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 (), lit ...

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 hav ...

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 was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the United States-led Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. It issued SCAP Directives (alias SCAPIN, SCAP Index Number) to the Japanese government, aiming to suppress its "milit ...

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 company and made his screen debut with Satsujinyogisha. Tamba was introduced to Western audiences in the 1961 film ''

Bridge to the Sun ''Bridge to the Sun'' is a 1961 film directed by Etienne Périer and starring Carroll Baker, James Shigeta, James Yagi, Tetsurō Tamba and Sean Garrison. It is based on the 1957 autobiography ''Bridge to the Sun'' by Gwen Terasaki, which detail ...

'' 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 and ...

, directed by Lewis Gilbert. 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). 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 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 i ...

'' and '' G-Men '75'', 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''. Tamba appeared in a lot of jidaigeki 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 settli ...

in the 1978 taiga drama '' Ōgon no Hibi'' and Sanada Masayuki in the 1985 '' Sanada Taiheiki''. 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 h ...

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 '' The Cat Returns''. He had parts in '' Twilight Samurai'' 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'' and ''

Gozu is a 2003 Japanese horror comedy crime film directed by Takashi Miike and written by Sakichi Sato. The film blends yakuza stories with ghost stories, bizarre vignettes, and urban legends. Plot Ozaki (Aikawa), a mentally unstable yakuza, kil ...

'', as well as acting as a spokesperson for the Dai Rei Kai spiritual movement. Tamba's son, Yoshitaka Tamba, 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 37.46 ...

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 severit ...

. 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) *'' The Cat Returns'' (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'' *1981: Blue Ribbon Awards: Best Supporting Actor for '' The Battle of Port Arthur'' *1981: Japan Academy Prize: Best Supporting Actor for '' The Battle of Port Arthur'' *2000: Nikkan Sports Film Award: Best Supporting Actor for '' 15-Sai: Gakko IV''

Awards nominated

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

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

References

External links

* * Japanese Wikipedia 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