Katsushika-Shibamata
Katsushika Ward is at the east end of Tokyo Metropolis. If you cross the Edo River from here, Shibamata, by a flat-bottomed barge, the countryside in Chiba Prefecture will be in front of you. Today many Japanese are visiting here due to the film series below; still foreigners can’t be seen so often. But it takes only 20 mins by train from Skytree Station.
What makes this town popular is the 48 series of comical films made from 1969 to 1995, the first one of which is titled "Otoko wa tsurai yo" ("It's tough being a man") starring Kiyoshi Atsumi as Tora-san, a kind-hearted vagabond or traveling salesman who is always unlucky in love.
He is living in the world of giri (moral and social obligation) and ninjo (human feelings of affection, compassion and sorrow). Hence it may difficult for non-Japanese to understand his way of living, though it has been difficult even for Japanese today. Refer to the website below.
① Haiden (worship hall) of Shibamata Taishakuten.
② Naiden (inner hall) is famous for its decolative relief woodcarving.
③ Suikeien of Taishakuten is a garden featuring a path around a pond.
④ The front approach to the temple forms a shopping street.
⑤ The statue of "Tora-san" standing just in front of the train station and his followers.
⑥ Nearby Yamamoto-tei is a house which combines Western and Japanese styles with a
splendid garden build in 1920s.
⑦ Tora-san Memorial Musium with movie sets.
⑧ Yagiri no Watashi; Ferryboat that has been taking passengers across the Edo river for
nearly 400 years.