was a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

.

Biography

Tamba is perhaps best known by Western audiences for his role as Tiger Tanaka in the 1967 James Bond

James Bond

James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

 film You Only Live Twice

You Only Live Twice (film)

You Only Live Twice is the fifth spy film in the James Bond series, and the fifth to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's screenplay was written by Roald Dahl, and loosely based on Ian Fleming's 1964 novel of the same name...

(he was dubbed by Robert Rietti

Robert Rietti

Robert Rietti , usually credited as Robert Rietty, is a Italian actor and director.- Biography :Born of Italian heritage, Lucio Rietti was “discovered” at the age of 8 by his father Vittorio who noticed the boy had completely memorized a copy of a script he had given Lucio having wanted help from...

). By then, he had among other roles appeared in two films by director Masaki Kobayashi: Harakiri and Kwaidan

Kwaidan (film)

is a 1964 Japanese portmanteau film directed by Masaki Kobayashi; the title means 'ghost story'. It is based on stories from Lafcadio Hearn's collections of Japanese folk tales. The film consists of four separate and unrelated stories. Kwaidan is the archaic transliteration of Kaidan, meaning...

. He also portrayed the lead character in the police dramas Key Hunter

Key Hunter

was a prime-time television detective series in Japan. It aired on Saturday nights in the 9:00–9:56 p.m. time slot on the Tokyo Broadcasting System network from April 6, 1968 to April 7, 1973...

and G-Men '75

G-Men '75

was a long-running prime-time 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 network from May 24, 1975 to April 3, 1982. A sequel, G-Men '82, followed, as did various specials. With several updates and cast...

, the latter of which remains his best-known role in Japan.

He also portrayed the voice of the "Cat King" in the original Japanese version of the Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli

is a Japanese animation and film studio founded in June 1985. The company's logo features the character Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro...

 anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 film The Cat Returns

The Cat Returns

is a Japanese animated fantasy film directed by Hiroyuki Morita, produced by Studio Ghibli and theatrically released in Japan in 2002 and in 2003 in the United States through Walt Disney Pictures....

. More recently, he had parts in Twilight Samurai and two Takashi Miike

Takashi Miike

is a highly prolific and controversial Japanese filmmaker. He has directed over seventy theatrical, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. In the years 2001 and 2002 alone, Miike is credited with directing fifteen productions...

 films, The Happiness of the Katakuris

The Happiness of the Katakuris

is a 2001 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 includes claymation sequences, musical and dance numbers, a karaoke-style sing-along...

and Gozu

Gozu

is a Japanese cult film directed by Takashi Miike.-Plot:Structurally, Gozu is a succession of bizarre scenes sandwiched between a storyline involving Minami’s search for his Yakuza brother Ozaki in a small town, that is reminiscent of the episodic quests in Greek Mythology.-Cast:*Hideki Sone as...

, as well as acting as a spokesperson for the Dai Rei Kai spiritual

Spirituality

Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...

 movement.

Tamba's son, Yoshitaka Tamba

Yoshitaka Tamba

is a Japanese actor. He is the eldest son of actor Tetsurō Tamba.- Biography :In 1973, while attending high school, he landed a part in the movie Sumi yuriko directed by Omori Kenziro. He also appeared in the movie Aoba shigeru reru around the same time. Yoshitaka also extended his film career...

, is also an actor.

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

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 at the age of 84 of pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

.

Films

TV dramas

• Tange hidari zen
• Spy Catcher J3 (1965)
• Key Hunter
  Key Hunter
  was a prime-time television detective series in Japan. It aired on Saturday nights in the 9:00–9:56 p.m. time slot on the Tokyo Broadcasting System network from April 6, 1968 to April 7, 1973...
  
  (1968 TBS)
• Jikiru to hai do (1973)
• Eyeful Dai Sakusen (1973 TBS)
• Birdie Dai Sakusen (1974 TBS)
• G-Men '75
  G-Men '75
  was a long-running prime-time 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 network from May 24, 1975 to April 3, 1982. A sequel, G-Men '82, followed, as did various specials. With several updates and cast...
  
  (1975 TBS)
• G-Men '82 (1982 TBS)
• Marco Polo (1982 NBC)
• Aoi Hitomi no Sei Life (1984 Fuji)
• Super Police
  Super Police
  Super Police is a 1994 Telugu film directed by K. Murali Mohan Rao. The film stars daggubati Venkatesh and Nagma in important roles. It was dubbed and released in Tamil with the same name. This was the second film that A.R...
  
  (1985 TBS)
• HOTEL
  Hotel
  A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
  
  (TBS)
• Chōshichirō Edo Nikki
  Choshichiro Edo Nikki
  or Chōshichirō's Edo Diaries was a long-running prime-time television series in Japan. The title character was Matsudaira Chōshichirō Nagayori, the son of Tokugawa Tadanaga. The premise of the show focuses on Tadanaga having been killed because of alleged plotting to overthrow his elder brother,...
  
  (1983 NTV)
• Ōgon no Hibi (1978 NHK)
• Shishi no Jidai (1980 NHK)
• Tōge no Gunzō (1982 NHK)
• Miyamoto Musashi
  Miyamoto Musashi
  , also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age...
  
  (1984 NHK)
• Sanada Taiheiki (1985-86 NHK)

• Chūshingura
  Chushingura
  is the name for fictionalized accounts of the historical revenge by the Forty-seven Ronin of the death of their master, Asano Naganori. Including the early , the story has been told in kabuki, bunraku, stage plays, films, novels, television shows and other media...
  
  (1985)
• Kayō Suspense Gekijō Bengoshi Takabayashi Ayuko series (1986-2005 NTV)
• Mito Kōmon
  Mito Kōmon
  is a Japanese jidaigeki or period drama that has been on prime-time television since 1969. The title character is the historic Tokugawa Mitsukuni, former vice-shogun and retired second daimyo of the Mito domain...
  
  (1986 TBS)
• Byakkotai (1986)
• Inochi
  Inochi
  is a 2002 Japanese movie directed by Shinohara Tetsuo starring Esumi Makiko and Etsushi Toyokawa. It is based on a memoir of the same title by the Korean-Japanese author Yu Miri.-Plot summary:...
  
  (1986 NHK)
• Tabaruzaka (1987)
• Shunjitsu kyoku (1989 NHK)
• Juu san nin no shikaku (1990)
• Minamotonoyoshitsune (1991)
• Tairanokiyomori (1992 TBS)
• Hashi ran ka! (1995 NHK)
• Jikuu keisatsu sousa ichi ka (2001)
• Toshiie to Matsu (2002 NHK)
• Yoshitsune (2005 NHK)

Awards

• 2000: Nikkan Sports Film Award: Best Supporting Actor for 15-Sai: Gakko IV
• 1981: Japan Academy Prize: Best Supporting Actor for 203 kochi
• 1981: Blue Ribbon Awards
  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...
  
  : Best Supporting Actor for 203 kochi
• 1974: Mainichi Film Award: Best Actor for Ningen kakumei

Awards Nominated

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

External links

• Japanese wikipedia page (also source)
• BBC article, retrieved December 10, 2006.