Sonny Chiba

Sonny Chiba
Hawaii International Film Festival at October 29, 2005
Born	Sadaho Maeda January 23, 1939 (1939-01-23) (age 72) Fukuoka, Japan
Occupation	Actor, Singer, Film producer, Film director, martial artist
Years active	1960 – present
Spouse	Yoko Nogiwa (1972 - 1994) Tamami (1996 - present)
Website
Sonny chiba Official Website

Shinichi Chiba (千葉 真一, Chiba Shin'ichi^?) (born 23 January 1939), also known as Sonny Chiba, is a Japanese actor, singer, film producer, film director and martial artist.

Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later before an international audience.^[1][2]

Biography

Early life

Born Sadaho Maeda (前田 禎穂, Maeda Sadaho^?) in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan, he was the third of five children in the family of a military test pilot.^[3] At Chiba's age 4, became his father transferred to Kisarazu, Chiba, his family also moved to Kimitsu, Chiba.^[4]

After Chiba went on to the junior high school of Kimitsu, the teacher of physical education were advised to do the artistic gymnastics.^[5] He also was passionate about track and field sports, baseball and volleyball.^[5] He participated in those four sports championships of Chiba Prefecture.^[5] Chiba went on to high school of Kisarazu, he was dedicated to artistic gymnastics and won National Sports Festival of Japan when he was in the third grade.^[1][6] He made time to watch the movies of Western (genre), Shane (film), High Noon and so forth in spite of his busy practice of artistic gymnastics daily routine.^[6]

Chiba went up to Nippon Sport Science University at 1957.^[1][7] He was serious enough about the latter to earn a place on the Japanese Olympic team in his late teens until he was sidelined by a back injury.^[1][7] While he was a university student, he began studying martial arts with the renowned Kyokushin Karate master Masutatsu "Mas" Oyama (whom he later portrayed in a trilogy of films), leading to his becoming a first-degree black belt on 15 October 1965, later receiving a fourth-degree on 20 January 1984.^[8]

Career

Sometime around 1960,^[9] he was discovered in a talent search (called "New Face") by the Toei film studio, and he began his screen career soon after as Shinichi Chiba.

His acting career began on television, starring in 2 Tokusatsu superhero shows, first replacing Susumu Wajima as the main character Kōtarō Ran / 7-Color Mask in 7-Color Mask (Nana-iro kamen) in the second half of the series then starred as Gorō Narumu/The Messenger of Allah in The Messenger of Allah (Allah no Shisha). His movie debut and first starring movie role was the 1961 science fiction movie Invasion of the Neptune Men. Later that year Chiba appeared in the first Kinji Fukasaku film Wandering Detective: Tragedy in Red Valley which marked the beginning of a long series of collaborations for the two. Over the next decade, he was cast primarily in crime thrillers. He also adopted the English name Sonny Chiba, initially because of his association with a Toyota advertising campaign for a car called the Sunny-S.^{[citation needed]}

By 1970, Chiba had started his own training school for aspiring martial arts film actors and stunt performers known as J.A.C (Japan Action Club). He had raised Jyunichi Haruta, Etsuko Shihomi, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Shinichi Tsutsumi in addition to them, he brought up many actors and stunt performers.

Sonny Chiba as Takuma Tsurugi in The Street Fighter.

Chiba starred in the Karate Kiba (Bodyguard Kiba), after appearing on the Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Hiroshima Deathmatch in 1973. Karate Kiba was the first movie for him about martial arts. Chiba's breakthrough international hit was The Street Fighter (1974), which established him as the reigning Japanese martial arts actor in international cinema for the next two decades.^[1][2]

Chiba's subsequent projects included such pictures as The Bullet Train (1975), Karate Warriors (1976), Doberman Cop (1977), Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon (1977) and The Assassin (1977). He also occasionally returned to the science fiction genre, in movies such as Message From Space (1978).　He began to star also on some jidaigeki such as Shogun's Samurai (1978), The Fall of Ako Castle (1978), G.I. Samurai (1979), Shadow Warriors (1980), Samurai Reincarnation (1981). He was not only actor but also fights choreographer at G.I. Samurai, Burning Brave (1981) , Shogun's Shadow (1989) and executive producer, film director at Yellow Fangs (1990) .

Chiba was even busier in the 1980s, doing dozens of movies as well as making forays into television, and with roles in such high profile adventures as the popular Hong Kong comic-based movie: The Storm Riders (1998), starring alongside Ekin Cheng and Aaron Kwok. His fame in Japan remained unabated into the 1990s.^{[citation needed]}

In his fifties, the actor resumed working under the name Shinichi Chiba when he served as a choreographer of martial arts sequences. At the dawn of the 21st century, Chiba was as busy as ever in feature films and also starring in his own series in Japan. Roles in Takashi Miike's Deadly Outlaw: Rekka and directors Kenta and Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale II effectively bridged the gap between modern day and yesteryear cinematic cult legends, Chiba's enduring onscreen career received a tribute when he appeared in a key role as Hattori Hanzo, the owner of a sushi restaurant and retired samurai sword craftsman, in director Quentin Tarantino's bloody revenge epic Kill Bill in 2003.

