was a Japanese

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

with a career spanning five decades. He is best known in the West for his role in the 1967

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film '' You Only Live Twice'' as

Tiger Tanaka This is a list of allies of ''James Bond'' who appear throughout the film series and novels. MI6 M M is a Rear Admiral of the Royal Navy, and the head of the Secret Intelligence Service. Fleming based the character on a number of peop ...

Biography

Tamba had a part-time job as an interpreter at Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers before becoming an actor. In 1948, he graduated from

Chuo University , commonly referred to as or , is a private flagship research university in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1885 as Igirisu Hōritsu Gakkō (the English Law School), Chuo is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions in the country. The univer ...

. In 1951, he joined the

Shintoho was a Japanese movie studio. It was one of the big six film studios (which also included Daiei, Nikkatsu, Shochiku, Toei Company, and Toho) during the Golden Age of Japanese cinema. It was founded by defectors from the original Toho company fol ...

company and made his screen debut with Satsujinyogisha. 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 ''The 7th Dawn'' is a 1964 Technicolor drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring William Holden, Capucine and Tetsurō Tamba. The film, set during the Malayan Emergency, is based on the 1960 novel ''The Durian Tree'' by Michael Keon ...

, directed by

Lewis Gilbert Lewis Gilbert (6 March 1920 – 23 February 2018) was an English film director, producer and screenwriter who directed more than 40 films during six decades; among them such varied titles as '' Reach for the Sky'' (1956), ''Sink the Bismarck!' ...

. Tamba is perhaps best known by Western audiences for his role as

in the 1967

film '' You Only Live Twice'', also directed by Gilbert (Tamba's voice was dubbed by

Robert Rietti Robert Rietti, (born Lucio Rietti; 8 February 1923 – 3 April 2015), was an actor, and Oscar-nominated director of Anglo-Italian descent. With over 200 credits to his name, he had a highly prolific career in the American, British and Ita ...

). By then, he had among other roles appeared in two films by director

Masaki Kobayashi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, best known for the epic trilogy ''The Human Condition'' (1959–1961), the samurai films '' Harakiri'' (1962) and '' Samurai Rebellion'' (1967), and the horror anthology ''Kwaidan'' (1964). ''Sens ...

: ''

Harakiri , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

'' and ''

Kwaidan is a Japanese word consisting of two kanji: 怪 (''kai'') meaning "strange, mysterious, rare, or bewitching apparition" and 談 (''dan'') meaning "talk" or "recited narrative". Overall meaning and usage In its broadest sense, ''kaidan'' refe ...

''. He also portrayed the lead character in the police dramas ''

Key Hunter is a prime-time Japanese television detective series. It aired on Saturday nights in the 9:00–9:56 p.m. time slot on the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) network from April 6, 1968 to April 7, 1973. There were a total of 262 episodes, and ...

'' and ''

G-Men '75 was a long-running prime-time popular television detective series in Japan. It aired on Saturday nights in the 9:00–9:54 p.m. time slot on the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) network from May 24, 1975 to April 3, 1982. A sequel, ''G-Men ' ...

'', the latter of which remains his best-known role in Japan. 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 is a 1980 Japanese war film directed by Toshio Masuda. The Japanese title "Ni hyaku san kochi" means 203 Hill. The film depicts the fiercest battles at 203 Hill in the Siege of Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War 1904 - 1905. Cast * Tat ...

''. Tamba appeared in a lot of

jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, video game, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "period dramas", they are most often set during the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—''Portrait of Hel ...

television dramas. His major historical roles were

Imai Sōkyū was a 16th century merchant in the Japanese port town of Sakai, and a master of the tea ceremony. His ''yagō'' was Naya. Biography A relative of the Amago and Sasaki samurai clans, Sōkyū originally came from Yamato Province. After settling ...

in the 1978 taiga drama ''

Ōgon no Hibi is a 1978 Japanese television series. It is the 16th NHK taiga drama, and is based on Saburo Shiroyama's novel of the same title. The series is the first ''taiga'' drama to focus on the lives of commoners and merchants, and the first ''taiga'' d ...

