of a family, and their evolving relationships with each other. The film follows the family through their trials and tribulations as Fujita transfers to different lighthouses during the course of his career, the children grow up and leave the family to go to school and start their own families, the father rejoins the family as his health fails and is unable to care for himself, and they learn the value of family and each day spent together.

Cast

Gō Katō was a Japanese entertainer and actor. Katō starred in the long-running TV series ''Ōoka Echizen'' (1970~2006). Overviews The son of an elementary school principal, Katō studied literature and theatre. As an actor, he made his film debut i ...

as Yoshiaki Fujita (Sugimoto) *

Reiko Ohara was a Japanese actress. She is best known for her roles in the Taiga drama, ''taiga'' dramas ''Kasuga the Court Lady'' (1989) and ''Tokugawa Yoshinobu'' (1998), television drama ''Rikon Tomodachi'' (1980), and film ''Ohan (film), Ohan'' (1984). ...

as Asako Fujita (Sugimoto) *

Hitoshi Ueki was a Japanese actor, comedian, singer, and guitarist. He won six awards for acting.Hitosh ...

as Kunio Sugimoto *

Kiichi Nakai is a Japanese actor. His name was given by Yasujirō Ozu. His father, Keiji Sada, also a movie actor, died when Nakai was only two years old. Nakai started his acting career while he was still in university and was awarded the Rookie of the Ye ...

as Keijiro Daimon * Misako Konno as Yukiko Nagao * Ken Tanaka as Takeshi Nagao * Yoko Shinoyama as Masako Fujita (Daimon) * Hayao Okamoto as Eisuke Fujita (Sugimoto)

Production

Kinoshita based the script to his earlier film, ''Times of Joy and Sorrow'', on an article written by Tanaka Kiyo, the wife of a lighthouse keeper at the Shioyazaki lighthouse in Fukushima. The plot of ''Times of Joy and Sorrow'' encompasses the militarization of Japan during World War 2, and involves a sense of futility as the lighthouse is darkened during the war and bombs explode outside the family home. These themes are absent in ''Big Joys, Small Sorrow'', which speaks to the increased optimism and prosperity of Japan in the 1980s, as well as the frustration felt by Fujita's wife Asako, who is more able to express her thoughts regarding her life as the wife of a lighthouse keeper rather than dutifully accepting her fate in ''Times of Joy and Sorrow''. The film received support from the then Maritime Safety Agency, since renamed the

Japan Coast Guard The is the coast guard responsible for the protection of the Geography of Japan#Composition, topography and geography, coastline of Japan under the oversight of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. It consists of about ...

, and serves as a tribute to the agency with unprecedented access not only to the lighthouses, but a

Bell 212 The Bell 212 (also known as the ''Bell Two-Twelve'') is a two-blade, twin-engine, medium helicopter that first flew in 1968. Originally manufactured by Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, production was moved to Mirabel, Queb ...

helicopter, the Kure Maritime Safety University, aboard ships such as the Zao (PLH-05) and Teshio (PM-03 & PM-09) class patrol vessels, the

Kojima Kojima, Ko-jima, may refer to: People * Kojima (surname) Places * Kojima District, Okayama, Japan * Kojima Village, Matsumae, Hokkaido, Japan * Kojima Domain, Suruga Province, Honshu, Japan; an Edo-period domain Islands * Kōjima, an island ...

(PL-21) training vessel during a fleet review, as well as a generous plug for

All Nippon Airways (ANA) is a Japanese airline headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. ANA operates services to both domestic and international destinations and is Japan's largest airline, ahead of its main rival flag carrier Japan Airlines. the airline has approximate ...

, creating a ''"gorgeous travelogue,"'' said Los Angeles Times film critic Kevin Thomas, of the ''"unspoiled beauty spots on Japan’s coastlines"''.

Featured locations

Lighthouses

Kyogamisaki Lighthouse

Tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

Kyoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Kyoto Prefecture has a population of 2,561,358 () and has a geographic area of . Kyoto Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the northeast, Shiga Prefecture ...

* Irōzaki Lighthouse, Izu,

Shizuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...

* Hesaki Lighthouse,

Kitakyushu is a Cities of Japan, city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fuk ...

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders ...

Himeshima Lighthouse
'(ja)'', Himeshima,

Ōita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Ōita Prefecture has a population of 1,081,646 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 6,340 km2 (2,448 sq mi). Ōita Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northwest, K ...

