was a prominent aikidoka

Aikidoka

Aikidoka is a Japanese term for a practitioner of the martial art Aikido. The term is rarely heard among native speakers of Japanese, in spite of its common use as a loanword in other countries.-Etymology:...

 and a direct student of Morihei Ueshiba

Morihei Ueshiba

was a famous martial artist and founder of the Japanese martial art of aikido. He is often referred to as "the founder" or , "Great Teacher".-Early years:Morihei Ueshiba was born in Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan on December 14, 1883....

. Son of a kendo

Kendo

, meaning "Way of The Sword", is a modern Japanese martial art of sword-fighting based on traditional Japanese swordsmanship, or kenjutsu.Kendo is a physically and mentally challenging activity that combines strong martial arts values with sport-like physical elements.-Practitioners:Practitioners...

 teacher, Tamura entered the Aikikai Hombu Dojo in 1953 as an uchi-deshi

Uchi-deshi

Uchi-deshi is a Japanese term for a live-in student/apprentice who trains under and assists a sensei on a full-time basis...

 (live-in student) of aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba. He was one of Ueshiba's favorite pupils and since 1964 has greatly contributed to the development of aikido in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 in particular. He was the National Technical Director (DTN) of the FFAB (French Federation of Aikido

Aikido

is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as "the Way of unifying life energy" or as "the Way of harmonious spirit." Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to...

 and Budō

Budo

is a Japanese term describing martial arts. In English, it is used almost exclusively in reference to Japanese martial arts.-Etymology:Budō is a compound of the root bu , meaning war or martial; and dō , meaning path or way. Specifically, dō is derived from the Buddhist Sanskrit mārga...

). He held the rank of 8th dan

Dan (rank)

The ranking system is a Japanese mark of level, which is used in modern fine arts and martial arts. Originally invented in a Go school in the Edo period, this system was applied to martial arts by Kanō Jigorō, the founder of judo and later introduced to other East Asia countries.In the modern...

 and the title of Shihan

Shihan

- Title of "Master" is a Japanese Honorific Title, Expert License Certification used in Japanese martial arts for Master Level Instructors. The award of the Expert License Certification is if designated by the qualification by virtue of endorsement by the [A] Association of Chief Instructors or [B]...

. Throughout his teaching career he trained many others instructors in various countries around the world but foremost Western Europe

Western Europe

Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...

. In 1999, he received the medal of "Chevalier de l'ordre National du Mérite

Ordre National du Mérite

The Ordre national du Mérite is an Order of State awarded by the President of the French Republic. It was founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle...

" from the French government. Tamura has published several books on aikido (in French). His dojo (Shumeikan Dojo) is located in the village of Bras (Var, France).
His former students include Toshiro Suga

Toshiro Suga

Toshirō Suga is an aikido instructor. He holds the rank of 6th dan Aikikai.Born in Tokyo, his aikido teachers include Morihei Ueshiba and Morihiro Saito. For many years he taught military forces in Canada. He takes part in international seminars.He had a brief career in cinema, thanks in part to...

 and Pierre Chassang

Pierre Chassang

Pierre Chassang, born in 1918, is an aikidoka holding8th dan Takemusu Aiki Intercontinental and 6th dan Aikikai.First taught aikido by Tadashi Abe in 1952....

.

Personal life

Tamura-shihan married Rumiko, a student in Morihei Ueshiba's dojo.
Tamura Sensei has three sons, one of them, Yoshimichi, having a successful career in the movie industry as an animator. He was the lead animator for the character Helga in the Disney motion picture Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Atlantis: The Lost Empire is a 2001 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. Written by Tab Murphy, directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, and produced by Don Hahn, it is the first science fiction film in the Disney animated features canon and the 41st overall. The film...

.