'' and

Sanada Masayuki was a Japanese Sengoku period lord and ''daimyō''. He was the head of Sanada clan,_a_regional_house_of_Shinano_Province.html" ;"title="DF 56 of 80/nowiki>">DF 56 of 80">("S ..., a regional house of Shinano Province">DF 56 of 80/nowiki>">DF 56 ...

in the 1985 ''

Sanada Taiheiki is a Japanese television jidaigeki or period drama that was broadcast on NHK in 1985–1986. It is based on Shōtarō Ikenami's novel Sanada Taiheiki. The drama focuses on the history of the Sanada clan during the late Sengoku period. The compl ...

''. He voiced the "Cat King" in the original Japanese version of the

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and ha ...

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

film ''

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''. He had parts in ''

Twilight Samurai ''The Twilight Samurai'' is a 2002 Japanese historical drama film co-written and directed by Yoji Yamada and starring Hiroyuki Sanada and Rie Miyazawa. Set in mid-19th century Japan, a few years before the Meiji Restoration, it follows the lif ...

'' and two

Takashi Miike is a Japanese film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has directed over one hundred theatrical, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. His films run through a variety of different genres, and range from violent a ...

films, ''

The Happiness of the Katakuris is a 2001 Japanese musical comedy horror film directed by Takashi Miike, with screenplay by Kikumi Yamagishi. It is loosely based on the South Korean film '' The Quiet Family''. The film is a surreal horror-comedy in the farce tradition, which ...

'' and '' Gozu'', as well as acting as a spokesperson for the Dai Rei Kai spiritual movement. Tamba's son,

Yoshitaka Tamba is a Japanese actor. He is the eldest son of actor Tetsurō Tamba. He played Goro Sakurai in JAKQ Dengekitai in which he dated Mitchi Love Biography In 1973, while attending high school, he landed a part in the movie ''Sumi yuriko'' directed ...

, is also an actor.日本映画人名事典男優篇下巻キネマ旬報社, P.151 1996 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 Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

at the age of 84 of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

. His last appearance in the television series is the 2005 Taiga drama Yoshitsune and his last film appearance is

Sinking of Japan is a 2006 Japanese ''tokusatsu'' disaster film directed by Shinji Higuchi. It is an adaptation of the novel ''Japan Sinks'' and a remake of its earlier film adaptation '' Tidal Wave'', both released in the year 1973. It stars Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, ...

in 2006.

Selected filmography

Films

TV dramas

Animation

*'' Crayon Shin-chan: Explosion! The Hot Spring's Feel Good Final Battle'' (1999) *''

'' (2002)

Awards and nominations

Awards

*1974:

Mainichi Film Award The are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since 1946. It is the first film festival in Japan. History The origins of the contest date back to 1935, ...

: Best Actor for ''

The Human Revolution is a roman à clef written by Daisaku Ikeda, the third and honorary president of the Soka Gakkai, chronicling the efforts of Jōsei Toda, the second president of the Soka Gakkai, to construct this Buddhist organization upon his release from ...

'' *1981:

Blue Ribbon Awards The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by movie critics and writers in Tokyo, Japan. The awards were established in 1950 by which is composed of film correspondents from seven Tokyo-based sports newspapers. In 1961, the six major Japanes ...

: Best Supporting Actor for ''

'' *1981: Japan Academy Prize: Best Supporting Actor for ''

'' *2000: Nikkan Sports Film Award: Best Supporting Actor for '' 15-Sai: Gakko IV''

Awards nominated

* 2001: Japan Academy Prize: Best Supporting Actor for '' 15-Sai: Gakko IV''

References

External links

* *

Japanese Wikipedia The is the Japanese-language edition of Wikipedia, a free, open-source online encyclopedia. Started on 11 May 2001, the edition attained the 200,000 article mark in April 2006 and the 500,000 article mark in June 2008. As of , it has over ar ...

page (also source)
BBC article
retrieved December 10, 2006. *
Tesuro Tamba on NHK
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamba, Tetsuro 1922 births 2006 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in Japan Japanese male film actors Male Spaghetti Western actors Male actors from Tokyo