Shiroi Kyotō (白い巨塔; lit. 'The White Tower') is a 1965 novel by Toyoko Yamasaki. It has been adapted into a film in 1966 and then five times as a television series in 1967, 1978, 1990, 2003, and 2019. The 1966 film was entered into the 5th Moscow International Film Festival where it won a Silver Prize.
Contents
Summary
The story contrasts the life of two doctors, former classmates and now both associate professors at Naniwa University Hospital in Osaka. The brilliant and ambitious surgeon Goro Zaizen stops at nothing to rise to a position of eminence and authority, while the friendly Shuji Satomi busies himself with his patients and research.
Cast (1966 film)
Cast
Jiro Tamiya - Goro Zaizen
Eijirō Tōno - Professor Azuma
Takahiro Tamura - Shuji Satomi
Eitaro Ozawa - Professor Ugai
Eiji Funakoshi - Professor Kikukawa
Osamu Takizawa - Professor Funao
Kenjiro Ishiyama - Mataichi Zaizen
Yoshi Katō - Professor Ōkouchi
Teruko Kishi - Masako
Mayumi Ogawa - Keiko Hanamori
Shiho Fujimura - Saeko
Toshio Takahara - Tsukuda
Mizuho Suzuki - Hitoshi Sekiguchi
Awards
5th Moscow International Film Festival
Won: Silver Prize
17th Blue Ribbon Awards
Won: Best Film Award
Won: Best Screenplay Award
21st Mainichi Film Award
Won: Best Director Award
Won: Best Screenplay Award
Cast (1967 TV series)
Kei Satō - Goro Zaizen
Jun Negami - Shuji Satomi
Isao Yamagata - Professor Azuma
Cast (1978 TV series)
Jiro Tamiya - Goro Zaizen
Gaku Yamamoto - Shuji Satomi
Nobuo Nakamura - Professor Azuma
Eitaro Ozawa - Professor Ugai
Masakane Yonekura - Professor Kikukawa
Shin Saburi - Professor Funao
Meicho Soganoya - Mataichi Zaizen
Yoshi Katō - Professor Ōkouchi
Kō Nishimura - Kyosuke Takemura
Nobuo Kaneko - Jukichi Iwata
Eiji Okada - Seiichi Satomi
Mieko Azuma - Masako Azuma
Kiyoshi Kodama - Hitoshi Sekiguchi
Kiwako Taichi - Keiko Hanamori
Tamao Nakamura - Yoshie Sasaki
Yoko Shimada - Saeko Azuma
Tanie Kitabayashi - Ume Yamada
Choichiro Kawarazaki - Tomohiro Tsukuda
Iemasa Kayumi - Narrator
Cast (1990 TV mini-series)
Hiroaki Murakami - Goro Zaizen
Mitsuru Hirata - Shuji Satomi
Hideaki Nitani - Professor Azuma
Cast (2003 TV series)
Toshiaki Karasawa - Goro Zaizen
Yōsuke Eguchi - Shuji Satomi
Koji Ishizaka - Professor Azuma
Hideaki Itō - Hiroshi Yanagihara
Masato Ibu - Professor Ugai
Toshiyuki Nishida - Mataichi Zaizen
Mayumi Wakamura - Kyoko Zaizen
Hitomi Kuroki - Keiko Hanamori
Takaya Kamikawa - Hitoshi Sekiguchi
Ikki Sawamura - Professor Kikukawa
Tōru Shinagawa - Professor Ōkouchi
Rino Katase - Yoshie Sasaki
Atsuko Takahata - Masako Azuma
Akiko Yada - Saeko Azuma
Takeo Nakahara - Professor Funao
Takatarō Kataoka - Tomohiro Tsukuda
Cast (2019 TV mini-series)
Junichi Okada - Goro Zaizen
Kenichi Matsuyama - Shuji Satomi
Akira Terao - Professor Azuma
Erika Sawajiri - Keiko Hanamori
Shinnosuke Mitsushima - Masahiro Yanagihara
Yutaka Matsushige - Professor Ugai
Kaoru Kobayashi - Mataichi Zaizen
Kaho - Kyoko Zaizen
Rie Mimura - Kimiko Kameyama
Mikako Ichikawa - Natsumi Nosaka
Ittoku Kishibe - Professor Ōkouchi
Toshirō Yanagiba - Yōhei Sasaki
Kayoko Kishimoto - Yoshie Sasaki
Koji Mukai - Yōichi Sasaki
Reiko Takashima - Masako Azuma
Marie Iitoyo - Saeko Azuma
Kippei Shiina - Professor Funao
Norito Yashima - Tomohiro Tsukuda
Takumi Saitoh - Tōru Sekiguchi
Ikusaburo Yamazaki - Kōichirō Kunihira
Wolfgang Riehm as Dr. Wolf
Manga Adaptation
Illustrated by Jirō Andō, the manga adaptation was serialized in Monthly Comic Bunch (Shinchōsha) from the December 2018 issue to the May 2021 issue. The series spans a total of 25 chapters. Similar to recent screen adaptations, the setting has been updated to the contemporary era, with the story beginning in March 2018.
Jirō Andō, The Great White Tower, Shinchōsha (BUNCH COMICS), 5 volumes total:
1 – Released on March 9, 2019, ISBN 978-4-10-772160-0
2 – Released on May 9, 2019, ISBN 978-4-10-772182-2
3 – Released on January 9, 2020, ISBN 978-4-10-772248-5
4 – Released on May 8, 2021, ISBN 978-4-10-772386-4
5 – Released on May 8, 2021, ISBN 978-4-10-772387-1
Awards
21st Mainichi Film Award
Won: Best Film