The Rickshaw Man (1958)

A poor rickshaw driver finds himself helping a young woman and her son after the woman's husband dies suddenly.

Director:

Hiroshi Inagaki

Writers:

Hiroshi Inagaki, Mansaku Itami

Stars:

Toshirô Mifune, Hideko Takamine, Hiroshi Akutagawa

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Toshirô Mifune	...	Matsugoro
Hideko Takamine	...	Yoshiko Yoshioka
Hiroshi Akutagawa	...	Capt. Kotaro Yoshioka
Chishû Ryû	...	Shigezo Yuki
Chôko Iida	...	Otora (innkeeper)
Haruo Tanaka	...	Kumakichi
Jun Tatara	...	Theatre employee
Kenji Kasahara	...	Toshio Yoshioka
Kaoru Matsumoto	...	Young Toshio
Nobuo Nakamura	...	Yoshiko's brother
Ichirô Arishima	...	Medicine peddler
Chieko Nakakita	...	Yoshiko's sister-in-law
Seiji Miyaguchi	...	Fencing master
Bokuzen Hidari
Kokuten Kôdô

Storyline

In the turn of the Twentieth Century, the rickshaw driver Matsugoro "Matsu" is a happy man and a troublemaker well-known by everyone in his village. One day, Matsu sees an injured boy, Toshio, and brings him home. His mother Yoshiko Yoshioka asks Matsuo to take the boy to the doctor and then her husband Capt. Kotaro Yoshioka asks her to reward Matsu. However the rickshaw man refuses the money and becomes a friend of the family. When Kotaro unexpectedly dies, Matsuo helps Yoshiko to raise her son. Soon he falls in love with her, but he does not dare to open his heart to Yoshiko since they belong to different social classes.

---

Plot Keywords:

rickshaw | magistrate | drunken singing | singing | head wound | 

---

Taglines:

Awarded the Golden Lion of St. Mark at the Venice Film Festival. A tender love story, scorching characterizations, deeply human qualities, and a wonderous and colorful background of Japan's festivals.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Did You Know?

Quotes

Matsugoro: If I were a man of some learning I could be of help to you. But I'm just a rickshaw man. I'm useless to you.

---

Connections

Remake of Muhomatsu no issho (2008)

User Reviews

Matsu the Great

The story of a great man indeed. A man who, despite his poverty and unjustifiable way of life, finds happiness and appreciates the simple and basic things in it, and the people who make contact with him quickly recognize his great character and kindness. Toshiro Mifune may have just delivered one of his best performances in his whole acting career, so different from his usual expressions he would normally showcase in Kurosawa's films. In this film, while in some parts he impersonates a similar role to those he would do in Kurosawa's films, he mostly adopts a personality of a humble, charitable man. He is definitely the core and character that makes this film overflow with greatness, although many of the other people involved in the cast are just as important.

The fact that this film is very rare and difficult to track, in my opinion, is comparable to the unfortunate life of Matsu (character enacted by Toshiro Mifune) who, being a wonderful man, goes through life mainly unnoticed and unacknowledged; only some people get to know him better and firmly state that he could have been someone big. Such is the fate of this film; it is highly underrated, but if you are fortunate enough to find it, you will behold the story of an admirable man.

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

3 May 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Rickshaw Man

Filming Locations:

Kokura, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo (Perspecta Sterophonic Sound)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1