Kiyoshi Atsumi

Born: 1928-03-10

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.


Placeholder

Tora! Tora! Tora!

as Cook #1 (uncredited)
Released: 1970-01-26

In the summer of 1941, the United States and Japan seem on the brink of war after constant...

Movie page

The Yellow Handkerchief

as Watanabe Kacho
Released: 1977-09-30

The story is about a convict released from prison for an old murder who is thinking about...

Movie page

The Castle of Sand

as Movie Theater Manager
Released: 1974-10-19

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

Movie page

Village of Eight Gravestones

as Kosuke Kindaichi
Released: 1977-10-29

The heir to a family fortune discovers that a curse has been placed on it, put there centuries...

Movie page

August without Emperor

as Kubo
Released: 1978-09-23

Taking the Chilean coup as an example, a group of young officers plan to overthrow the Japanese...

Movie page

Final Take: The Golden Age of Movies

as Kihachi
Released: 1986-08-02

Director Ogata discovers a new female star in Koharu Tanaka, who works selling candy at a studio...

Movie page

Tora-san Goes North

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1987-08-15

When his travels take him to rural Hokkaido, Tora-san helps a cantankerous old veterinarian...

Movie page

Snow in the South Seas

as uncredited
Released: 1961-09-29

Japanese soldiers stranded in Manokwari, New Guinea, improvise a theater play to keep their...

Movie page

Tora-san, His Tender Love

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1970-01-15

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

Movie page

Tora-san's Forbidden Love

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1984-12-28

Tora-san spends several days at the home of a hard-working salaryman ("salaried worker"), who...

Movie page

A Distant Cry from Spring

as Kondo
Released: 1980-03-15

The quiet life of a mother and her young son living on a farm in Hokkaido is changed by the...

Movie page

Tora-san, Wish You Were Here

as Tora-san
Released: 2019-12-27

The 50th film in Tora-san series, using the old footages and newly shot scenes to celebrate the...

Movie page

Tora-san to the Rescue

as Torajiro Kuruma(Tora-san)
Released: 1995-12-23

Tora-san works hard to bring together his nephew, Mitsuo, and Mitsuo’s girlfriend who is engaged...

Movie page

風来忍法帖

as uncredited
Released: 1965-05-16

The first of two films based on the novel by Futaro Yamada.

Movie page

Tora-san Meets His Lordship

as uncredited
Released: 1977-08-06

Tora-san befriends the descendant of a feudal lord. The man asks Tora to locate his deceased...

Movie page

Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1976-07-23

Tora-san arrives in Shibamata on Mitsuo's first day of school only to find that on his account,...

Movie page

Tora-san's Lullaby

as Torajiro
Released: 1974-12-28

After Hiroshi is injured in a workplace accident, Torajiro gives Sakura the money he has saved...

Movie page

Tora-san's Shattered Romance

as Torajirô Kuruma
Released: 1971-01-15

Torajiro becomes homesick during his travels after watching a television report about his...

Movie page

Where Spring Comes Late

as Traveler
Released: 1970-10-24

The story is set in 1970 during the time of the first EXPO in Japan. The film’s main figure is a...

Movie page

Tora-san, the Matchmaker

as Torajiro
Released: 1979-08-04

Tora-san helps out a runaway bride.

Movie page

Tora-san's Song of Love

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1983-08-06

Tora-san returns to his family home to learn that his brother-in-law cannot go to Mitsuo's...

Movie page

Tora-san's Love in Osaka

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1981-08-08

When his travels bring him to Osaka, Tora-san falls in love with a local geisha. He helps her to...

Movie page

Tora-san's Runaway

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1970-08-26

After an encounter with a dying yakuza's son and at his sister Sakura's urging, Torajiro...

Movie page

Jirocho' s Days of Youth: Whirlwind on the Tokaido

as uncredited
Released: 1962-01-03

Adventures of famous yakuza boss Jirocho and his disciples who settle in Kofu.

Movie page

Attack Squadron

as uncredited
Released: 1963-01-03

Lt. Col. Senda resists the idea of sending Japanese fighter pilots on suicide missions. He...

Movie page

Home from the Sea

as Matsushita
Released: 1972-10-28

On a beautiful island in Seto Inner Sea, Seichi and Minko make their living by transporting...

