Kiyoshi Atsumi

Acting

Kiyoshi Atsumi

Born 1928-03-10 · Tokyo, Japan

Kiyoshi Atsumi (渥美 清 Atsumi Kiyoshi), born Yasuo Tadokoro (田所 康雄 Tadokoro Yasuo, 10 March 1928 in Tokyo – 4 August 1996 in Tokyo), was a Japanese film actor. He started his career in 1951 as a comedian at a strip-show theater in Asakusa. After two years of fighting pulmonary tuberculosis, he made his debut on TV in 1956 and on film in 1957. His vivid performance of a lovable, innocent man in a film “Dear Mr. Emperor” (Haikei Tenno-Heika-Sama) in 1963 established his reputation as an actor. Later he became the star of the highly popular Tora-san series of films, from the original Otoko wa Tsurai yo (translated in English as 'It's Tough being a Man') in 1969 to the 48th film released in 1995, the year before his death. The enduring success of the series made him synonymous with the Tora-san character, and many Japanese regarded his death as the death of Tora-san, not the death of Yasuo Tadokoro or Kiyoshi Atsumi.

Acting credits

Tora! Tora! Tora! poster
7.2

In the summer of 1941, the United States and Japan seem on the brink of war after constant embargos and failed diplomacy come to no end. "Tora! Tora! Tora!", named after the code words used by the lead Japanese pilot to indicate they had surprised the Americans, covers the days leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, which plunged America into the Second World War.

Tora! Tora! Tora!

1970

Tora-san's Matchmaker poster
9.0

After failing to find a job, Mitsuo becomes a fisherman on a small island, and develops a crush on a young nurse there. Tora-san, dispatched to bring Mitsuo back home, himself falls in love with an attractive but troubled woman visiting her father.

Tora-san's Matchmaker

1993

The Yellow Handkerchief poster
7.0

A convict, newly released from prison for murder, joins two strangers on a road trip through Hokkaido to visit his ex-wife, whom he hasn't seen in four years, knowing that if she puts a yellow handkerchief on the window, it would mean that she wants him back at home.

The Yellow Handkerchief

1977

Tora-san Goes to Vienna poster
8.7

During his wandering throughout Japan, Tora-san meets a suicidal man. He travels with the man to Vienna, but winds up homesick for Japan.

Tora-san Goes to Vienna

1989

Tora-san's Dream of Spring poster
8.2

Tora-san's opinions about Americans get challenged when another wandering peddler Michael Jordan stops by Shibamata.

Tora-san's Dream of Spring

1979

The Castle of Sand poster
7.4

Two detectives are tasked to investigate the murder of an old man, found bludgeoned to death in a Tokyo rail yard.

The Castle of Sand

1974

The Glamorous Ghost poster
7.0

Based on the novel by Naoki Prize-nominated author Taro Takeshita, a thriller full of black humor. A jealous husband murders his adulterous wife, then embarks on a crusade to extort all the wealthy men whom she had affairs with.

The Glamorous Ghost

1964

The Village poster
7.4

This appears to be a labor of love. Its about a village which is given the opportunity to put on a musical. They would have to pay the overhead and, being that they are farmers and always busy and not rich, question the wisdom and feasibility of such an idea. A spokesperson for the acting troupe Ms. Kono lays out the whole thing and they must decide. You get little slices of rural life in Japan far, at least in sentiment, from Tokyo. The best thing about this film is that it has heart. The acting is good, but it is really about the simple storyline of outing on a show. Films rarely get made with such simplistic plots these days. Enjoy this little slice of what city people call “the simple life”.

The Village

1975

August Without Emperor poster
7.3

Taking the Chilean coup as an example, a group of young officers plan to overthrow the Japanese government on V-J Day. They aim to abolish the post-war constitution, restore the national army and revive the traditional spirit of Japan. As the conspiracy is exposed, the coup squadrons are wiped out one by one. The remaining squadron takes over a night train bound for Tokyo.

