Masakazu Tamura (田村 正和,Tamura Masakazu, 1 August 1943 - 3 April 2021) was a Japanese film and theatre actor.^[1]

Masakazu Tamura was born 1 August 1943 inKyoto,Japan to Japanese actorTsumasaburō Bandō.^[2] Tsumasaburō Bandō died when Tamura was only nine years old. His brothersTakahiro andRyō are also actors. He had been thinking of becoming an actor in the future since he was a child.^[3] He was thus trained in fighting with swords and more traditional forms of Japanese theatre likeKabuki andNihon Buyō. He graduated fromSeijo University.^[4][2][5][6]

In 1960, he made a cameo appearance in the filmHatamoto Gurentai, in which his older brother Takahiro starred.^[7] The following year, he signed a contract with theShōchiku Ōfuna company while he was still in university.^[2] In the same year, he made his official film debut in the filmEternal Woman directed byKeisuke Kinoshita.^[5] His first leading film role was Kono koenaki sakebi directed by Hirokazu Ichimura in 1965.^[5] He left Shōchiku in 1966 and established his own agency.^[5] In 1967, He released the first and last song in his career "Sora Ippai no Namida". His breakthrough came in 1970 after landing a role in the television seriesFuyu no Tabi onTBS.^[8] From 1970s, Tamura focused predominately on television with occasional film appearances^[9] includingYasuharu Hasebe's filmFemale Prisoner Scorpion: 701's Grudge Song^[10] andYasuo Furuhata's filmNihon no Fixer. From the mid-1960s to the 1970s, Tamura was called the JapaneseAlain Delon.^[11][12]

He appeared in many period dramas (jidaigeki) such asNaruto Hichō onNHK and most of his roles were skilled swordsmen.^[5]He played the role of "Nemuri Kyoshirō" and won great popularity in 1972; it is Tamura's most famous role in jidaigeki.^[5] Later, five special version of the drama were made.^[13] He played the same role on the stage in 1973 and 1981. From 1963 to 1967, Tamura appeared in theTaiga drama 5 years in a row. He also appeared in the Taiga drama inHaru no Sakamichi (1971) andShin Heike Monogatari (1972).

From the late 1980s he began to appear in comedy dramas such asPapa wa Newscaster or home dramas and gained new popularity.^[5][2]

In 1993, Tamura played the role of "Ogami Ittō" inAkira Inoue's filmLone Wolf and Cub: Final Conflict byKazuo Koike's strong request.^[14][15] His photo book of the film was also released.^[16]

He is most famous for his role as the polite and highly idiosyncratic police detective "Furuhata Ninzaburō" in a self-titled drama by Japanese playwrightKōki Mitani.^[13] This drama was one of the most popular in its time and one of the most popular dramas in the history of Japanese television. The drama started in 1994 and Tamura continued playing Detective Furuhata until 2006.^[2][17]( In 1997, Tamura and Mitani worked together again inSōrito Yobanaide onFuji TV.^[18])

In 2007, Tamura appeared in the film for the first in 14 years inLast Love.^[2][19]

Tamura won "Outstanding Actor" at theMonte-Carlo Television Festival for his work in the TV specialAh, You're Really Gone Now in 2009.^[20] Tamura appeared in several television dramas related toChushingura and finally he played the role of "Ōishi Kuranosuke" for the first time in the special dramaChushingura Sono Otoko Ōishi Kuranosuke in 2010.^[21]

In 2018, he played the role of "Nemuri Kyoshirō" for the first time in about 20 years inNemuri Kyoshirō The Final onFuji TV.^[22] But he hinted at his retirement from acting soon after appearing in that TV movie.^[23]

He died of heart failure on 3 April 2021 at the age of 77.^[24][25][1]

• Masakazu Tamura atIMDb
• NHK Archives Actor /Masakazu Tamura人物録 田村正和 俳優
• Masakazu Tamura,Agency for Cultural Affairs

• 1943 births
• 2021 deaths
• Male actors from Kyoto
• Seijo University alumni

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