Foster Daddy, Tora! Explained

Foster Daddy, Tora!
Director:	Yoji Yamada
Starring:	Kiyoshi Atsumi Ran Itō
Music:	Naozumi Yamamoto
Cinematography:	Tetsuo Takaba
Editing:	Iwao Ishii
Distributor:	Shochiku
Runtime:	100 minutes
Country:	Japan
Language:	Japanese

aka Torasan's Song of the Seagull^[1] is a 1980 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Ran Itō as his love interest or "Madonna".^[2] Foster Daddy, Tora! is the twenty-sixth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.

Synopsis

Tor-san takes care of the teenage daughter of a friend after he dies. He takes the girl to Tokyo where she wishes to study, and becomes worried over her romantic life.^{[3] [4] [5]}

Cast

• Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō^[6]
• Chieko Baisho as Sakura
• Ran Itō as Sumire
• Shimojo Masami as Kuruma Tatsuzō
• Chieko Misaki as Tsune Kuruma (Torajiro's aunt)
• Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
• Hayato Nakamura as Mitsuo Suwa
• Hisao Dazai as Boss (Umetarō Katsura)
• Gajirō Satō as Genkō
• Chishū Ryū as Gozen-sama
• Takehiro Murata as Sadao Kikuchi
• Tatsuo Matsumura as Professor Hayashi

Critical appraisal

Kiyoshi Atsumi was nominated for the Best Actor prize at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony for his roles in Foster Daddy, Tora! and the following entry in the series, Tora-san's Love in Osaka (1981).^[7] Stuart Galbraith IV writes that Foster Daddy, Tora! is one of the top films in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series, and "like the best entries, both funny and sweet".^[4] The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Foster Daddy, Tora! three and a half out of five stars.^[8]

Availability

Foster Daddy, Tora! was released theatrically on December 27, 1980.^[9] In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1996, and in DVD format in 1999, 2002, and 2008.^[10]

Bibliography

English

• Web site: OTOKO WA TSURAI YO TORAJIRO KAMOMEUTA (1980). 2010-01-21. British Film Institute. https://web.archive.org/web/20121017232058/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/305837. 2012-10-17. dead.
• Web site: OTOKO WA TSURAIYO -TORAJIRO KAMONE UTA. 2010-01-21. Complete Index to World Film.
• Web site: Stuart . Galbraith IV . Stuart Galbraith IV. Tora-san 26: Tora-san's Foster Daddy (Region 3) . 2006-08-18. 2010-01-21. DVD Talk.

German

• Web site: Tora-San's Foster Daddy, 1980. 2010-01-21. www.molodezhnaja.ch. German.

Japanese

• Web site: http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_c.php?num_c=147457. ja:男はつらいよ 寅次郎かもめ歌 (1980). 2010-01-21. allcinema.net. Japanese.
• Web site: 男はつらいよ 寅次郎かもめ歌. 2010-01-21. Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140222212752/http://www.japanese-cinema-db.jp/details/13294. 2014-02-22.
• Web site: http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1980/dd004170.htm. ja:男はつらいよ 寅次郎かもめ歌. 2010-01-21. Japanese. Japanese Movie Database.
• Web site: http://www.kinejun.jp/cinema/id/17004. ja:男はつらいよ 寅次郎かもめ歌. 2010-01-21. Japanese. Kinema Junpo. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120322010948/http://www.kinejun.jp/cinema/id/17004. 2012-03-22.

External links

• Foster Daddy, Tora! at www.tora-san.jp (official site)

Notes and References

1. Web site: OTOKO WA TSURAIYO -TORAJIRO KAMONE UTA. 2010-01-21. Complete Index to World Film.
2. Web site: 男はつらいよ 寅次郎かもめ歌 (Madonna). 2010-01-21. www.tora-san.jp. Japanese. (official site)
3. Web site: http://www.kinejun.jp/cinema/id/17004. ja:男はつらいよ 寅次郎かもめ歌. 2010-01-21. Japanese. Kinema Junpo. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120322010948/http://www.kinejun.jp/cinema/id/17004. 2012-03-22.
4. Web site: Stuart . Galbraith IV . Stuart Galbraith IV. Tora-san 26: Tora-san's Foster Daddy (Region 3) . 2006-08-18. 2010-01-21. DVD Talk.
5. Web site: OTOKO WA TSURAI YO TORAJIRO KAMOMEUTA (1980). 2010-01-21. British Film Institute. https://web.archive.org/web/20121017232058/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/305837. 2012-10-17. dead.
6. Web site: http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1980/dd004170.htm. ja:男はつらいよ 寅次郎かもめ歌. 2010-01-21. Japanese. Japanese Movie Database.
7. Web site: Awards for Otoko wa tsurai yo: Torajiro kamome uta (1980). 2010-01-21. Internet Movie Database.
8. Web site: Tora-San's Foster Daddy, 1980. 2010-01-21. www.molodezhnaja.ch. German.
9. Web site: 男はつらいよ 寅次郎かもめ歌. 2010-01-21. Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140222212752/http://www.japanese-cinema-db.jp/details/13294. 2014-02-22.
10. Web site: http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_c.php?num_c=147457. ja:男はつらいよ 寅次郎かもめ歌 (1980). 2010-01-21. allcinema.net. Japanese.