* Mizunokojima Lighthouse,

Bungo Channel The is a strait separating the Japanese islands of Kyushu and Shikoku. It connects the Philippine Sea and the Seto Inland Sea on the western end of Shikoku. The narrowest part of this channel is the Hōyo Strait. In the English-speaking world, ...

Hachijojima Lighthouse
'(ja)'',

Hachijō-jima is a volcano, volcanic Islands of Japan, Japanese island in the Philippine Sea. It is about south of the special wards of Tokyo. It is part of the Izu Islands, Izu archipelago and within the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Its only municipalit ...

Island,

Izu Islands The are a group of volcanic islands stretching south and east from the Izu Peninsula of Honshū, Japan. Administratively, they form two towns and six villages; all part of Tokyo Prefecture. The largest is Izu Ōshima, usually called simply Ōsh ...

* Shiriyazaki Lighthouse, Shimokita,

Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...

Port of Hakodate
'(ja)'',

Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...

Esan Misaki Lighthouse
'(ja)'',

Yagoshima Misaki Lighthouse
'(ja)'', Shiriuchi,

Other points of interest

Nishi-Maizuru Station is a union passenger railway station located in the city of Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, operated jointly by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and the private railway company Willer Trains ( Kyoto Tango Railway). Lines Nishi-Maizuru ...

Maizuru is a city in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 78,644 in 34,817 households and a population density of 230 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Maizuru is located in northern Kyoto Prefectu ...

* Nariai-ji Buddhist Temple ''(ja)'', Miyazu,

* Amanohashidate, Tango-Amanohashidate-Ōeyama Quasi-National Park,

- one of the

Three Views of Japan The is the canonical list of Japan's three most celebrated scenic sights, attributed to a 1643 book by the scholar Hayashi Gahō. In 1915, modeled on the old Three Views of Japan, Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha (株式会社実業之日本社) held a n ...

* Matsuno-dera Buddhist Temple ''(ja)'',

* Myōtsū-ji Buddhist Temple,

Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. Ob ...

Fukui Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 737,229 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,190 Square kilometre, km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture border ...

* St John's Anglican Church ''(ja)'',

Hiroshima Peace Memorial The , originally the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, and now commonly called the Genbaku Dome, , is part of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The building ...

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

* Kure Maritime Safety University,

Kure is a city in the Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 208,024 in 106,616 households and a population density of 590 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . With a strong industrial and naval heritage, ...

, Hiroshima Prefecture * Itsukushima Shinto Shrine, Miyajima, Hiroshima Prefecture - one of the

* Fukue-jima Island,

Gotō Islands The are Japanese islands in the Sea of Japan. They are part of Nagasaki Prefecture. Geography There are 140 islands, including five main ones: , , , , and . The northernmost island is Ukujima. The group of islands runs approximately fr ...

Nagasaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan, mainly located on the island of Kyūshū, although it also includes a number of islands off Kyūshū's northwest coast - including Tsushima and Iki. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,246,4 ...

Release

Screened in competition at the

Locarno Film Festival The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...

, ''Big Joys, Small Sorrows'' was theatrically released internationally in 1986 by

Shochiku is a Japanese entertainment company. Founded in 1895, it initially managed '' kabuki'' theaters in Kyoto; in 1914, it also acquired ownership of the Kabuki-za theater in Tokyo. In 1920, Shochiku entered the film production industry and establis ...

, earning a modest ¥395 million. VHS and Laserdisc editions are now scarce, however region 2 DVDs are still available in Japan from Shochiku Home Entertainment. The Criterion Channel included ''Big Joys, Small Sorrows'' among the inaugural films available for streaming upon its launch in Spring 2019.

Reception

Kevin Thomas, in his review for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' found the film was "a charmingly apt title for an unabashedly sentimental and old-fashioned paean to the enduring virtues of family life" but that it could not be deemed "more than a minor work of a major director, considered as one of his country’s greatest film makers."

Awards

References

External links

* {{Keisuke Kinoshita 1986 films 1980s road movies Shochiku films Films directed by Keisuke Kinoshita Films with screenplays by Keisuke Kinoshita Films shot in Japan Films set in Hiroshima Films set in Hokkaido Films set in Nagasaki Films set in the 1980s Films shot in Kure Films about families Films about military personnel Films about travel Japanese road movies Seafaring films Films set in lighthouses Maritime culture 1980s Japanese films