Movie page

Tora-san's Salad-Day Memorial

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1988-12-24

In his travels through Japan, Tora-san meets and falls in love with a female doctor, however he...

Movie page

Tora-san's Grand Scheme

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1970-02-26

After winning big at the races, Torajiro Kuruma wants to take his aunt and uncle on a trip to...

Movie page

New Year Trip

as uncredited
Released: 1968-01-03

A comedy about a good-natured train conductor Shinsaku helping his old friend Miwako find her...

Movie page

A Class to Remember

as (cameo)
Released: 1993-11-06

A cantankerous but loveable high school teacher teaches a night school in a poor neighborhood...

Movie page

Tora-san, the Intellectual

as Torajiro
Released: 1975-12-27

Tora-san is inspired to pursue an education after a visit to the grave of a woman he met years...

Movie page

Foster Daddy, Tora!

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1980-12-27

After a friend and business colleague dies, Tora-san visits the man's daughter, then takes her...

Movie page

A Carpenter and Children

as uncredited
Released: 1962-06-10

A carpenter, Shigetsugu, learns a lesson of love and humanity from five orphaned children and an...

Movie page

Tora-san's Island Encounter

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1985-12-28

Tora-san's family's neighbor, Akemi, who had been married in Marriage Counselor Tora-san (1984),...

Movie page

Tora-san's Love Call

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1971-12-29

Taking a message from Hiroshi's father to heart, Torajiro attempts to give up his wandering ways.

Movie page

Tora-san Plays Daddy

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1987-12-26

A playboy-gambler friend of Tora-san’s dies and, abandoned by his mother, his little boy...

Movie page

Tora-san's Dear Old Home

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1972-08-05

While Sakura and Hiroshi struggle to save funds to build a house, Torajiro befriends three young...

Movie page

Tora-san Loves an Artist

as uncredited
Released: 1973-12-25

Tora-San returns to Shibamata just before his family leaves on a trip for Kyushu. Later, he...

Movie page

Tora-san, the Good Samaritan

as Torajirō Kuruma
Released: 1971-04-28

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

Movie page

Tora-san's Cherished Mother

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1969-11-14

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

Movie page

Escape from Hell

as Ichibei
Released: 1963-01-27

This suspense drama set in the mid 1700's depicts the plan of the Tokugawa rulers to send a...

Movie page

Tora-san's Dream-Come-True

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1972-12-29

When Tora-san returns to visit his family, he is surprised to find an arrogant professor...

Movie page

Tora-san's Lovesick

as Torajiro
Released: 1974-08-10

After Torajiro's latest attempt to find a bride goes awry, he starts traveling again and runs...

Movie page

Sing, Young People

as Driver
Released: 1963-01-06

A story about four best friends and their lives inside and outside college. Then suddenly one of...

Movie page

Stage-Struck Tora-san

as uncredited
Released: 1978-08-05

Tora-san leaves Shibamata once again after an argument with his family and finds himself at an...

Movie page

In Broad Daylight

as Katsuji 'Watakatsu' Watanabe
Released: 1968-10-26

After his company goes bankrupt, Katsuji Watanabe resorts to pickpocketing again with his old...

Movie page

Hearts and Flowers for Tora-san

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1982-08-07

During his travels, Tora-san gets drunk with an old man in Kyoto. Though Tora-san never fully...

Movie page

Ottamage ningyo monogatari

as uncredited
Released: 1962-06-15

1962 Japanese movie

Movie page

Tora-san's Easy Advice

as Torajiro Kuruma(Tora-san)
Released: 1994-12-23

Mitsuo, unhappy in his new job as a shoe salesman, is invited to a festival and is introduced to...

Movie page

It's Tough Being a Man

as Torajirô Kuruma
Released: 1969-08-27

Tora-San, an itinerant peddler who is thrown out of his father's house twenty years before but...

Movie page

Tora-san, the Go-Between

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1985-08-03

In Nagasaki, Tora-san and an acquaintance help an old woman who has fallen and injured herself....

Movie page

Tora-san's Pure Love

as Torajiro
Released: 1976-12-25

When Tora-san's infatuation with his nephew's school teacher causes family turmoil, he leaves on...

Movie page

Tora-san Makes Excuses

as uncredited
Released: 1992-12-26

Tora-san Makes Excuses is a 1992 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi...

Movie page

Scrap Collectors

as uncredited
Released: 1968-11-28

Based on a story by Akiyuki Nosaka.

