Tora-san's Salad-Day Memorial (男はつらいよ 寅次郎サラダ記念日, Otoko wa Tsurai yo: Torajirō Sarada Kinenbi) is a 1988 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Yoshiko Mita as his love interest or "Madonna". Tora-san's Salad-Day Memorial is the fortieth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series. The title comes from Machi Tawara poetry collection Salad Anniversary, on which this movie was based.
Contents
Synopsis
Taking place in Komoro, Nagano. In his travels through Japan, Tora-san meets and falls in love with a female doctor, but he is afraid of committing to a relationship.
Cast
Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō
Chieko Baisho as Sakura
Yoshiko Mita as Machiko
Hiroko Mita as Yuki
Shimojo Masami as Kuruma Tatsuzō
Chieko Misaki as Tsune Kuruma (Torajiro's aunt)
Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
Hidetaka Yoshioka as Mitsuo Suwa
Hisao Dazai as Boss (Umetarō Katsura)
Gajirō Satō as Genkō
Toshinori Omi as Sei
Chishū Ryū as Gozen-sama
Tomoko Naraoka as Machiko's mother
Critical appraisal
Yoshiko Mita was nominated for Best Actress at the Japan Academy Prize for her role in Tora-san's Salad-Day Memorial. Kevin Thomas at the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review. The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san's Salad-Day Memorial four out of five stars, labeling it one of the highlights of the series.
Availability
Tora-san's Salad-Day Memorial was released theatrically on December 24, 1988. In Japan, the film has been released on videotape in 1989 and 1996, and in DVD format in 2005 and 2008.