Tetsuro Tamba

Tetsuro Tamba (July 17, 1922 – September 24, 2006) was a distinguished Japanese actor known for his versatile talent across five decades. Recognized globally for his portrayal of Tiger Tanaka in the iconic 1967 James Bond film "You Only Live Twice," Tamba's cinematic journey was a remarkable blend of cultural bridges. Before embarking on his acting career, Tamba worked as an interpreter for the Allied Powers' Supreme Commander. Graduating from Chuo University in 1948, he later joined Shintoho company, making his debut in the film Satsujin Yougishain in 1951. Tamba's impact on Western audiences extended beyond Bond, with standout performances in films like Bridge to the Sun and The 7th Dawn. He earned acclaim in Japan as well, most notably as the lead in police dramas like Key Hunter and G-Men '75. His talents weren't confined to the screen alone. Tamba lent his voice to characters like the Cat King in Studio Ghibli's The Cat Returns and graced historical roles in television dramas, leaving an indelible mark on period pieces. In 2005, Tamba faced health challenges but continued to contribute until the end. Sadly, he passed away in Tokyo at 84 due to pneumonia on September 24, 2006. His legacy lives on through his son, actor Yoshitaka Tamba, while his last appearances in the 2005 Taiga drama Yoshitsune and the 2006 film Sinking of Japan remain a testament to his enduring impact on Japanese cinema and beyond.

Cast

You Only Live Twice

Minamoto Yoshitsune

Warrior (segment "Hoichi the Earless")

Operation Diamond

Spycatcher J3: SOS Close Shave

J1 (TULIP Japan Branch Chief)

Pigs and Battleships

Slasher Tetsuji

Tokyo Gang vs. Hong Kong Gang

South Pacific Waves Are High

King of Pornography

The Castle of Sand

Detective Eitaro Imanishi

Deadly Outlaw: Rekka

Hawk of the Harbour

Tokyo Untouchable

The Cat Returns

Cat King (voice)

長七郎江戸日記スペシャル長七郎大奥まかり通る

The Water Margin

Jade Unicorn, Lu Chun I

Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs

Under the Flag of the Rising Sun

Sergeant Katsuo Togashi

Futari dake no toride

The Happiness of the Katakuris

Granpa Jinpei Katakuri

Hunter in the Dark

Okitsugu Tanuma

Cherry Blossoms in the Air - The Suicide Raiders - Oh, Buddies!

Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky

Violent Streets

Shimamura Kansai

Rokugo Tatewaki

Gamblers: The Dragon Tattoo

Hibari no san'yaku: Zoku Kei tsuya yuki no jôhenge

Hibari no san'yaku: Kei tsuya yuki no jôhenge

Tetsuro Tamba's Great Spirit World 2: I was surprised when I died!!

Tetsuro Tamba’s Great Spiritual World 3: Amazing Reincarnation Story That Ran Around the Whole

The Political Game

Cristóvão Ferreira

The Sound of the Waves

The School Deviate Waru

Shadow Hunters 2: Echo of Destiny

Three Outlaw Samurai

Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron

The Executioner II: Karate Inferno

Hachiro Kiyokawa

Devil Princess’ Beauty Competition

Submersion of Japan

Prime Minister Yamamoto

Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight

Umineko ga tonde

Blackmail Is My Life

Samon’s Hell Revenge: Unauthorised Jutte Records 2 - The Assassination of the Shogun

Tokugawa Ieyasu – TBS Warlord Special

The Villain from Edo Kochiyama Soshun

Denkichi Tsuzaki

Twilight Saloon

Aurora Borealis

Tsuneiro Kamisaka

Bridge to the Sun

The Tale of Saikaido

Prophecies of Nostradamus

Crimson Bat - Oichi: Wanted, Dead or Alive

Ino Tadataka: Meridian Dreams

Ankoku gai jingi

Zankokuna tsuki

The White Tiger Battalion

The Scandalous Adventures of Buraikan

Soshun Kochiyama

Standing Towards the Great Forest

Shōwa Gokudōshi

Kuronekokan ni Kieta Otoko

Lieutenant Aikawa

Kōgen ni ressha ga hashitta

Men and War I: Prelude to Destiny

A Taxing Woman's Return

Capone: Roppongi Renkin no Teio

Shogun's Shadow

The Return of the Filthy Seven

Kizu-darake no futeki-sha

Tokyo Untouchable: Escape

The Code of Man

Onimasa: A Japanese Godfather

Uichi Suda, The Big Boss

The Kingdom of Jirocho 3

The Duel in the Forbidden Territory

Red Flowers of Hell

Uragirimono wa jigoku daze

Continental Drifter

Mysterious Clouds: Legend of Satomi's Heroic Deed

Aboshi Samajirô

Element of Surprise

The Imperial Japanese Empire

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

Monument to Holy Service

Shura Group Part 2

Shura Group Part 1

剣聖　暁の三十六番斬り

You're My Destiny

Ronin on a Mission

Ōishi Kuranosuke

雪夫人繪圖

Seven Nights in Japan

Terrorist Leader (uncredited)

