Chishū Ryū

Acting

Chishū Ryū

Born — Died

1904-05-13 — 1993-03-16

Place of birth

Tachibana, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan

Known for

Acting

Credits

70 titles

Chishu Ryu (May 13, 1904 in Kumamoto, Japan – March 16, 1993 in Yokohama, Japan) was a famous Japanese film actor, a favourite of the director Yasujiro Ozu. From 1928 to 1992 he appeared in at least 155 films, including Ozu's Tokyo Story (1953) and Yoshitaro Nomura's Castle of Sand (1974). From 1969 until his death, Ryu became familiar to a new generation as the curmudgeonly but benevolent Buddhist priest in Yoji Yamada's Tora-san movie series (a role he parodied to great effect in a cameo in Juzo Itami's 1984 comedy, The Funeral). Description above from the Wikipedia article Chishû Ryû, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.​

Known for

Tamayura poster
9.0

The 5th NHK Asadora. Starring Chishuu Ryuu as an old man who begins to travel after he retires. From a story written for television by Yasunari Kawabata.

Tamayura

1965

Red Beard poster
8.2

Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed when his first post after medical school takes him to a small country clinic under the gruff doctor Red Beard. Yasumoto rebels in numerous ways, but Red Beard proves a wise and patient teacher. He gradually introduces his student to the unglamorous side of the profession, ultimately assigning him to care for a prostitute rescued from a local brothel.

Red Beard

1965

Hi no kuni ni poster
NR

The 18th NHK Asadora. Starring Keiko Suzuka about a woman who strives to become a landscape gardener.

Hi no kuni ni

1976

Dreams poster
7.7

Eight visually rich vignettes drawn from Kurosawa’s own dreams—fox weddings and vanished orchards, a soldier’s ghosts, a walk through Van Gogh’s canvases, nuclear nightmares, and a water-mill utopia—meditate on childhood, art, mortality, and humanity’s uneasy bond with nature.

Dreams

1990

Tokyo Story poster
8.1

The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged parents, and so it falls to Noriko, the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war, to keep her in-laws company.

Tokyo Story

1953

Late Spring poster
8.0

Noriko is perfectly happy living at home with her widowed father, Shukichi, and has no plans to marry -- that is, until her aunt Masa convinces Shukichi that unless he marries off his 27-year-old daughter soon, she will likely remain alone for the rest of her life. When Noriko resists Masa's matchmaking, Shukichi is forced to deceive his daughter and sacrifice his own happiness to do what he believes is right.

Late Spring

1949

Film credits

1980s · 9 titles

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters poster
7.8

A fictional account of the life of Japanese author Yukio Mishima, combining dramatizations of three of his novels and a depiction of the events of November 25th, 1970.

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

1985

The Funeral poster
7.2

When Wabisuke's father-in-law unexpectedly dies, the family goes through a series of random events and occurrences as the funeral unfolds over three days in their home.

The Funeral

1984

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

I Lived, But... poster
6.8

An extremely lovely tribute to Ozu, on the 20th anniversary of his death. It uses a combination of footage from vintage films and new material (both interviews and Ozu-related locations) shot by Ozu's long-time camera-man (who came out of retirement to work on this). Surprisingly (or perhaps not), it focuses less on Ozu's accomplishments as a film-maker than on his impact on the lives of the people he worked with..

I Lived, But...

1983

Tora-san Goes Religious? poster
7.7

Tora-san visits brother-in-law Hiroshi's hometown to attend a memorial service for his late father. When the local temple priest becomes intoxicated, Tora-san wearing the priest's robe delivers the memorial speech, much to his family's surprise. Thinking he's found his true calling, Tora-san decides to join the order, and falls for the priest's divorced daughter.

Tora-san Goes Religious?

1983

A Taxing Woman's Return poster
6.4

Ryōko Itakura returns as the tough-as-nails government taxing agent. This time she must figure out a way to expose a fanatical religious cult lead by a corrupt sociopath.

