Elephant from "Zoo Story" (1957)
The fifth film in the Toho Diamond series, following "The Hateful Thing." Based on the true story of "Zoo Story" by author Fukuda Saburo. During the Tokyo air raids of World War II, Zen-san, an elephant keeper at Ueno Zoo, is faced with the heartbreaking task of euthanizing Tonki, a beloved elephant, due to food shortages and wartime pressures. Unable to carry out the order, Zen-san secretly feeds Tonki, but the elephant is ultimately shot by the military police. The film poignantly captures Zen-san’s despair and the devastation of war, as he reflects on his powerlessness amid the chaos.
- Released
- 1957-04-09
- Genres
- Drama
- Runtime
- 67 min
- Status
- Released
- Directed / written by
- Kajirō Yamamoto, Kajirō Yamamoto
Cast
- Kenichi Enomoto as Zen-san (Elephant Officer)
- Keiju Kobayashi as Head of Animal Care Division, Higashi
- Momoko Kôchi as Yoshiko (Student mobilization)
- Kyōko Anzai as Miyazawa Sensei
- Yoshio Kosugi as Sugiura (Gatekeeper)
- Sachio Sakai as Tamura (Lion Officer)
- Sōji Ubukata as Director of Toda Zoo
- Noriko Honma as Tetsu (Zen's wife)
- Okayu Taka as Takahashi (Leopard)
- Akira Sera as Ito (Small Bird)
- Mitsuo Tsuda as Inoue (Camel handler)
- Tadao Nakamaru as Narita (Sergeant)