Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family

Todake no kyodai
HK DVD Cover
Directed by	Yasujirō Ozu
Written by	Tadao Ikeda Yasujirō Ozu
Starring	Mieko Takamine Shin Saburi
Cinematography
Music by
Distributed by	Shochiku
Release date	March 1, 1941 (1941-03-01)[1]
Running time	105 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family (戸田家の兄妹, Toda-ke no kyōdai) is a 1941 Japanese film directed by Yasujirō Ozu.

Plot[]

The upper-class Toda family celebrates the 69th birthday of their father with a commemorative photoshoot at their outdoor garden. Unfortunately, shortly after the photo session, the father, Shintaro Toda (), suffers a fatal heart attack. After his death his eldest son, Shinichiro (Tatsuo Saitō) announces that as their father had acted as a guarantor for a company which has gone bankrupt, they must help pay off that company's debts. The family sells off all their late father's properties and antiques, leaving only an old house by the sea. Meanwhile, the mother () and the youngest daughter Setsuko (Mieko Takamine) go and stay with Shinichiro and his wife. The unmarried second brother Shojiro (Shin Saburi) takes the opportunity to move away from Japan to Tianjin, China (which had been occupied by Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese war).

The mother and Setsuko soon clash with Shinichiro's wife, Kazuko, and go to stay with Chizuko (Mitsuko Yoshikawa), the married eldest sister. However, Setsuko's plans to go out to work are met with vehement objections from Chizuko, who finds the idea disgraceful since they are an upper-class family. Chizuko also clashes with the mother over her grandson, who has been playing truant from school. Eventually, Mrs Toda and Setsuko decide to move out to the unsold dilapidated apartment by the sea, instead of harassing Setsuko's second sister, Ayako (), for a place to stay. Ayako and her husband are more than happy to let them stay elsewhere.

The first anniversary of the father's death arrives and the family comes together for a ceremonial gathering. Shojiro arrives in time for the family dinner, and is shocked to learn that his mother and Setsuko are staying alone by the sea. He reprimands his brother and his sisters in turn, rebuking them for not doing their part as children, and urges them to leave for home at once, which they do. After dinner, Shojiro asks his mother and sister to stay with him in Tianjin, and they agree to. Setsuko tries to arrange a marriage between Shojiro and her friend Tokiko (Michiko Kuwano), who has come for a visit, but Shojiro runs off to the beach before she can get them to meet.

Cast[]

• Mieko Takamine - Setsuko Toda
• Shin Saburi - Shojiro Toda
• - Shintaro Toda
• - Mrs. Toda
• Mitsuko Yoshikawa - Chizuru
• Chishū Ryū - Friend
• Masao Hayama - Ryokichi
• Tatsuo Saitō - Shinichiro
• Kuniko Miyake - Kazuko

DVD Release[]

In 2010, the BFI released a Region 2 DVD of the film as a bonus feature on its Dual Format Edition (Blu-ray + DVD) of Tokyo Story.^[2]

References[]

External links[]

• Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family at IMDb