A Little Look-See at the February 1955 Issue of Eiga Fan [映画ファン]

You ever pay decent money to import a magazine from another country because of one single picture you saw in an auction listing? Because I did. (Pre-tariffs. This post has been queued for a while.)

left page: top row (L-R): Ren Yamamoto, Yū Fujiki, Momoko Kōchi, Kenji Sahara (credited here under his birth name Tadashi Ishihara), bottom row: Akira Takarada, Machiko Kitagawa.
right page: top row: Akihiko Hirata, Chizuru Murasaki, bottom row: Keiko Mori, Masako Nijo.

Above is a spread showing off some of Toho's brightest young stars. The two sidebars read (on right) "The Toho gang that will carry the future! We look forward to your great achievements!" (on left) "The role of a daughter, a handsome guy, a gangster, a vanguard - a colorful flower blooms." The bottom text has each actor's name and a few words about them; Hirata's says that he joined the company on the recommendation of Yoshiko Yamaguchi. ("Recommendation" as in she suggested to him that he should become an actor, not that she recommended him to Toho - as far as I understand.)

You want to see some other Toho guys? There's not many in here since Eiga Fan covered films from all studios, not just Toho. But here we have Akira Kubo barely looking old enough to drive.

Next, we're going to doxx Yoshio Tsuchiya.

Born May 18, 1927 in Kamiozu, Shioyama City, Yamanishi Prefecture. Real name: Yoshio Tsuchiya. Graduated from Megawa Junior High School, Yamanishi Medical College, and Haiyuza Institute. Member of Haiyuza Theater Company. Joined Toho on May 1st, 1954. Appeared in Mitsuyusen [Smuggler's Ship] after the premiere of Seven Samurai. Family: Living in the countryside with only a mother. Hobbies: Mountaineering, guns, swimming, violin, fairy tales. Height: 5' 7". Weight: 141 pounds. Current residence: Ohara-cho 1060 Koyama-kata, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo. 

"I feel lonely because everything around me is so conventional. I want to be a more simple person, lively in love, and courageous. I would like to encounter a fun and interesting work in that sense. To lighten up the around around us, who are poor, even just a little. I continue to hope."

That's about it for this post. Yes, I did try to find Yoshio Tsuchiya's house on Google Maps. No, I was not successful. Also please note that his weight is approximate because Eiga Fan used an obsolete unit of measurement and I had to do some interesting calculations (which made me feel like a weird person).