Aikido in France

Sent by Morihei Ueshiba, Tamura-shihan arrived in France in the port of Marseille

Marseille

Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...

 in 1964 as the final destination of his honeymoon

Honeymoon

-History:One early reference to a honeymoon is in Deuteronomy 24:5 “When a man is newly wed, he need not go out on a military expedition, nor shall any public duty be imposed on him...

 cruise (he paid part of his trip by performing aikido exhibitions on the ship). In France, he succeeded Tadashi Abe

Tadashi Abe

was the first aikido master to live and teach in the west. He is considered by O'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba and his students as the "Happy Aikidoka" because he was always smiling when he trained. He began training in Aikido in Osaka in 1942 and went on to train directly under the founder of the art...

 as the Aikikai

Aikikai

The Aikikai is the original school of Aikido. It is centered on the Aikikai Foundation in Japan, and its figurehead is the Doshu . It is represented globally through the International Aikido Federation....

 representative there and decided to stay in this country teaching aikido, despite the fact that he could barely speak French at that time. Other aikido teachers in France then included Minoru Mochizuki

Minoru Mochizuki

was a Japanese martial artist who founded the dojo Yoseikan. He was a 10th dan in Aikido, 9th dan in jujutsu, 8th dan in iaido, 8th dan in judo, 8th dan in kobudo, 5th dan in kendo, 5th dan in karate, and a 5th dan in jojutsu....

, Masamichi Noro

Masamichi Noro

is the founder of Kinomichi and was an uchi-deshi of Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido.- Formative Years :Masamichi Noro was born January 21, 1935 in Aomori, Japan. One of the characteristics of his early years is the musical universe that surrounded him, and which strongly influenced his...

 and Mutsuro Nakazono

Mutsuro Nakazono

Mutsuro Nakazono was a Japanese acupuncturist, an Oriental medicine practitioner and a 7th dan Aikikai aikido master with a strong judo background....

.

The French Aikido Federation was split into two in the 1980s purely because of political reasons. Those who decided to stay loyal to Tamura were for an independent aikido federation created the Fédération Française d'Aïkido et de Budo  from scratch, while those who preferred to remain under the Judo federation (Fédération française de Judo et Disciplines Associées), later became independent as the Fédération française d'aïkido, aïkibudo et affinitaires  under the technical leadership of Christian Tissier

Christian Tissier

Christian Tissier is one of the best known European Aikido teachers, who pioneered the art in France. He started training in Aikido as a child in 1962, and trained under Mutsuro Nakazono in Paris until he left for Tokyo in 1969. He came to Aikikai Hombu Dojo as an 18 year old, and trained there...

. The two once rival federations are now regrouped under the UFA (Union Française d'Aïkido).

In his early years in Japan, Tamura was acquainted with macrobiotic founder George Osawa. In France, he became friend with zen

Zen

Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...

 master Taisen Deshimaru

Taisen Deshimaru

was a Japanese Sōtō Zen Buddhist teacher.-Early life:Born in the Saga Prefecture of Kyūshū, Deshimaru was raised by his grandfather, a former Samurai before the Meiji Revolution, and by his mother, a devout follower of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism...

 who arrived in this country in 1965 and whom Osawa considered as his successor.

Tamura was an honorary citizen of the town of Lesneven

Lesneven

Lesneven is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.It lies northeast of Brest, about from the English Channel in the middle of the Leon plateau.-History:...

, France, where he gave week long yearly summer seminars with fellow aikido sensei Yoshimitsu Yamada

Yoshimitsu Yamada

Yoshimitsu Yamada is an aikido instructor. He is ranked 8th dan in the Aikikai and is the chief instructor at the dojo New York Aikikai.-Life:...

. The other two important aikido trainings he gave every year during the summer were Saint-Mandrier and La Colle-sur-Loup.

Death

Tamura died of cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

on the night of 9 July 2010.

Published works

• AIKIDŌ, Marseille 1986: AGEP; ISBN 2-950135-50-1
• Aikido - Etikette und Weitergabe, (German Edition: ISBN 3-939703-50-8) Amazon-Germany ASIN: 3939703508
• Aikido - Etiquette et transmission. Manuel a l'usage des professeurs. Aix en Provence 1991: Editions du Soleil Levant, ISBN 2-84028-000-0