Movie page

Zoku Haikei Tenno Heika Sama

as Zensuke Yamashita
Released: 1964-01-01

Based on Muneta Hiroshi's military novel. The main character, Yamaguchi Zensuke, is a military...

Movie page

Tora-san's Bluebird Fantasy

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1986-12-20

During his travels, Tora-san comes across a traditional theater he used to visit, and discovers...

Movie page

Hope and Pain

as uncredited
Released: 1988-08-06

The adventures and tribulations of a group of students during the years following the II World War.

Movie page

Tora-san, My Uncle

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1989-12-27

Tora-san's nephew Mitsuo is exchanging letters with Izumi, a former classmate whose parents...

Movie page

Tora-san Takes a Vacation

as Torajiro Kuruma(Tora-san)
Released: 1990-12-22

Mitsuo goes to Nagoya to visit Izumi, whose father left Izumi’s sad, bar hostess mother for...

Movie page

Tora-san's Tropical Fever Special Version

as Torajiro Kuruma(Tora-san)
Released: 1997-11-22

Carrying a bag full of samples, Mitsuo makes rounds to shoe stores in remote cities. While...

Movie page

Talk of the Town Tora-san

as Tora
Released: 1978-12-27

After a chance encounter with Hiroshi's father on a bus, Tora decides to get serious and reflect...

Movie page

Tora-san Meets the Songstress Again

as Tora
Released: 1975-08-19

Tora-san visits Hokkaido and is reunited with Lily. Now divorced, she plans to resume her...

Movie page

The Man Without a Map

as Tashiro
Released: 1968-06-01

A private detective is hired to find a missing man by his wife. While his search is...

Movie page

Marriage Counselor Tora-san

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1984-08-04

In Shibamata, Tokyo, Tora-san's family prepares for a wedding. Meanwhile, the traveling Tora-san...

Movie page

Tora-san Confesses

as Torajiro Kuruma(Tora-san)
Released: 1991-12-23

When Izumi can't stand seeing her mother flirt with other men, she leaves home. She sends a...

Movie page

Tora-san's Matchmaker

as Torajiro Kuruma(Tora-san)
Released: 1993-12-25

After failing to find a job, Mitsuo becomes a fisherman on a small island, and develops a crush...

Movie page

Tora-san's Promise

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1981-12-28

Tora-san returns to his family's home to attend an elementary school class reunion. After he...

Movie page

To Your Majesty, The Emperor

as uncredited
Released: 1963-04-28

A conscript from a poor background writes the Emperor asking if he can stay in the army when his...

Movie page

Tōkyō sanosa musume

as uncredited
Released: 1962-09-16

1962 Japanese movie

Movie page

Traveling in Party

as uncredited
Released: 1967-11-12

A comedy about Hikoichi, a mediocre train conductor who falls in love with a beautiful widow Sayuri.

Movie page

Tora-san, the Expert

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1982-12-28

Tora-san gets into an argument with his uncle and sets out on the road again. In Kyushu he meets...

Movie page

Nippon no obaachan

as uncredited
Released: 1962-01-03

Two obaachans become fast friends listening to music in front of a record store. They both boast...

Movie page

Tora-san Goes Religious?

as Kuruma Torajiro
Released: 1983-12-28

Tora-san visits brother-in-law Hiroshi's hometown to attend a memorial service for his late...

Movie page

The Village

as uncredited
Released: 1976-04-12

This appears to be a labor of love. Its about a village which is given the opportunity to put on...

Movie page

Tora-san Plays Cupid

as Torajirō
Released: 1977-12-24

Tora-san becomes friends with Toraya's newest tenant, a pachinko-playing electrician that goes...

Movie page

Tora-san Goes to Vienna

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1989-08-05

During his wandering throughout Japan, Tora-san meets a suicidal man. He travels with the man to...

Movie page

Kutsukake Tokijiro: The Lonely Yakuza

as Minobu no Asakichi
Released: 1966-04-01

Tokijiro has the unfortunate duty according to the code of the gamblers to join in the fighting...

Movie page

Gamblers' Luck

as uncredited
Released: 1966-03-19

A group of ne'er-do-wells live happily in the slums of what is now Tokyo and have a number of...

Movie page

It's Tough Being a Man (Television Drama DVD Edit Edition)

as uncredited
Released: 1968-10-03

This is the DVD version of the TV show, which consists of a single video that plays the first...