A Taxing Woman's Return

1988

Tora-san Plays Daddy poster
8.3

A playboy-gambler friend of Tora-san’s dies and, abandoned by his mother, his little boy suddenly turns up in Shibamata. Searching for the boy’s mother, Tora-san meets a cosmetics saleslady and the three become a surrogate family, with Tora-san as “daddy”.

Tora-san Plays Daddy

1987

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's Forbidden Love poster
8.0

Tora-san spends several days at the home of a hard-working salaryman ("salaried worker"), who abruptly disappears. When the man's wife asks Tora-san to help find him, he falls in love with her, and secretly hopes the husband will not be found.

Tora-san's Forbidden Love

1984

1970s · 11 titles

The Castle of Sand poster
7.3

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

Tora-san's Shattered Romance poster
7.7

Torajiro becomes homesick during his travels after watching a television report about his hometown and meeting a young woman that reminds him of his sister Sakura. Meanwhile, a new tenant moves into Toraya restaurant.

Tora-san's Shattered Romance

1971

Tora-san, the Good Samaritan poster
8.0

After a quarrel with his mother, Torajiro sets off to find a bride.

Tora-san, the Good Samaritan

1971

Tora-san, His Tender Love poster
7.4

Traveling salesman Kuruma Torajirō falls in love with an inn manager as New Year's approaches.

Tora-san, His Tender Love

1970

Talk of the Town Tora-san poster
8.0

After a chance encounter with Hiroshi's father on a bus, Tora decides to get serious and reflect on the mortality of man. His plans are derailed when a beautiful lady starts working at Toraya.

Talk of the Town Tora-san

1978

Miyamoto Musashi poster
7.3

In Part I we see the young would-be swordsman setting out to achieve greatness in war, achieving nothing because fighting on the losing side, & then beginning his long period of wandering & training, with the goal always in mind of his duel with Kojiro. Part II builds toward that great duel on Ganryu Island, with considerable focus on Musashi's planning & forethought as to how to gain an advantage.

Miyamoto Musashi

1973

Tora-san Meets His Lordship poster
8.8

Tora-san befriends the descendant of a feudal lord. The man asks Tora to locate his deceased son's wife who resides somewhere in Tokyo.

Tora-san Meets His Lordship

1977

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

Tora-san, the Matchmaker poster
8.7

Tora-san helps out a runaway bride.

Tora-san, the Matchmaker

1979

Tora-san's Forget Me Not poster
8.4

On the road again, Torajiro meets a kindred spirit in Lily, a lounge singer.

Tora-san's Forget Me Not

1973

Tora-san's Runaway poster
8.0

After an encounter with a dying yakuza's son and at his sister Sakura's urging, Torajiro attempts to change his vagrant lifestyle and become an honest worker with a steady job.

Tora-san's Runaway

1970

1960s · 12 titles

Red Beard poster
8.2

Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed when his first post after medical school takes him to a small country clinic under the gruff doctor Red Beard. Yasumoto rebels in numerous ways, but Red Beard proves a wise and patient teacher. He gradually introduces his student to the unglamorous side of the profession, ultimately assigning him to care for a prostitute rescued from a local brothel.

Red Beard

1965

The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer poster
8.4

After the Japanese defeat to the Russians, Kaji leads the last remaining men through Manchuria. Intent on returning to his old life, he faces great odds in a variety of different harrowing circumstances as he and his men sneak behind enemy lines.

The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer

1961

The End of Summer poster
7.5

The family of an older man who runs a small sake brewery become concerned with his finances and his health after they discover him visiting an old mistress from his youth.

The End of Summer

1961

Battle of the Japan Sea poster
6.4

Japan and Russia clash in what comes to be known as the Russo-Japanese War. An attempt by the Japanese fleet and army to take Port Arthur fails, and a Russian fleet bears down on the Sea of Japan. Admiral Heihachiro Togo sends his fleet to confront the Russians, with results which stun both nations. Meanwhile, Major Genjiro Akashi makes secret negotiations with the Bolshevik revolutionaries in Russia, negotiations that have repercussions far beyond the conflict at hand.

