Tetsuro Tamba

Acting

Tetsuro Tamba

Born 1922-07-17 · Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

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.

Acting credits

You Only Live Twice poster
6.6

A mysterious spacecraft captures Russian and American space capsules and brings the two superpowers to the brink of war. James Bond investigates the case in Japan and comes face to face with his archenemy Blofeld.

You Only Live Twice

1967

Harakiri poster
8.5

Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.

Harakiri

1962

The Cat Returns poster
7.1

Young Haru rescues a cat from being run over, but soon learns it's no ordinary feline; it happens to be the Prince of the Cats.

The Cat Returns

2002

Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky poster
6.9

In 2001, where all correctional facilities have been privatized, martial artist Ricky finds himself victim to the corrupt system, found "guilty" of the manslaughter of an infamous crime boss.

Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky

1991

Kwaidan poster
7.7

Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior's reflection in his teacup.

Kwaidan

1965

Fireflies in the North poster
5.6

Set in the icy wilderness of Hokkaido during the early days of the Meiji era, where the brutal warden of Kabato Prison terrorizes convicts sentenced to forced labor to build the roads needed to open up the territory.

Fireflies in the North

1984

The Twilight Samurai poster
7.8

Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects seem to open up when the beautiful Tomoe, a childhood friend, comes back into he and his daughters' life, but as the Japanese feudal system unravels, Seibei is still bound by the code of honor of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedence. How can he find a way to do what is best for those he loves?

The Twilight Samurai

2002

The Bullet Train poster
6.9

A Japanese bullet train is threatened with a bomb that will explode automatically if the train slows below 80 km/h, unless a ransom is paid. Police race to find the bombers so the train crew can learn how to defuse the bomb.

The Bullet Train

1975

Gozu poster
6.8

Minami mistakenly kills a gangster associate of his named Brother. Almost as soon as the murder takes place, the body of the deceased man is gone, prompting Minami to conduct a search. While looking, he finds a mysterious isolated hotel where he decides to take a rest. Not only are the front desk clerks a bit strange, but even the ambiance feels unusual. Minami soon realizes he may have gotten more than he bargained for.

Gozu

2003

The 5-Man Army poster
6.6

At the behest of local revolutionaries, a mercenary enlists four specialists in various combat styles to help him rob a Mexican Army train carrying $500,000 in gold.

The 5-Man Army

1969

Heat Wave poster
5.9

Rin Jyoshima lost her father to death-by-gambling; years later, she's grown up in the Kosugi household and has fallen victim to gambling herself.

Heat Wave

1991

Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs poster
6.5

Agent Zero is a cop that uses her own methods for dealing with criminals. After she unlawfully kills a rapist in a violent fashion, she is sent to prison and stripped of her badge. But very soon after, a rich politician's daughter is kidnapped by a ruthless gang. Agent Zero is let out of prison with the mission of going undercover to find the politician's daughter and return her safely. Using her deadly red handcuffs, she disposes of the criminals one by one.

Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs

1974

Shogun's Ninja poster
6.3

In the middle of the 16th century, Hideyoshi, a power hungry warlord sets out to destroy the Momochi clan. He sends his war commander in search of the clan's hidden gold only to find that two daggers are the key to the hiding place of the treasured gold. Spanning decades, the quest for the missing daggers takes Shiranui through war and ancient tradition.

Shogun's Ninja

1980

The Bushido Blade poster
5.3

A steel samurai blade that was to be given to the American ambassador by the Emperor of Japan is stolen. American sailors and Japanese samurai are sent to find it.

The Bushido Blade

1981

Bloody History of Soldiers poster
NR

A historical film that portrays the fervent and violent actions of young Army and Navy officers, such as the February 26 and May 15 incidents, in a semi-documentary style.

Bloody History of Soldiers

1958

剣聖 暁の三十六番斬り poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

剣聖 暁の三十六番斬り

1957

Crayon Shin-chan: Explosion! The Hot Spring's Feel Good Final Battle poster
6.5

There's only one way to stop a filthy evil scientist from destroying the world, and it's with a powerful hot spring located under Shin-chan's house!

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

1999

Jubaku: Spellbound poster
6.2

When a major bank is caught paying off a corporate extortionist, the media and prosecutors begin to dig, breaking open a money-and-favours scandal that threatens to rock the entire structure of business and government to its core. While the bank's top executives continue to vacillate, a quartet of middle-management reformers, led by straight-arrow Kitano (Koji Yakusho), decide to stage a boardroom coup and install a new, clean management team. With the aid of a hotshot news anchor (Mayumi Wakamura) and a hard-nosed prosecutor (Kenichi Endo), heads begin to roll.