Movie page

Tora-san's Forget Me Not

as Torajiro Kuruma
Released: 1973-01-04

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

Movie page

Our Wonderful Years

as Teiji Yoshida
Released: 1966-09-30

The story of a selfless mother and her family throughout the decades, from th 1920's to the 1960's.

Movie page

Obon, The Moll Dipper

as uncredited
Released: 1961-04-16

Modern comedy, based on the popular manga.

Movie page

My Voiceless Friends

as Tamiji Nishiyama
Released: 1972-04-29

A man who survived the war carries the will of his comrades in arms, walking across the country...

Movie page

風来忍法帖 八方破れ

as uncredited
Released: 1968-05-08

The second of two films based on the novel by Futaro Yamada.

Movie page

Tora-san's Dream of Spring

as Kuruma Torajiro
Released: 1979-12-28

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

Movie page

Dear Mr. Prime Minister

as Kakumaru
Released: 1964-04-29

Kakumaru (Kiyoshi Atsumi) is an unpopular manzai performer who is too good-natured but has a...

Movie page

Children on the Island

as Narrator (voice)
Released: 1987-07-11

The story of a teacher who comes to a village on the Inland Sea and the relationship that...

Movie page

The Glamorous Ghost

as Hospital Guard
Released: 1964-10-03

Based on the novel by Naoki Prize-nominated author Taro Takeshita, a thriller full of black...

Movie page

Jirocho’s Days of Youth: The Youngest Boss in the Tokai Region

as uncredited
Released: 1961-06-21

He was married to his lover's butterfly and started a new residence. But good things do not...

Movie page

The Betrayers Out!

as uncredited
Released: 1966-01-15

Shochiku's popular series of gang films, this one has the hero returning from prison bent on...

Movie page

The Honest Fool

as uncredited
Released: 1964-01-15

Yasugoro, goes to live in a quiet town where he falls in love with the priest's daughter-in-law....

Movie page

Tora-san's Tropical Fever

as uncredited
Released: 1980-08-02

When cabaret singer Lily writes Toraya about her illness, Tora-san rushes to Okinawa to be by...

Movie page

Express Train

as uncredited
Released: 1967-06-03

Atsumi Kiyoshi, famous for his role in Torasan, stars as Aoki Goichi, a veteran train conductor...

Movie page

A Country Boss

as Sasaki
Released: 1962-01-25

A country boss gives up his way of life because of his daughter's marriage.

Movie page

Women Can't Be Beaten

as uncredited
Released: 1969-10-01

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

Movie page

Good Rascals

as Ushi
Released: 1962-01-14

A group of men living a low life in Edo help each other to make the best out of their lives.

Movie page

The Ambitious Youth

as Mitsuo Aoi
Released: 1962-06-03

As descendent of famed fishmonger Isshin Tasuke, young feisty Ishii Tasuke uses his talent to...

Movie page

Green Light to Joy

as Yoshitaro Hirai
Released: 1967-12-06

Drama about the friendship between a lonely laborer (Atsumi) and a young woman (Hoshi) unable to...

Movie page

Charming Men

as Okera Goro
Released: 1970-06-13

One day, when Goro (Kiyoshi Atsumi) returns to his poor tenement house from a trip on a deep-sea...

Movie page

Aitsu bakari ga naze moteru

as uncredited
Released: 1962-11-18

1962 Japanese movie

Movie page

田舎刑事 時間よ、とまれ

as uncredited
Released: 1977-07-02

A family murder case that occurred in Hita City, Oita Prefecture. A murderer whose statute of...

Movie page

Neon taiheiki

as uncredited
Released: 1968-04-13

Movie page

Okashina yatsu

as Kashô Sanyûtei
Released: 1963-11-01

Movie page

How to Make Money

as uncredited
Released: 1964-02-01

Japanese comedy film.

Movie page

The Song of the Bwana Toshi

as Toshi
Released: 1965-07-05

Traveling to Africa in a cultural exchange program, a young Japanese engineer discovers a world...

Movie page

Onna yajikita-tatchi ryokō

as uncredited
Released: 1963-07-13

1963 Japanese movie

Movie page

It's Tough Being a Man

as uncredited
First aired: 1968-10-03

The original TV Drama series the famous Tora film series was based on.

TV Show page