It’s Tough Being a Man (1969) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Tora deliberately disrupts Sakura's miai because he feels uncomfortable seeing his sister pursue a conventional arranged marriage when he himself has failed at such stability. His drunken, boorish behavior is a self-sabotaging impulse, partly rooted in jealousy, partly in his chaotic nature, and partly in his unconscious desire to prevent Sakura from leaving the family nest. The scene reveals his deep-seated fear of being replaced or forgotten while he continues to wander.

• sakura miai
• tora behavior
• matchmaking
• family tensions

Tora leaves because the fight with his uncle shatters the fragile sense of belonging he had briefly reclaimed. The argument stems from his disruption of Sakura's miai, which his uncle sees as a final betrayal after twenty years of wandering. The confrontation forces Tora to confront the reality that he cannot simply return and resume his place in the family, he has fundamentally changed, and so has their relationship.

• uncle fight
• family conflict
• tora departure
• shibamata

Tora meets Fuyuko while traveling with foreign guests in Nara, a month after leaving his uncle's house. Fuyuko is the daughter of Gozen-sama, a respected figure in the story. Their meeting is portrayed as a chance encounter that blossoms into romance, offering Tora a fresh start away from the emotional wreckage he left behind in Shibamata.

• fuyuko
• nara
• meeting
• gozen-sama

Tora objects to Hiroshi because Hiroshi works at a print shop and hasn't attended college, making him appear to lack conventional prospects in Tora's eyes. This mirrors the very type of stability Tora himself has rejected, but he projects his own failures onto Hiroshi. However, when Hiroshi honestly expresses his deep feelings for Sakura, Tora relents and accepts the match.

• hiroshi
• sakura
• print shop
• disapproval

After returning to Shibamata with Tora, Fuyuko is introduced to another man by her family. This revelation deeply wounds Tora, as it signals that his romantic hopes with Fuyuko cannot last. The embarrassing discovery by the family and Tora Ume forces Tora to confront that his brief romance was never going to become permanent.

• fuyuko
• rival
• romance ending
• embarrassment

Tora leaves because the revelation that Fuyuko has been introduced to another man shatters his fragile hope for happiness. The embarrassment and emotional pain prove too much, triggering his old pattern of wandering when relationships fail. This departure marks another cycle in his lifelong struggle to maintain connections.

• tora departure
• heartbreak
• wandering
• repetition

One year after his departure, Tora writes to Fuyuko asking her to help care for Sakura and her newborn baby. This gesture shows that despite his romantic failure, Tora's sense of family responsibility persists. He channels his unfulfilled love into a practical act of care, demonstrating his enduring connection to his sister even while continuing to wander.

• letter
• fuyuko
• sakura
• baby
• care

Tora returns to Shibamata during the Koshin Shinko Festival, drawn by nostalgia and an unspecified restlessness after being cast out following a fight at age fourteen. The festival's ceremonial atmosphere mirrors his emotional state, caught between longing for belonging and his inability to stay settled. He arrives impulse-driven, carried by the festival crowd as if riding a memory back home.

• return
• festival
• shibamata
• nostalgia

Tora's romance with Fuyuko proves fleeting because neither can fully commit to a settled life together. Fuyuko's family introduces her to another man, suggesting her own wavering commitment. Additionally, Tora's established pattern of wandering and his unresolved emotional chaos make long-term stability difficult. The relationship ends not from lack of feeling, but from circumstances and their incompatible life paths.

• fuyuko
• romance
• dating
• commitment

When Tora and Fuyuko return to Shibamata, they pretend to be a couple, living together under one roof. This pretense represents Tora's attempt to create the appearance of a normal, settled life, something he has always sought but never achieved. However, the facade cannot hold once Fuyuko's family introduces her to another potential match.

• pretending
• shibamata
• couple
• facade