August Without Emperor

1978

Attack Squadron poster
7.0

Lt. Col. Senda resists the idea of sending Japanese fighter pilots on suicide missions. He believes that what is really necessary for Japan to regain momentum in the war is for the air force to gather its most brilliant pilots into an elite squadron and use the unit to pinpoint attacks on the Americans. Disrespected by the kamikaze pilots who think the "non-suicidal" pilots are afraid, the unit redeems itself by stunning victories. But success leads the military leaders to expect too much of the unit, and new orders portend disaster.

Attack Squadron

1963

Final Take: The Golden Age of Movies poster
6.6

Director Ogata discovers a new female star in Koharu Tanaka, who works selling candy at a studio theater and she is given a part as a bit player. After the studio's top leading lady is embroiled in a scandal, Koharu is suddenly thrust into the limelight when she replaces her in a film and gains instant fame and fortune. But the going is not always easy, and she soon seeks help from unexpected quarters.

Final Take: The Golden Age of Movies

1986

Marriage Counselor Tora-san poster
8.0

In Shibamata, Tokyo, Tora-san's family prepares for a wedding. Meanwhile, the traveling Tora-san meets an old acqaintance in Iwate Province. Tora-san refuses to drink with him, afraid that the acquaintance, now settled and married, will again become attracted to Tora-san's wandering existence. Tora-san becomes attracted to a female barber, but must break off their relationship so that she too can live a secure life. She instead gets into an abusive relationship with a motorcyclist.

Marriage Counselor Tora-san

1984

Village of Eight Gravestones poster
7.0

The heir to a family fortune discovers that a curse has been placed on it, put there centuries before by a band of samurai warriors. Adaptation of novel by Seishi Yokomizo

Village of Eight Gravestones

1977

Tora-san's Easy Advice poster
8.5

Mitsuo, unhappy in his new job as a shoe salesman, is invited to a festival and is introduced to a friend’s sister. Tora-san meanwhile helps an injured housewife on her yearly vacation.

Tora-san's Easy Advice

1994

A Class to Remember poster
7.3

A cantankerous but loveable high school teacher teaches a night school in a poor neighborhood for adult students on the fringes of Japanese society.

A Class to Remember

1993

Tora-san Goes North poster
9.0

When his travels take him to rural Hokkaido, Tora-san helps a cantankerous old veterinarian (Mifune) in his relationships with his estranged daughter, and a woman in whom he is secretly interested.

Tora-san Goes North

1987

Tora-san Makes Excuses poster
8.0

Tora befriends a pretty barbershop owner and runs into Izumi. When Tora twists his ankle, Mitsuo comes to care for him and see Izumi. Meanwhile, Izumi must choose between her new job in Tokyo and returning to Nagoya to care for her mother.

Tora-san Makes Excuses

1992

Tora-san's Dream-Come-True poster
8.3

When Tora-san returns to visit his family, he is surprised to find an arrogant professor occupying his room. The professor and Tora-san become rivals for the affection of Chiyo.

Tora-san's Dream-Come-True

1972

Neon taiheiki poster
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

Neon taiheiki

1968

A Distant Cry from Spring poster
7.4

The quiet life of a mother and her young son living on a farm in Hokkaido is changed by the arrival of a man who ignites flames of romance in the heart of the mother and shows her boy the importance of grit and kindness, but then he leaves with the autumn wind.

A Distant Cry from Spring

1980

Tora-san's Love in Osaka poster
9.0

When his travels bring him to Osaka, Tora-san falls in love with a local geisha. He helps her to track down her estranged brother, and informs his family that he plans to marry her. His plans are foiled when the geisha informs Tora-san that she is engaged.

Tora-san's Love in Osaka

1981

Tora-san's Cherished Mother poster
6.8

Kuruma Torajiro is discovered looking around Kyoto for someone special to him.

Tora-san's Cherished Mother

1969

Women Can't Be Beaten poster
7.5

An uptight young man comes to suspect that his factory worker girlfriend has a secret involving his boorish older brother.

Women Can't Be Beaten

1969

Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza poster
7.2

Tokijiro has the unfortunate duty according to the code of the gamblers to join in the fighting when afforded a night’s stay and meals at the home of a town boss. Though he dislikes killing, the strength of his swordsmanship will be tested time and time again in the bloody tale.

Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza

1966