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It's Tough Being a Man (男はつらいよ, Otoko wa tsurai yo^?) aka Am I Trying and Tora-san,Our Lovable Tramp^[1] is a 1969 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada and starring Kiyoshi Atsumi. It is the first entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.

Synopsis

Torajiro, a traveling salesman and gambler, returns to his home after many years' absence. He attends his sister's wedding, falls in love with Fuyuko, who is engaged to another man, and causes embarrassment for the family. Broken-hearted, Torajiro leaves after writing a letter of advice for Fuyuko to help take care of his sister and her new baby.^[2][3][4]

Cast

• Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajiro^[5]
• Chieko Baishō as Sakura
• Sachiko Mitsumoto as Fuyuko Tsubouchi
• Chishū Ryū as Gozen-sama
• Takashi Shimura as Hyōichirō Suwa
• Shin Morikawa as Kuruma Tatsuzō
• Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
• Taisaku Akino as Noboru Kawamata
• Gajirō Satō as Genkichi (Man at the Temple)
• Keiroku Seki as Master of Ceremonies
• Chieko Misaki as Tsune Kuruma (Torajiro's aunt)
• Hisao Dazai as Tarō Ume (Print Shop)
• Shunsuke Ōmi as Manager
• Taichirō Hirokawa as Michio
• Fusatarō Ishijima as Michio's father
• Matsuko Shiga as Michio's mother

Critical appraisal

The Mainichi Film Awards and the Kinema Junpo Awards chose Kiyoshi Atsumi as the Best Actor for his role in It's Tough Being a Man, and Yoji Yamada was given the Best Director prize at the Mainichi Film Awards.^[6] The Japanese academic film magazine Kinema Junpo gives It's Tough Being a Man a rating of five out of five stars.^[2] The German language site molodezhnaja gives It's Tough Being a Man four out of four stars.^[7]

Availability

It's Tough Being a Man was released theatrically on August 27, 1969.^[8] In Japan, the film has been released on videotape in 1995 and 1996, an in DVD format in 2008.^[9] AnimEigo released the film on DVD in the US along with the other first four films in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series on November 24, 2009.^[4]

Bibliography

English

• "OTOKO WA TSURAI YO (1969)". British Film Institute. http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/45418. Retrieved 2010-01-18. 
• "OTOKO WA TSURAIYO". Complete Index to World Film. http://www.citwf.com/film257058.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-18. 
• Otoko wa tsurai yo (1969) at the Internet Movie Database

German

• "TORA-SAN, OUR LOVABLE TRAMP" (in German). www.molodezhnaja.ch. http://www.molodezhnaja.ch/torasan1.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-18. 

Japanese

• "男はつらいよ(1969)" (in Japanese). www.allcinema.net. http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_c.php?num_c=142980. Retrieved 2010-01-18. 
• "男はつらいよ". Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). http://www.japanese-cinema-db.jp/searchDetails.php?id=11169. Retrieved 2010-01-18. 
• "男はつらいよ" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1969/cs002860.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-18. 
• "男はつらいよ" (in Japanese). Kinema Junpo. http://www.kinejun.jp/cinema/id/22759. Retrieved 2010-01-18. 

External links

• It's Tough Being a Man at www.tora-san.jp (Official site)

Notes