This is Bill Tsutsui with another Postcard from Asia from the Center for East Asian Studies.

What’s the longest running film series in world history? Charlie Chan – no. James Bond – no. It’s not even Godzilla. Try the Tora-san films, which totaled a whopping 48 features between 1969 and 1996. The franchise centers on its bumbling hero Tora-san, an itinerant salesman from Tokyo with a happy-go-lucky attitude much at odds with Japan’s straight-laced society. Tora-san is something of a Homer Simpson Japanese-style: he is never a success, never wears stylish clothes, and never gets the girl. In a nation obsessed with achievement and prestige, Tora-san is a cherished cinematic reminder that a warm heart might just be the most important thing in life after all.

With thanks to William Ashworth for this text, from the Center for East Asian Studies, I’m Bill Tsutsui. Wish you were here.