Chiba has starred in more than 125 films for Toei Studios and has won numerous awards in Japan for his acting.^{[citation needed]} In November 2007, he announced the retirement of the stage name Shinichi Chiba and will now be known (in Japan) as J.J. Sonny Chiba (ＪＪサニー千葉, Justice Japan Sonny Chiba^?) as an actor and Rindō Wachinaga (和千永 倫道, Wachinaga Rindō^?) as a film director.^[10]

Personal life

Chiba divorced his first wife, actress Yoko Nogiwa with whom he has a daughter, Juri Manase, also an actress. He has two sons from his second marriage; child actor J.J. Jr. Mackenyu (前田真剣佑, Maeda Makkenyū^?) born on 16 November 1996 and Gordon (郷敦^?), born in 1998. He currently lives in Yokohama, Japan. His younger brother, Jirō Yabuki (also known as Jiro Chiba), was also an actor.

Chiba in popular culture

Christian Slater's character Clarence Worley in the movie True Romance is a big Sonny Chiba fan. In an early scene he watches a Sonny Chiba triple feature. The writer of True Romance, Quentin Tarantino, worked with Chiba ten years later in Kill Bill.

Samuel L. Jackson's character in the movie Pulp Fiction recites a creed spuriously attributed to Ezekiel 25:17, beginning, "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men," and ending, "...and you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee." This creed was originally used as the opening scroll in the Sonny Chiba movie, Karate Kiba (English title: The Bodyguard), substituting the words, "...and they shall know that I am Chiba the Bodyguard...," in the above passage^[11]

In the introduction sequence to the video game The Revenge of Shinobi, he is shown wielding a sword and shielding against throwing stars.

Sonny Chiba was recently referenced in the TV Show Chuck. In the episode 'Chuck Versus the Other Guy,' Josh Gomez's character Morgan Grimes notices a fake martial arts sequence, and uses his knowledge of Sonny Chiba movies as proof the fisticuffs are exaggerated.

Black belts and martial art milestones

Chiba holds black belts in the following martial arts:

• Kyokushin Karate - 4th Dan^[8]
• Goju-ryu karate - 2nd Dan
• Judo - 2nd Dan
• Kendo - 1st Dan
• Shorinji Kempo - 1st Dan
• Japan Action Club (JAC) - Founder
  • This organization aims to develop and raise the level of martial arts techniques and sequences used in Japanese film and television.

