Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset

Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset (男はつらいよ 寅次郎夕焼け小焼け, Otoko wa Tsurai yo: Torajirō Yūyake Koyake) a.k.a. Torasan and the Painter and Tora-san's Sunset Glow^[1] is a 1976 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Kiwako Taichi as his love interest or "Madonna".^[2] Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset is the seventeenth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.

Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Yoji Yamada
Written by	Yoji Yamada Yoshitaka Asama
Starring	Kiyoshi Atsumi Kiwako Taichi
Cinematography	Tetsuo Takaba
Edited by	Iwao Ishii
Music by	Naozumi Yamamoto
Distributed by	Shochiku
Release date	July 24, 1976 (1976-07-24)
Running time	109 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Synopsis

During his travels, Tora-san meets Ikenouchi, a drunken old man whom he assumes is poor and homeless. Tora-san takes the old man home. When he wakes up, Ikenouchi begins ordering Tora-san's family around in such an authoritarian manner that no one can muster the courage to suggest he leave. On the road again, Tora-san meets Botan, a geisha who has lost her life savings to a dishonest customer. He and his family's neighbor are determined to help her out. It later turns out that Ikenouchi is a famous artist and a drawing he has made for Tora-san is worth ¥70,000.^[3][4][5]

Cast

• Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō^[6]
• Chieko Baisho as Sakura
• Jūkichi Uno as Ikenouchi
• Kiwako Taichi as Botan (Geisha)
• Masami Shimojō as Kuruma Tatsuzō
• Chieko Misaki as Tsune Kuruma (Torajiro's aunt)
• Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
• Hisao Dazai as Boss (Umetarō Katsura)
• Gajirō Satō as Genkō
• Asao Sano
• Hayato Nakamura as Mitsuo Suwa
• Senri Sakurai as Tourist agency manager
• Yoshiko Okada as Shino
• Akira Terao as Tourist agency employee

Critical appraisal

Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset was the third top Japanese box-office winner of 1976.^[4] The Japanese academic film journal Kinema Junpo named it the second best Japanese release of the year.^[4] For her role in the film Kiwako Taichi was named Best Supporting Actress at both the Hochi Film Awards and the Kinema Junpo Awards ceremonies.^[4][7]

Stuart Galbraith IV judges Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset to be one of the best of the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series, singling out the performances of guest stars Kiwako Taichi and Jūkichi Uno.^[4] The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset three and a half out of five stars.^[8]

Availability

Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset was released theatrically on July 24, 1976.^[9] In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1996, and in DVD format in 1997 and 2008.^[10]