Photo of Kiyoshi Atsumi
Acting

Kiyoshi Atsumi

Profession
Acting
Born
March 10, 1928 · Tokyo, Japan
Died
August 4, 1996

Biography

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.

Known for

Tora! Tora! Tora! poster
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Film · 1970 · ★ 7.2
The Castle of Sand poster
The Castle of Sand
Film · 1974 · ★ 7.3
The Yellow Handkerchief poster
The Yellow Handkerchief
Film · 1977 · ★ 7.0
A Distant Cry from Spring poster
A Distant Cry from Spring
Film · 1980 · ★ 7.4
Tora-san, Our Lovable Tramp poster
Tora-san, Our Lovable Tramp
Film · 1969 · ★ 7.8
The Man Without a Map poster
The Man Without a Map
Film · 1968 · ★ 6.7
Where Spring Comes Late poster
Where Spring Comes Late
Film · 1970 · ★ 7.7
Tora-san's Cherished Mother poster
Tora-san's Cherished Mother
Film · 1969 · ★ 6.8
The Village poster
The Village
Film · 1975 · ★ 7.4
Village of Eight Gravestones poster
Village of Eight Gravestones
Film · 1977 · ★ 7.0
Home from the Sea poster
Home from the Sea
Film · 1972
Tora-san, His Tender Love poster
Tora-san, His Tender Love
Film · 1970

Filmography