Film

Monthly Classics

Best of Tora-san

October 2008–May 2009

Tora-san (Kiyoshi Atsumi) emerged as Japan’s comic anti-hero in 1969 when yakuza superstars such as Ken Takakura and Yujiro Ishihara dominated the screen, and remained Japan's beloved icon for over 25 years. The 48-part Tora-san series chronicles the life of an unruly yet endearing salesman traveling through a rapidly-modernizing Japan.

Over the years, Tora-san has become an icon of a simpler world, winning over audiences hungry for nostalgia. Over 80 million people have seen Tora-san in theaters, and it is the world's longest running series in film history.  Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first Tora-san film, and the 80th anniversary of Atsumi’s birth, director Yoji Yamada (Twilight Samurai) handselects the top eight films for this Monthly Classics series (he wrote and directed all but two of the 48 films).

Tora-san arrived on the screen when anything was possible if you worked hard enough, and people were forward-thinking and full of energy… A penniless, comic anti-hero, Tora-san lacked good looks and smarts and remained oblivious to the country’s modernization, living solely to bring happiness to those he loved.
- Yoji Yamada, Director

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