Ikiru
A terminally ill Tokyo bureaucrat races against his own mortality and a stifling office system to create a lasting legacy before death.
“A big story of a little man which will grip your soul...”
Synopsis
Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has spent decades in a monotonous bureaucratic position. After learning that he has cancer, he begins to search for the meaning of his life.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 70+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Koichi IwashitaShot by Asakazu NakaiScored by Fumio HayasakaDesigned by Takashi Matsuyama
Box Office
1952 · Box office
Grossed $55K worldwide
Worldwide gross
$55K
Also known as
- Einmal wirklich lebende
- Ikirude
- Ikiru - Einmal wirklich lebende
- Ikiruen
- Vivires
- Vivrefr
- Vivereit
Community tags
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Cast & Crew
70 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Takashi Shimura
as Kanji Watanabe
Nobuo Kaneko
as Mitsuo Watanabe, Kanji's son
Haruo Tanaka
as Sakai
Shin Ichi Himori
as Kimura
Bokuzen Hidari
as Ohara
Minoru Chiaki
as Noguchi
Miki Odagiri
as Toyo
Shinichi Himori
as Kimura
Minosuke Yamada
as Subordinate Clerk Saito
Kamatari Fujiwara
as Sub-Section Chief Ono
Makoto Kobori
as Kiichi Watanabe, Kanji's Brother
Nobuo Nakamura
as Deputy Mayor
Supporting cast
51Atsushi Watanabe
as Patient
Isao Kimura
as Intern
Masao Shimizu
as Doctor
Yunosuke Ito
as Novelist
Yoshie Minami
as The Maid
Kumeko Urabe
as Tatsu Watanabe
Eiko Miyoshi
as Housewife
Noriko Honma
as Housewife
Yatsuko Tan Ami
as Bar Hostess
Kin Sugai
as Housewife
Kyoko Seki
as Kazue Watanabe
Kusuo Abe
as City Assemblyman
Tomo O Nagai
as Newspaperman
Seiji Miyaguchi
as Yakuza Boss
Daisuke Kato
as Yakuza
Hiroshi Hayashi
as Yakuza
Fuyuki Murakami
as Newspaperman
Hirayoshi Aono
as Newspaperman
Toranosuke Ogawa
as Park Section Chief
Akira Sera
as Worker in General Affairs
Ichiro Chiba
as Policeman
Akira Tani
as Bar Owner
Yoyo Kojima
as Worker in Sewage Section
Toshiyuki Ichimura
as Pianist
Harue Kuramoto
as Dancer
Rasa Saya
as Stripper
Taizo Fukami
as Baseball Spectator
Tateo Kawasaki
as Civil Engineering Section Staff
Keiichiro Katsumoto
as Park Division Staff
Haruko Toyama
as Cabaret Woman
Sachio Sakai
as Yakuza (uncredited)
Shoichi Hirose
as Yakuza (uncredited)
Koji Uno
as Yakuza (uncredited)
Yaeko Izumo
as Housewife (uncredited)
Jiro Mitsuaki
as City Hall Executive (uncredited)
Sokichi Maki
as General Manager (uncredited)
Haruo Suzuki
as Sanitation Division Receptionist (uncredited)
Takeo Nagashima
as (uncredited)
Kazuo Imai
as (uncredited)
Shigeo Kato
as (uncredited)
Hiroshi Akitsu
as Infectious Diseases Section Receptionist Staff (uncredited)
Ippei Kawagoe
as Road Section Receptionist (uncredited)
Mitsuo Tsuda
as City Planning Receptionist (uncredited)
Keiji Sakakida
as Land Readjustment Section Receptionist (uncredited)
Takuzo Kumagai
as Fire Department Staff (uncredited)
Tsuneo Katagiri
as (uncredited)
Junpei Natsuki
as Patient (uncredited)
Hiroshi Koizumi
as Jazz Bar Guest (uncredited)
Jun Ichiro Mukai
as (uncredited)
Sojiro Motoki
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Kyoko Aoyama
as Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Directors
1Writers
3Producers
1Other crew
4Parents Guide
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