The Gambling Samurai

Battles Without Honor and Humanity

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Complete Saga

Panapora Chief Handa

Sakuya: The Slayer of Demons

The Battle of Okinawa

Lieutenant General Isamu Cho

The Alaska Story

Greatest Boss of the Showa Era

A Flame at the Pier

Shinran: Path to Purity

Psychic: Traveler to the Unknown

Kuro to aka no hanabira

Female Neo-Ninjas

Time Patrol leader

Tozawa Hakuunsai

President Rai of Kingoro

Army Intelligence

Lieutenant Colonel Akiyama

Rajo to satsujin-meiro

Samurai from Nowhere

Hikokuro Omodaka

A Class to Remember IV: Fifteen

The Fencing Collegian

Kyōen Kobanzame

Emperor Meiji and the Great Russo-Japanese War

Rear Admiral Shimamura

Flickering Flames

Kingoro's Soldier

Samurai from Somewhere

The Ceiling at Utsunomiya

Kurozumi Tenzen

Blind Beast vs Killer Dwarf

G-Men in the Pacific

Call from Darkness

A Madcap Corporation

Abashiri Prison

Jubaku: Spellbound

Tajiro Kawakami

Human Revolution II

Submarine Ro Hasn't Surfaced

Kanetaka Okamura

Nezumi Kozō kaitō den

August without Emperor

Army General Mikami

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Proxy War

There Goes Benio, the Smart Girl

The Shogun's Vault

The Young Eagles of the Kamikaze

Quick on the Trigger

Graveyard of Honor

Captain Munekata

Underwater Murder

Daredevil in the Castle

Sadamasa Ishikawa

Flames of Blood

High Seas Hijack

Captain Munekata

Choshichiro's Edo Diaries: The Yagyu Conspiracy

The Pacific War and the International Military Tribunal

Kingorō no kaigun taishô

Gambler's Farewell

The International Gang of Kobe

Mysterious Dwarf

All Men Are Brothers

Jakoman and Tetsu

Thirst for Love

Greed in Broad Daylight

Yakuza Ladies 3

Takeo Sakanishi

The Bullet Train

Blood of Revenge

The Ghost of Kasane

Jinjûrô Ômura

Organized Violence II

Police Inspector Kitagawa

Four Days of Snow and Blood

Jinzaburi Shinzaki

King of the Gang

Penitentiary Brothers

The Private Police

Tales of Young Genji Kuro 3

The Way to The Gold Medals

President Sakakibara

Fireflies in the North

The Last True Yakuza

Kazumasa Tashiro

Dissolution Rites

Yakuza Skirmishes

Quarreling with Yakuza

The Ando Gang Documentary Film

Portrait of Chieko

Kotaro Takamura

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

The Fall of Ako Castle

Shogun's Samurai

Ogasawara Gensinsai

Samurai Reincarnation

Doi Ōkō Toshi

Sazen Tange and The Secret of the Urn

Lord Tsushima Yagyu

The Imperial Navy

The Yellow Climate

The Classroom of Terror

The Armed Organization

Red Peony Gambler: Biographies of a Gambling Room

To Trap a Kidnapper

Eleven Gangsters

Twilight of the Cockroaches

Grandpa (voice)

The Shogun Assassins

L・O・V・I・N・G

The Thousand Year Fire

Once and For All

A Case of Murder by the Atami Station Taxi Stand

The Story of a Man Among Men

Destroyer Yukikaze

Rise and Fall of Chivalry

The Gambler's Counterattack

Chief Inspector

Organized Violence

Japan's Violent Gangs: The Boss and the Killers

Shintani Kosaku

Gang Loyalty and Vengeance

Mist and Shadows

The Sacrifice of the Human Torpedoes

Female Slave Ship

Japan's Top Gangster

Noboru Yamaguchi

The Twilight Samurai

Tozaemon Iguchi

Operation Plazma in Osaka

Organized Crime: Killer's Glory

1750 Days of Turbulence

Abashiri Prison: Duel in Hokkaido

Postwar Secrets

The Domain: Kanto Legends of Chivalry

The Bushido Blade

Love: Starting on a Journey

Tale of Ninja Duty

Mumyo Tsunataro

Emperor & Empress Meiji and the Sino-Japanese War

Karafuto 1945 Summer

School Be-In Bully

Ryotaro Sakurazawa

Vendetta of Obligation

The Human Revolution

The Making Of The Katakuris

Game of Chance 3

Company Buggers

Gamblers and Racketeers

New Abashiri Prison Story: Honor and Humanity, Ammunition That Attracts the Storm

Secret Prophecies of Nostradamus

Message from Space

The Stupid Teacher

The Supernormal II

Sugata Sanshiro

Troops of Darkness

Teruo Ishii Fan Club

Taira no Kiyomori

The Great Shogunate Battle

Gang and G-Men Part 2

The Corporation

Drive for the Future

Akiji Nishikawa

The Prosecutor and His Sister

Tetsuro Tamba's Great Spirit World: What Happens When You Die

Admiral Yamamoto and the Allied Fleets

The Hitman: Blood Smells Like Roses

Zero sen no jorō gun

Snake Woman's Curse

Tokyo: The Last War

Kanaami Kohou, Kan'ami Kouou

Michitane Tendou

Lady Vengeance and the 47 Ronin

High-Ranking Yakuza

Prime Minister Yamato

The Last Days of Planet Earth

Diamonds of the Andes

Emperor of Upheaval

売春地下組織

やくざ番外地　抹殺

Ano hito wa ima

Storming Osaka Castle: The Sanada Ten Braves

Mondonoshô Hirano

源氏九郎颯爽記　秘剣揚羽の蝶

日本敗れず

Structure of Hate

機動捜査班

Station to Heaven

Kill the Killer!

修羅のみち

Showdown on Pier No.3

Crew

Tetsuro Tamba's Great Spirit World: What Happens When You Die

Idea, General Manager, Writer

Three Outlaw Samurai

Tetsuro Tamba's Spirit World

Tetsuro Tamba's Great Spirit World 2: I was surprised when I died!!

Executive Producer, Screenplay

Tetsuro Tamba’s Great Spiritual World 3: Amazing Reincarnation Story That Ran Around the Whole

Screenplay, Director

Executive Producer, Screenplay, Director