1980's Japanese movies set in Tokyo about the life of a salaryman?

August 10, 2015 12:37 PM

My partner is fascinated by Tokyo in the 1980s, when the economy was in a historic boom and Americans were jittery about Japan's economic and cultural ascendancy. Can you recommend Japanese-made movies (with English subtitles) filmed during that time that were set in Tokyo and focused on the life of a 'salaryman', innovator or other rising professional? He's especially interested in movies that feature Japanese nationalism and favorable comparisons of Japan vs. the rest of the world.
posted by rogerrogerwhatsyourrvectorvicto to Media & Arts (7 answers total)

Sounds a little bit like the Tora-san films.
posted by koucha at 1:00 PM on August 10, 2015

There's The Family Game which I saw when it came out in 1983 and have been wanting to see again.
posted by ShooBoo at 2:12 PM on August 10, 2015

Some of Juzo Itami's films would fit the bill, for sure, notably the "...no Onna" series. While Itami made movies up until the late 90's until committed suicide (or was murdered), it's important to understand that the "Showa sensibility" of boomtime '80's took quite a while to die out, and lasted well into the '90s.
posted by Nevin at 3:49 PM on August 10, 2015

Not movies, but your friend might enjoy the Shima Kosaku manga. It's a very long manga divided in several arcs about the rise of a businessman through the ranks.

I haven't read it personally but I know a big fan.
posted by sukeban at 11:21 PM on August 10, 2015

Oh and I forgot. I don't think it's been translated, sorry. The friend is a pro translator himself.
posted by sukeban at 11:27 PM on August 10, 2015

I'm going to venture out and say that what you're looking for doesn't exist. The 1980s was a horrible time for the Japanese movie industry (Wikipedia) and for various reasons, only a handful of big-name directors could make films with a decent budget. Nobody in Japan was interested in seeing films about life as a salaryman so none were made. I think the closest you'll get are the Itami movies mentioned above and the Kosaku Shima manga series, if you can get a hold of English translations. A live-action movie and TV dramas have been made based on Kosaku Shima, but they're terrible so don't bother looking for them.

This isn't really what you asked for, but there's a book by Toyoko Yamazaki called Fumo-Chital (literal translation "The Waste Land") about the life of a man who survived the end of WWII in Siberia, then returned to Japan and rose into power as a businessman. It was adapted into a pretty solid live-action TV drama a few years back and I know that English subtitles exist for at least a few episodes somewhere because I translated them myself. The story is set in a time period leading up to the time Japan became a big economic power from "the waste land" after the war, so if you can either get a hold of the novel in English or the TV drama, it might be worth a look.
posted by misozaki at 5:11 AM on August 11, 2015

Thanks for these reccs and thoughts!! Will check them out.
posted by rogerrogerwhatsyourrvectorvicto at 10:30 AM on August 13, 2015