Jubaku: Spellbound

1999

Screwed poster
4.9

It has been two years since unsuccessful cartoonist Tsube started to live with Kuniko casually in a small apartment.

Screwed

1998

Giant Rumble poster
6.0

In this gritty tale of gamblers battling in the samurai era, Okawa Hashizo gives perhaps his greatest performance as a gambler returning to his home town. Swearing allegiance to his fiancée’s father, a decent boss, he had taken to the road after a gang fight until things cooled down. While honing his sword skills in his travels, everything in the town had changed and he descended into a virtual hell of violence. Opponents were being slaughtered by a former samurai ‘Bodyguard’ played by Tanba Tetsuro at the height of his amazing career. While these two master swordsmen are fated to meet, before that can even happen they must survive one of the longest, bloodiest swordfights in movie history!

Giant Rumble

1964

The Castle of Sand poster
7.4

Two detectives are tasked to investigate the murder of an old man, found bludgeoned to death in a Tokyo rail yard.

The Castle of Sand

1974

Graveyard of Honor poster
6.2

A barkeeper saves a yakuza boss' life and thus makes his way up in the organization. However, his fear of nothing soon causes problems.

Graveyard of Honor

2002

Port Arthur poster
7.4

Depicts the bloody siege of the fortress of Port Arthur, one of the most strongly fortified positions in the world, during the Russo-Japanese War of (1904 - 1905). In the story dominated the character Lt Takeshi Kogyo (Teruhiko Aoi), teachers, and a reserve officer who became commander of the platoon and later company. At the same time monitors the conduct of the army commander general Nogi (Tatsuya Nakadai), which was commissioned of the emperor Matsuhito (Toshirô Mifune) to the conquest of the fort.

Port Arthur

1980

Never Give Up poster
6.4

Special forces officer Ajisawa leaves his paramilitary group to take care of his newly-adopted daughter, Yoriko: the sole survival of a bloodbath for which he is responsible. Years later, Ajisawa is forced to return to the scene of the tragedy for his new job as a claims adjuster where he is subsequently arrested for his suspected involvement. But the threat of jail time is the least of his worries as his former organization comes gunning for him.

Never Give Up

1978

Behind the camera

Three Outlaw Samurai poster
7.5

Shiba, a wandering ronin, encounters a band of peasants who have kidnapped the daughter of their dictatorial magistrate, in hopes of coercing from him a reduction in taxes. Shiba takes up their fight, joined by two renegades from the magistrate's guard, Sakura and Kikyo. The three outlaws find themselves in a battle to the death.

Three Outlaw Samurai

1964

The Sand Boat poster
NR

A Young couple find a boad buried under a beach,and are taken to another world where they must face a Deadly cult who want to sacrifice them.

The Sand Boat

1980

The Sand Boat poster
NR

A Young couple find a boad buried under a beach,and are taken to another world where they must face a Deadly cult who want to sacrifice them.

The Sand Boat

1980

Tetsuro Tamba's Great Spirit World: What Happens When You Die poster
7.0

Visualization based on Tetsuro Tamba's best-selling "Great Reikai". A story about a physicist who dies in an accident and experiences the afterlife as a spirit. The leading role is Tamba Tetsuro's biological son, Tamba Yoshitaka.

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

1989

No artwork available
NR

This is a re-edited version of a Canadian-made documentary on psychic phenomena with the theme of reincarnation, with his commentary scenes added at the beginning and end, under the supervision of Tetsuro Tanba.

Tetsuro Tamba's Spirit World

1988

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

The second installment of the spirit world guide movie based on the original idea of ​​Tetsuro Tamba, made after the hit of the previous work. Depicts the world after death seen by a man who was sentenced to death for murdering his wife and sent to heaven.

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

1990

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

At the end of the Edo period, nine-year-old Katsugoro told his older sister that he was the reincarnation of Tozo, who had died in a neighboring village. A live-action adaptation of Koizumi Yakumo's "Katsugoro Saisei Ki", which is based on a reincarnation incident that is also recorded in the official documents of the Edo magistrate's office.

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

1994

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

At the end of the Edo period, nine-year-old Katsugoro told his older sister that he was the reincarnation of Tozo, who had died in a neighboring village. A live-action adaptation of Koizumi Yakumo's "Katsugoro Saisei Ki", which is based on a reincarnation incident that is also recorded in the official documents of the Edo magistrate's office.

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

1994