This time every year movie theaters used to play a new film of Tora-san. His movie have the longest series of forty nine, Guinness Record. to our regret, his fiftieth movie would never be presented to his fans missing him deeply. Why has he been so popular and loved by many Japanese people?

Within my information, after finishing compulsory education, Tora-san left home without any regular job. As he lost his pearents in his boyhood, his only family is his married sister, Sakura, and her family.He travels from north to south all over Japan,and makes friends at every stop, staying in a town for a while if he pleases. He temporarily opens his open-air shop to earn adequate money to support him. In short, he is homeless, jobless, and aimless.

In usual plots of his movies, heroines would say to him repeatedly, "Tora-san, you are really a nice guy." he is welcome by many people of various generatiopns, including attractive females. However, he is too shy to fall in love with them. He is rather a matchmaker than a boyfriend.

He remains single all his life, being as innocent as a boy. Maybe he might have learned through his experience, "Next to no wife, a good wife is best", as proverb says. He is such a harmless man to women in any situation. He appears with a sunburnt hat, an all-weather jacket, seamless trousers, worn shoes, carrying a square traveling bag with a light purse inside.

His last stop is Kobe suffering serious damages from the Great Earthquake soon after the new year holidays in 1995.Tora-san hurries to the burning city through broken roads between collapsed houses on the ashy land. He joins the volunteers. Actually mass media reported that the visit of the actor and other movie staffs encouraged victims in Kobe very much. Their visit and short stay brightened the victims' heart and lightened their worries.

The last scene in his forty-ninth movie ends significantly____one year after the terrible disaster, Korean women are dancing on the lifeless field to celebrate their new year. Their light-colored nationalcostumes are blowing in the early spring wind.

The streams in their hands are fluttering under the unbounded sky free from a distance with a feeble smile on his face, as if to make his wish to be realized; "The earthquake has destroyed this city, so it should smash prejudice, hatred, jealous, misunderstanding among people as well." Tora-san fades away in the movie. Following it, the actor's soul went to heaven half a year later.

Tora-san is freedom itself like a wind. Subconsciously we might long to be a temporary Tora-san who is free, easy, generous, and innocent entirely.

Jan. 8, '99