Choose Your Battles - Tora-san, Kamikaze and Karoshi

I watched a documentary TV program about Kiyoshi Atsumi a few days ago. He was the actor who played "Tora-san," the protagonist of "It's tough to be a man (otoko wa tsurai yo). The Tora-san series is one of the most popular movies and Kiyoshi Atsumi is also one of the most beloved actors. Many still visit Tora-san's hometown, Katsushika Shibamata. In spite of such his popularity, however, watching the series makes me sad and angry.  

According to the program, the more popular this series became, the less he wanted to play this role, because Atsumi wasn’t like this funny and cheerful character. He tried to change the perception that he was a warm-hearted vagabond by playing serious roles in other films, like a war survivor visiting the families of his fellow soldiers to notify their deaths. But it didn't work. When Atsumi appeared in the screen, audience laughed, because they saw not Atsumi, but Tora-san. Atsumi gave up his career opportunity for this experience.      

Why didn't he just quit, like Sean Connery quitting James Bond? Did he think that audience would be hurt if they saw Tora-san played by another actor? Or was he worried that he might not be able to make money from other roles? I don't know. The program suggested that he ended up sacrificing himself for audience. A scriptwriter, who was close to him, said that Tora-san no longer belonged to him, but to people and some considered this self-sacrificing attitude as heroic. But to me, it sounded like an excuse for evading his responsibility to himself. I also think that this way of thinking is dangerous, because someone who is irresponsible for themselves are often irresponsible to others, as in the case of kamikaze suicide or karoshi.

When you are in difficulty, like being difficult to say no to parents, friends, or supervisors, just doing what is told to do seems sometimes easier in the beginning. But it is a road to death, no matter slow it is, because the later it is, the more difficult saying no is. Atsumi should have spoken out when he felt something wrong with playing Tora-san and shouldn't have been afraid of being rejected by those who called themselves his fans. Likewise, if you are told to do a kamikaze suicide attack or work for 12, 13 or 15 hours a day, say no. Choose your battles wisely.