Battle of the Japan Sea

1969

An Autumn Afternoon poster
7.9

Widower Shuhei Hirayama's caretaker is his 24-year-old daughter, Michiko. Gradually, he comes to realize that Michiko should not be obliged to look after him for the rest of his life, so he arranges a marriage for her.

An Autumn Afternoon

1962

The Bad Sleep Well poster
7.7

In this loose adaptation of "Hamlet," illegitimate son Kôichi Nishi climbs to a high position within a Japanese corporation and marries the crippled daughter of company vice president Iwabuchi. At the reception, the wedding cake is a replica of their corporate headquarters, but an aspect of the design reminds the party of the hushed-up death of Nishi's father. It is then that Nishi unleashes his plan to avenge his father's death.

The Bad Sleep Well

1960

Late Autumn poster
7.7

A woman and her daughter are each forced to contend with an increasing pressure to marry, particularly from three men who knew her late husband.

Late Autumn

1960

Love Under the Crucifix poster
7.1

A tea master and his daughter Ogin are both Christians in feudal Japan. Ogin falls in love with a married feudal prince who shares her faith. When the Shogun bans Christianity, the situation worsens.

Love Under the Crucifix

1962

Tora-san, Our Lovable Tramp poster
7.8

Tora-san, an itinerant peddler who is thrown out of his father's house twenty years before but reconnects with his aunt, uncle and sister Sakura. Tora wreaks some havoc in their lives, like getting drunk and silly at a marriage meeting.

Tora-san, Our Lovable Tramp

1969

The Human Bullet poster
6.0

A soldier has been in the Japanese military for the entirety of WWII, and in that time, his dedication to the army has never faltered. However, as the war draws to a close, his commanding officers become increasingly desperate and push their men to ever more absurd extremes. The ridiculousness of the orders from above peak when the hero of the story is assigned to drive a one-man submarine straight into the hull of an enemy battleship.

The Human Bullet

1968

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

Japan's Longest Day poster
7.3

A dramatisation of the 24-hour period in which the Japanese government was deadlocked over the decision to accept or reject the Allies' demand for an unconditional surrender following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Japan's Longest Day

1967

1950s · 16 titles

Tokyo Story poster
8.1

The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged parents, and so it falls to Noriko, the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war, to keep her in-laws company.

Tokyo Story

1953

Twenty-Four Eyes poster
7.7

From 1928 to 1946, the lives of 12 young people and their school teacher in a poor Japanese village are profoundly affected by historical events and personal circumstances.

Twenty-Four Eyes

1954

Good Morning poster
7.7

Two boys beg their parents for a television set, nagging them until all patience is lost. The parents order the boys to be quiet and the boys do exactly that--refusing to utter a word. The boys' silence ultimately puts the whole neighborhood into turmoil.

Good Morning

1959

The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice poster
7.5

The arranged marriage between a capricious woman from Tokyo high society and a quiet rustic man is tested by a marital crisis.

The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice

1952

Early Summer poster
7.9

In postwar Tokyo, Noriko lives with her extended family. Although she enjoys her career and her social life, her more traditional family worries about her single marital status at the advanced age of 28. 40-year-old business associate Takako proposes, Noriko's family press her into accepting, but when her widowed childhood friend Kenkichi returns to the neighborhood, she finds her heart leading in another direction.

Early Summer

1951

Equinox Flower poster
7.4

Wataru's outwardly liberal views on marriage are severely tested when his daughter declares her love for a coworker and is adamant to live her own way, instead of agreeing to an arranged marriage. Outwitted by his female relatives, Hirayama stubbornly refuses to admit defeat.

Equinox Flower

1958

Floating Weeds poster
7.5

A theater troupe master's visit with his old flame unintentionally sets off a chain of unexpected events with devastating consequences.

Floating Weeds

1959

The Rickshaw Man poster
7.2

A poor rickshaw driver finds himself helping a young woman and her son after the woman's husband dies suddenly.

The Rickshaw Man

1958

Tokyo Twilight poster
7.7

Two sisters learn about the existence of their long-lost biological mother, but the younger is unable to accept the fact that she was abandoned as a child.

