Tetsurō Tamba

Tetsurō Tamba
Tetsurō Tamba
丹波哲郎
Born	Shozaburo Tanba; 17 July 1922; Tokyo, Japan
Died	24 September 2006 (aged 84); Tokyo, Japan
Education	Chuo University;
Occupation(s)	Actor, author
Years active	1950–2006
Children	2, including Yoshitaka
Japanese name
Kanji	丹波哲郎
Hiragana	たんばてつろう
Romanization
Transcriptions
Romanization	Tamba Tetsurō
Alternative Japanese name
Kanji	丹波正三郎
Romanization
Transcriptions
Romanization	Tanba Shozaburo

Tetsurō Tamba (Japanese: 丹波哲郎, Hepburn: Tanba Tetsurō, born Shozaburo Tanba; Japanese: 丹波正三郎, July 17, 1922 – September 24, 2006) was a Japanese actor with a career spanning five decades. He appeared in nearly 300 film and television productions, both in leading and supporting roles, and was the winner of two Japan Academy Film Prizes.

At the height of his career, he was one of Japan's most esteemed and prolific leading men, and worked with many significant directors including Kinji Fukasaku, Shōhei Imamura, Masaki Kobayashi, Masahiro Shinoda, Hayao Miyazaki, and Takashi Miike. Several of his films were identified with the Japanese New Wave movement. He also appeared in several international films, notably as Japanese secret service chief Tiger Tanaka in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice.^[1]

Later in his life, Tamba became known for his well-publicized interest in psychic phenomena, publishing several books on the subject. and as a spokesperson for the Risshō Kōsei Kai new religious movement. He continued acting until 2006, when he died of pneumonia.

Biography

Tamba had a part-time job as an interpreter at Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers before becoming an actor.^[2]^[3] In 1948, he graduated from Chuo University.^[3] In 1951, he joined the Shintoho company and made his screen debut with Satsujinyogisha.^[2]

Tamba was introduced to Western audiences in the 1961 film Bridge to the Sun directed by Etienne Périer. He also appeared in the 1964 film The 7th Dawn, directed by Lewis Gilbert. Tamba is perhaps best known by Western audiences for his role as Tiger Tanaka in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice, also directed by Gilbert (Tamba's voice was dubbed by Robert Rietti). By then, he had among other roles appeared in two films by director Masaki Kobayashi: Harakiri and Kwaidan. He also portrayed the lead character in the police dramas Key Hunter and G-Men '75, the latter of which remains his best-known role in Japan.^[4]^[2] In 1981, he won the Best Actor in a Supporting Role award of Japan Academy Prize for his work in The Battle of Port Arthur.^[2]^[3]

Tamba appeared in a lot of jidaigeki television dramas. His major historical roles were Imai Sōkyū in the 1978 taiga drama Ōgon no Hibi and Sanada Masayuki in the 1985 Sanada Taiheiki.^[5]

He voiced the "Cat King" in the original Japanese version of the Studio Ghibli anime film The Cat Returns. He had parts in Twilight Samurai and two Takashi Miike films, The Happiness of the Katakuris and Gozu, as well as acting as a spokesperson for the Dai Rei Kai spiritual movement.

Tamba's son, Yoshitaka Tamba, is also an actor.^[2]

In February 2005, Tamba was hospitalized for influenza and appendicitis. He lost weight drastically and his health degenerated. On September 24, 2006, he died in Tokyo at the age of 84 of pneumonia.^[3]^[1] His last appearance in the television series is the 2005 Taiga drama Yoshitsune and his last film appearance is Sinking of Japan in 2006.^[6]

