Sayonara eiga no furusato: Ofuna satsueijo

When He Is Not Doing "Tora-san", Yamada is Still Too "Tora-san" For his Own Good

Hope and human kindness amongst upheaval and tragedy

One of Yamada's best, and considering his body of work, that's saying something

Otoko wa tsurai yo: Hana mo arashi mo Torajirô

Rie Miyazawa and Hiroyuki Sanada in The Twilight Samurai (2002)

Gin Maeda in Where Spring Comes Late (1970)

Hisashi Igawa in Where Spring Comes Late (1970)

Chishû Ryû in Where Spring Comes Late (1970)

Chieko Baishô in Where Spring Comes Late (1970)

Chieko Baishô

Hisashi Igawa

Chishû Ryû

Akira Miyazaki

Yôji Yamada

A poor family of miners from Kyushu uproot themselves and make the long journey to what they hope is a better life in Hokkaido. Their journey is beset with hardship and tragedy.

Kazoku

Tragedy and happiness of a family

The Japanese title &quot;Kazoku&quot; means &quot;Family&quot;, but the story is what unlikely happens for ordinary families. A family of husband, wife, a boy, a baby girl and husband&apos;s father moves from a small island of Kyushu, where the husband worked for a small subcontractor of a coal mining company, to a livestock farm in eastern end of Hokkaido. Furthermore, they are Catholic, less than 1% of Japanese population.

The writer and director Yamada Yoji was 38 when he started to take the film. I don&apos;t know which he first determined, the title or the story. Perhaps he first wanted to portray something about families, then came up the story. 

The husband has a dream to work without being ordered nor managed, but he lacks reality thinking. He is brave toward future issues, but is short-sighted and lacks decision toward present issues. The performance of Igawa Hisashi acting as such husband is superb. The wife is reluctant on his idea, but once she makes her mind to go to Hokkaido with him and their children, she acts pro-actively. Baisho Chieko acts the wife with superb performance too. Only flaw is that she is too beautiful. Every time they make an argument, the wife has solid opinion and it ends up the husband, as the head of the family, roars in temper. 

On the IMDb web site I found the USA title was &quot;Where Spring Comes Late&quot;. This makes sense to imply its happy ending where spring comes in June, after the tragic hard travel. But this title intently avoids original idea to portray tragedy and happiness of a family. 

This film was released in 1970, in the era of high economic growth of Japan. You see many things that represent 1970 of Japan: Expo &apos;70 held in Osaka, newly construct big factories, small family cars, crowded underground shopping mall, etc. It looks like present days in China.

The Japanese title "Kazoku" means "Family", but the story is what unlikely happens for ordinary families. A family of husband, wife, a boy, a baby girl and husband's father moves from a small island of Kyushu, where the husband worked for a small subcontractor of a coal mining company, to a livestock farm in eastern end of Hokkaido. Furthermore, they are Catholic, less than 1% of Japanese population.

The writer and director Yamada Yoji was 38 when he started to take the film. I don't know which he first determined, the title or the story. Perhaps he first wanted to portray something about families, then came up the story. 

The husband has a dream to work without being ordered nor managed, but he lacks reality thinking. He is brave toward future issues, but is short-sighted and lacks decision toward present issues. The performance of Igawa Hisashi acting as such husband is superb. The wife is reluctant on his idea, but once she makes her mind to go to Hokkaido with him and their children, she acts pro-actively. Baisho Chieko acts the wife with superb performance too. Only flaw is that she is too beautiful. Every time they make an argument, the wife has solid opinion and it ends up the husband, as the head of the family, roars in temper. 

On the IMDb web site I found the USA title was "Where Spring Comes Late". This makes sense to imply its happy ending where spring comes in June, after the tragic hard travel. But this title intently avoids original idea to portray tragedy and happiness of a family. 

This film was released in 1970, in the era of high economic growth of Japan. You see many things that represent 1970 of Japan: Expo '70 held in Osaka, newly construct big factories, small family cars, crowded underground shopping mall, etc. It looks like present days in China.

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