Tora-san's Salad-Day Memorial

Tora-san's Salad-Day Memorial (男はつらいよ 寅次郎サラダ記念日) is a 1988 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Yoshiko Mita as his love interest or "Madonna". Tora-san's Salad-Day Memorial is the fortieth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series. The title comes from Machi Tawara poetry collection Salad Anniversary, on which this movie was based.

Synopsis
In his travels through Japan, Tora-san meets and falls in love with a female doctor, but he is afraid of committing to a relationship.

Cast

 * Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō
 * Chieko Baisho as Sakura
 * Yoshiko Mita as Machiko
 * Hiroko Mita as Yuki
 * Shimojo Masami as Kuruma Tatsuzō
 * Chieko Misaki as Tsune Kuruma (Torajiro's aunt)
 * Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
 * Hidetaka Yoshioka as Mitsuo Suwa
 * Hisao Dazai as Boss (Umetarō Katsura)
 * Gajirō Satō as Genkō
 * Toshinori Omi as Sei
 * Chishū Ryū as Gozen-sama
 * Tomoko Naraoka as Machiko's mother

Critical appraisal
Yoshiko Mita was nominated for Best Actress at the Japan Academy Prize for her role in Tora-san's Salad-Day Memorial. Kevin Thomas at the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review. The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san's Salad-Day Memorial four out of five stars, labeling it one of the highlights of the series.

Availability
Tora-san's Salad-Day Memorial was released theatrically on December 24, 1988. In Japan, the film has been released on videotape in 1989 and 1996, and in DVD format in 2005 and 2008.