Filmography

• 7-Color Mask (1960) as Kōtarō Ran / 7-Color Mask
• Wandering Detective: Tragedy in Red Valley (1961) as Gorō Saionji
• Wandering Detective: Black Wind in the Harbor (1961) as Gorō Saionji
• Invasion of the Neptune Men (1961) as Shinichi Tachibana / Iron Sharp
• Vigilante With a Funky Hat (1961)
• Vigilante With a Funky Hat: The 20,000,000 Yen Arm (1961)
• The Secret of the Diamond / The Kamikaze Guy (a.k.a. Kamikaze Man: Duel at Noon ) (1966) as Ken Mitarai
• Ōgon Bat The Golden Bat (1966) as Dr.Yamatone
• WATER CYBORG (1966) as Abe
• Key Hunter (1968) as Yōsuke Kazama
• Yakuza deka (1970) as Shirō Hayata
• Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Hiroshima Deathmatch (1973) as Katsutoshi Ōtomo
• Karate Kiba (a.k.a. Bodyguard Kiba or Bodyguard ) (1973) as Naoto Kiba
• Tokyo-Seoul-Bangkok Drug Triangle (1973) as Tatsuya Wada
• The Street Fighter (1974) as Takuma Tsurugi
• Return of The Street Fighter (1974) as Takuma Tsurugi
• The Executioner (1974) as Ryūichi Kōga
• Sister Street Fighter (1974) as Seiichi Hibiki
• The Street Fighter's Last Revenge (1974) as Takuma Tsurugi
• Champion of Death (a.k.a. Karate Bull Fighter ) (1975) as Masutatsu Ōyama
• Karate Bearfighter (1975) as Masutatsu Ōyama
• The Killing Machine (1975)
• The Bullet Train (1975) as Railroad engineer Aoki
• Karate Warriors (1976) - as Shūhei Sakata
• Dragon Princess (1976)
• Doberman Cop (1977) as Detective Jōji Kanō
• Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon (1977) - as Duke Tōgō
• Karate for Life (1977) as Masutatsu Ōyama
• Soul of Bruce Lee (1977) - as Mu Yun Tek
• The Assassin (1977)
• Hokuriku Proxy War (1977)
• Shogun's Samurai (a.k.a. Yagyu Clan Conspiracy ) (1978) as Jūbei Mitsuyoshi Yagyū
• Message from Space (1978) as Prince Hans
• The Fall of Ako Castle (1978) as Kazuemon Fuwa
• Resurrection of Golden Wolf (1979)
• G.I. Samurai (1979) as Lt.Yoshiaki Iba and Fights Choreographer
• Shadow Warriors (a.k.a. Hattori Hanzō: Kage no Gundan ) (1980) as Hanzō Hattori III
• Virus (1980) as Dr.Yamauchi
• Shogun's Ninja (1980)
• Roaring Fire (1981)
• Samurai Reincarnation (1981) as Jūbei Mitsuyoshi Yagyū
• Shadow Warriors II (a.k.a. Kage no Gundan II ) (1981 - 1982) as Shinpachi Tsuge
• The Kamikaze Adventurers (1981) as Daisuke Kamikaze
• Burning Brave (1981) as Fights Choreographer
• Bushido Blade (1982)
• Shadow Warriors III (a.k.a. Kage no Gundan III ) (1982) - as Hanzō Tarao
• Fall Guy (1982) as Sonny Chiba
• Ninja Wars (1982) as Shinzaemon Yagyū
• Legend of the Eight Samurai (1983) as Dōsetsu Tadatomo Inuyama
• Shadow Warriors IV (a.k.a. Kage no Gundan IV ) (1985) - as Hanzō Hattori XV
• Shadow Warriors Bakumatsu Hen (a.k.a. Kage no Gundan Bakumatsu Hen ) (1985) - as Hanzō Hattori XV
• Sure-Fire Death 4: We Will Avenge You (1987) as Bunshichi
• Shogun's Shadow (1989) as Shōzaemon Iba and Fights Choreographer
• Yellow Fangs (1990) as Executive Producer, Director
• The Triple Cross (1992) as Shiba
• Aces: Iron Eagle III (1992) as Horikoshi
• Immortal Combat (1994)
• The Storm Riders (1998) as Lord Conqueror
• Born to Be King (2000) as Ichio Kusakari
• Deadly Outlaw: Rekka (2002)
• Wind and Cloud (2002) as Lord Conqueror
• Battle Royale II: Requiem (2003) as Makio Mimura
• Kill Bill Volume 1 (2003) as Hanzō Hattori
• Shin Kage No Gundan (New Shadow Warriors) (2003) as Hanzō HattoriI
• Survive Style 5+ (2004)
• Days of our Lives Episode #19,895 (23 September 2004) as Zen Master Hanzō Hattori
• Sarutobi Sasuke Yami No Gundan (2005) as Jūbei Mitsuyoshi Yagyū
• The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) as Kamata
• Oyaji (2007)
• Legend of Seven Monks (2007)
• Fūrin Kazan (Taiga drama) (2007) as Nobukata Itagaki

Books

• (in Japanese) Chiba Shin'ichi aratame Wachinaga Rindō. Yama to Keikokush. 2008. ISBN 4635340228. 
• (in Japanese) Chibaryū samurai eno michi. Bunkasha. 2010. ISBN 4821142694. 

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} "SPORTS CITY". Kamakura Shobo 1 (2): pp.32. 1981. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Honke Bruce Lee wo shinogu Chiba Shinichi [Shinichi Chiba surpasses Bruce Lee as the movie star of martial arts]" (in Japanese). Sports Hochi (Tokyo). 27 Dec 1974. 
3. ^ Chibaryū samurai eno michi, pp.81 - 82.
4. ^ Chiba Shin'ichi aratame Wachinaga Rindō, pp.38 - 39.
5. ^ ^{a b c} Chibaryū samurai eno michi, pp.89.
6. ^ ^{a b} Chibaryū samurai eno michi, pp.95 - 96.
7. ^ ^{a b} Chiba Shin'ichi aratame Wachinaga Rindō, pp.53.
8. ^ ^{a b} "International Karate Organization KYOKUSHINKAIKAN Domestic Black Belt List As of Oct.2000". Kyokushin karate sōkan : shin seishin shugi eno sōseiki e (Aikēōshuppanjigyōkyoku): pp.62 – 64. 2001. ISBN 4816412506. 
9. ^ The dates are uncertain, because it is possible that he had television appearances to his credit as early as 1959.
10. ^ "千葉真一「ＪＪサニー」に改名！映画監督としては「和千永倫道」." Sankei Shimbun.
11. ^ Thomas, Brian. VideoHound's Dragon: Asian Action & Cult Flicks. Canton, Michigan: Visible Ink Press, 2003, pp. 61-2).

External links

• Sonny chiba Official Website
• Sonny Chiba at the Internet Movie Database
• Henshin Online: Sonny Chiba
• Sonny Chiba on 10kbullets.com

Persondata
Name	Chiba, Sonny
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	January 23, 1939
Place of birth	Fukuoka, Japan
Date of death
Place of death