Tora-san No. 1 - Acceptance 男はつらいよ

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Keiko has been watching the movie series of "It's tough to be a man (otoko wa tsurai yo)" a lot recently. Forty eight films were released from 1969 to 1995 for this series and Mr. Torajiro Kuruma (the main character called "Tora-san") was and still is one of the most famous and beloved movie characters in Japan. Keiko watches these movies not because she likes them but she wants to know what always irritates her when watching these films.

Tora-san's background is as follows: He lost his parents when he was a child and he and his younger sister, Sakura, were raised by their very kind uncle and aunt as if they'd been their own children. (The couple have no kids.) Tora-san always falls in love with a beautiful woman in every story, but it never works because there is someone else or these women think of him not as a boyfriend but as a friend. Tora-san is never married. As a street vendor, he travels across Japan and comes back once or twice a year to the mom and pop Japanese sweet dumplings store run by his uncle and aunt. His sister, Sakura, helps this small business while doing household chores for her factory worker husband and the only son.

Tora-san is always confident, cheerful and funny in particular when being with beautiful women. But "objectively" speaking, he is a tramp and, although lovable, a loser. He has no decent job. Street vending was and still is one of the financial sources for yakuza (even though he is not a yakuza himself). Also, he doesn't fulfill any responsibilities as the eldest son in Japan, i.e., he takes care of only himself. He even sometimes borrows money from his sister or others. However, his family always welcomes him when he is back. A room on the second floor of the uncle's house has been kept for him even though some money would be earned if it were rented. What would you say if you had someone like him in your family, e.g., son, husband, father, who travels a lot and comes back only when he wants with no money, but once coming back, wines and dines, causes troubles and is disrespectful to them while wanting himself to be treated as the eldest son of the household with respect. Not only did Keiko not like Tora-san, but also she didn't like his family's such attitude.

However, Keiko's perception of Tora-san and his family has recently changed. She no longer dislikes him. It is true that Tora-san borrows money, but he also gives money to needy people. He's also a good listener and gives honest or maybe too honest to others even if he is disliked or even suffers for doing so. In short, he is nice or too nice. So, here are questions. Is it a bad thing to be a nice person? Can't a success only be measured financially? If someone has achieved something, but it has not produced money much, is he a loser? Can we be nice and good as well as successful? Keiko knows that answers depend on the definition of "success," "good person" and "loser." She will keep thinking about these and write her views on another article in the near future.

　最近、圭子はよく「寅さん」を見る。ただ、圭子が見るのは好きだからではない。知りたいことがあるからだ。

　というのも、寅さんを見ていると、圭子はいつもイライラするのだ。

　寅さんはいつも自信に満ちているように見える。いつも明るいし面白い。でも、客観的に見ると、彼は負け犬だ。的屋というのはやくざな商売だし、たとえ直接的なコネはないとしても、まともな仕事とは言えない。 寅さんは家族の面倒も見ていないし、長男としての役割もはたしていない。さくらや他の人からも金を借りる。

　ところがおかしなことに、寅さんの家族は彼をいつも温かく受け入れる。貸せばお金が入る二階の部屋は、いつも寅さんのために取ってある。

　家族の中に寅さんみたいな人、つまり、旅ばかりしていて、気の向いた時だけ帰ってくるが、お金はなく、でもいったん戻って来ると、飲み食いして、問題を起こし、家族に当たる、そのくせ、自分には敬意を払えというような人がいたらどうだろう。　

　圭子はそんな寅さんを嫌いだったし、寅さんを受け入れる家族も嫌いだった。

　ただ、最近、寅さんとその家族に対する圭子のイメージは変わった。

　まず、圭子は寅さんを嫌いではなくなった。確かに寅さんは借金する。でも彼は貧しい人には自分の金をやる。人の話を聞き、時に正直すぎるほどのアドバイスをする。結果、嫌われてしまうこともある。つまり寅さんはいい人なのだ。

　そこで疑問。いい人になる、というのは人生の目的にはなりえないのか。人の成功は金銭的にしか測れないのか。何かを成し遂げても、お金にはつながらなかった場合、負け犬と言われるのか。いい人になることと成功することは両立しえないのか。

　その答えは、成功、いい人、負け犬の言葉の定義にかかっていることを圭子は分かっている。彼女は近日中に、続きを書くつもりだ。