| Tora-san's Cherished Mother | |
| Director: | Yoji Yamada |
| Starring: | Kiyoshi Atsumi Orie Satō |
| Music: | Naozumi Yamamoto |
| Cinematography: | Tetsuo Takaba |
| Editing: | Iwao Ishii |
| Distributor: | Shochiku |
| Runtime: | 93 minutes |
| Country: | Japan |
| Language: | Japanese |
, aka Tora-san's Homeward Journey, Am I Trying? Part II, and Torasan Pt. 2,[1] is a 1969 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Kuruma Torajirō (Tora-san), and Orie Satō as his love interest or "Madonna".[2] Tora-san's Cherished Mother is the second entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.
Tora-san hears that his mother is still alive and returns to Tokyo to track her down. He discovers that she is a geisha who had had only a brief affair with his father. While visiting the family, he falls in love with Natsuko, the daughter of an old teacher.[3] [4] [5]
Kiyoshi Atsumi was given the Best Actor award at the Mainichi Film Awards for his performance in this film and the previous entry in the series, It's Tough Being a Man (also 1969). Yoji Yamada was also awarded Best Director at the ceremony for the same two films.
The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san's Cherished Mother three and a half out of five stars.[7]
Tora-san's Cherished Mother was released theatrically on November 15, 1969.[8]
In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1983 and 1995, and in DVD format in 2005 and 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]