Selected filmography

Films

Satsujin Yôgisha (1952)
Kaidan Kasane-ga-fuchi (The Ghost of Kasane) (1957) as Jinjûrô Ômura
Hitogui Ama (1958) as Miyata
The Story of Osaka Castle (1961) as Sadamasa Ishikawa^[7]
Pigs and Battleships (1961) as Slasher Tetsuji
High Noon for Gangsters (1961) as Miyahara
Bridge to the Sun (1961) as Jiro
Kuroi gashû dainibu: Kanryû (1961)
Harakiri (1962) as Hikokuro Omodaka
Gang vs. G-Men (1962) as Jūgo Tatsumura
Tange Sazen (1963)
13 Assassins (1963)
Jakoman and Tetsu (1964) as Jakoman
Three Outlaw Samurai (1964) as Sakon Shiba
Dojo yaburi (1964) as Gunjuro Ohba
Ansatsu (1964) as Hachirô Kiyokawa
Gokinzo yaburi (1964)
The 7th Dawn (1964) as Ng
Kwaidan (1964) as Warrior (segment "Miminashi Hôichi no hanashi")
Zoku Dojo Yaburi: Mondo Muyo (1964)
Kuchikukan yukikaze (1964)
Abashiri Prison (1965)
Samurai Spy (1965) as Sakon Takatani
Ninpō-chushingura (1965)
The Kii River (1966)
Portrait of Chieko (1967)
Soshiki Bōryoku (1967)
Zoku Soshiki Bōryoku (1967)
You Only Live Twice (1967) as Tiger Tanaka
Gambler's Farewell (1968) as Toru Kuroki
Blackmail Is My Life (1968)
Goyokin (1969) as Rokugo Tatewaki
Chōkōsō no Akebono (1969)
Hibotan bakuto: Tekkaba retsuden (1969)
The Five Man Army (1969) as Samurai
The Scandalous Adventures of Buraikan (1970) as Soshun Kochiyama
Battle of Okinawa (Gekidō no Shōwashi: Okinawa Kessen) (1971) as Lieutenant General Isamu Cho
The Wolves (1971) as Genryu Asakura
Silence (1971) as Cristóvão Ferreira
Under the Flag of the Rising Sun (1972) as Sergeant Katsuo Togashi
Water Margin (1972) as Jade Unicorn Lu Chun I
Kage Gari (1972) as Tanuma Ogitsugu
Kage Gari Hoero taiho (1972) as Kegemetsuke
The Human Revolution (1973)
Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Proxy War (1973) as Tatsuo Akashi
Za Gokiburi (1973)
Tidal Wave (1973) as Prime Minister Yamamoto
Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight (1973) as Shinō Ashita (the Assassin)
Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs (1974) as Zengo Nagumo
Prophecies of Nostradamus (1974) as Dr. Nishiyama
Karafuto 1945 Summer Hyosetsu no mon (1974)
Castle of Sand (1974) as Detective Imanishi
The Bullet Train (1975)
All Men Are Brothers (1975) as Jade Unicorn Lu Chun Yi
Zoku ningen kakumei (1976)
The Classroom of Terror (1976) : Father of Kitajo
Seven Nights in Japan (1976) as Terrorist Leader (uncredited)
Ozora no samurai (1976) as Captain Saito
Mount Hakkoda (1977) as Colonel Kojima
Shogun's Samurai: The Yagyu Clan Conspiracy (1978) as Ogasawara Gensinsai (Tajima's Rival)
Message from Space (1978) as Noguchi
The Incident (1978) as Kikuchi
Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron (1978) as Kichibei Matsuya
Koutei no inai hachigatsu (1978) as Mikami
Yasei no shômei (1978) as General Wada
The Fall of Ako Castle (1978) as Yanagisawa
Sanada Yukimura no Bōryaku (1979)
Nichiren (1979)
Hunter in the Dark (1979)
The Battle of Port Arthur (1980, the film is also known as 203 kochi^[8]) as General Kodama Gentarō
Shogun's Ninja (1980)
Makai Tensho: Samurai Reincarnation (1981) as Muramasa
Imperial Navy (1981) as Vice Admiral TakijirÅ Ånishi
Bushido Blade (1981) as Lord Yamato
Onimasa (1982) as Uichi Suda, The Big Boss
Dai nippon teikoku (1982) as Hideki Tojo
Suspicion (1982) as Okamura
Conquest (1982)
Fireflies in the North (1984)
Tokyo Blackout (1987) as Nakata
Shinran: Path to Purity (1987) as Aketora
Twilight of the Cockroaches (1987) as Grandpa (voice)
A Taxing Woman's Return (1988) as Sadohara
Tokyo Pop (1988) as Mr. Dota
Shogun's Shadow (1989) as Hotta Masamori
226 (1989) as Jinzaburi Shinzaki
Teito Taisen (1989) as Kanaami Kohou
Riki-Oh (1991) as Master Zhang Shangui
Edo Jō Tairan (1991) as Tokugawa Mitsukuni
The Hitman (1991) as Deku-san
Peking Genjin: Who Are You? (1997) as Osone
Neji Shiki (1998) as Landlord
Inou Chuukei ~Shigosen no Yume~ (2001)
The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001) as Grandpa Jinpei Katakuri
Graveyard of Honor (2002) as Tetsuji Tokura
The Cat Returns (2002) as Cat King (voice)
Duri baka nisshi 13 hama chan kikiippatsu! (2002) as Goro Kurobe
11'09"01 September 11 (2002) (segment "Japan") (uncredited)
Jitsuroku Andô Noboru kyôdô-den: Rekka (2002) as Sanada
The Twilight Samurai (2002) as Tozaemon Iguchi
T.R.Y. (2003)
Gozu (2003)
Sennenbi (2004)
Japan Sinks (2006) as Reiko's grandpa (final film role)