Tokyo Twilight

1957

The Munekata Sisters poster
7.1

Setsuko is in an unhappy marriage to Mimura, an unemployed, alcoholic engineer. She had always been in love with Hiroshi but both failed to propose when Hiroshi left for France a few years ago. But now he's back and Mariko tries to reunite them, although she too is secretly in love with Hiroshi.

The Munekata Sisters

1950

The Moon Has Risen poster
6.9

Mokichi Asai is a widowed father living in Nara with three daughters—Chizuru, Ayako, and Setsuko. The youngest, Setsuko, plays matchmaker for her older sisters, leading to humorous and awkward romantic entanglements.

The Moon Has Risen

1955

Early Spring poster
7.5

A young salaryman and his wife struggle within the confines of their passionless relationship while he embarks on an extramarital affair.

Early Spring

1956

The Eternal Rainbow poster
7.2

Two men at an ironworks encounter roadblocks: the first does not have the grades to get a job, while the other finds himself falling for a co-worker.

The Eternal Rainbow

1958

Love Letter poster
6.9

Five years after the end of the Second World War, Reikichi, a repatriated veteran, translates love letters for Japanese women to American GIs, while searching for his lost love, Michiko.

Love Letter

1953

Always in My Heart Part 2 poster
6.5

Machiko and Haruki’s drama continues. Two meet again in Hokkaido only to be separated again.

Always in My Heart Part 2

1953

Kuchibue o fuku wataridori poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Kuchibue o fuku wataridori

1958

1940s · 5 titles

1930s · 5 titles

Series credits

Tamayura poster
9.0

The 5th NHK Asadora. Starring Chishuu Ryuu as an old man who begins to travel after he retires. From a story written for television by Yasunari Kawabata.

Tamayura

1965

Hi no kuni ni poster
NR

The 18th NHK Asadora. Starring Keiko Suzuka about a woman who strives to become a landscape gardener.

Hi no kuni ni

1976

The Roads Men Travel poster
8.2

The series depicts the employees of a security company from different generations and backgrounds facing many difficult questions. It features a guard who survived a suicide mission during the war and his conflicts, rebellion, empathy and reconciliation with the younger generation born after the war.

The Roads Men Travel

1976

Zoku zoku jiken poster
NR

Daisaburo Kikuchi (Tomisaburo Wakayama), a skilled lawyer full of humanity, thrillingly depicts the process of stepping into the background of the case step by step.

Zoku zoku jiken

1980

Haguregumo poster
6.5

Set at the end of the Edo period, the series depicts Kumo's family with his wife, Kame, their 11-year-old son, Shinnosuke. Kumo is always ignoring work and playing and he is also notorious for womanising.

Haguregumo

1978

A-Un poster
NR

Senkichi Mizuta, a pharmaceutical company employee, and Shuzo Kadokura, a war profiteer, are diametrically opposed in appearance and personality, but are best friends. Kadokura secretly loves Mizuta's wife, Tami, and both Mizuta and Tami are aware of it. The drama depicts the subtle relationship between the two men and the people around them against the backdrop of the times and customs of the early Showa period, in which both are aware of each other's love, but no one speaks of it.

A-Un

1980

Tokyo Suburbia poster
NR

Two couples are confronted with the fact that their children have dropped out of high school and started living together. This drama questions the meaning of “life” as they overcome a series of incidents.

Tokyo Suburbia

1979

The Lonely Scalpel poster
NR

The story is set in Sumidagawa Hospital, an emergency hospital in downtown Tokyo. The head of surgery there, Iwashita Ken, is a brain surgeon who has just returned from the United States . He has excellent skills, but his strict personality often makes him the envy of other doctors. He also has a secret past. The story depicts the various facets of the hospital, including the interactions between doctors and patients, the power struggle within the hospital, and Asou Yukie, a recent nursing school graduate who was assigned to the hospital unaware of the complex internal affairs that exist.

The Lonely Scalpel

1969

An Early Autumn poster
NR

A former couple, separated for over 20 years, were reunited after being told their son had only 3 months to live. What should they do as parents? As they worried, they soon began to feel the weight of their family ties...

An Early Autumn

1987

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

おれは男だ!

1971