Brief Introduction

　　Tenma Shibuya (first name=Tenma, family name=Shibuya, Japanese=渋谷天馬 /Chinese=澀谷天馬，Shibuya'Tenma, Segu'Tianma, born January 13，1969) is a Japanese actor, Japanese classical dancer, and cultural exchange activist.

                                                                  　　He began his career as an actor in 1993 after returning from US, where he attended college. He made appearances in a number of films, stages, and TV dramas in his early acting career in Japan. In 2006, Tenma, aged 36, visited China for the first time, leading his jump into Chinese show business. In 2008, Tenma played Colonel Sato, an impressive villain in Yip Man, a Hong Kong kung-fu movie that won the best film award of 28th Hong Kong Film Awards. He starred in the top-rated Chinese TV drama in 2011, Borrow Gun, in which Tenma successfully portrayed Kato, a character that won him an overnight fame in all of China. Up until 2015, Tenma has appeared in over 100 productions including movies, TV dramas and stage works in Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the U.S, gaining a great popularity in Asian areas especially in Chinese-speaking areas.

　　In addition to acting, he has been a Japanese classical dancer and songwriter for over 20 years.

　　Tenma has also volunteered in international cultural exchange activities for over 25 years. He taught Japanese in high schools as a volunteer in Eugene, OR. Tenma also founded Japan-China cultural exchange promotion, a Tokyo-based nonprofit organization aiming to promote cultural exchange between Japan and China in 2009. He serves the general director of this organization since the beginning.

　　[Early Life]

　　Tenma was born on January 13, 1969, in Saitama, Japan. He was rather a shy boy when he was young, preferring reading books or playing the guitar. He went to the U.S to study at University of Oregon in 1989. He got back to Japan in 1991 as his mother passed away. Preparing to return to the U.S again, he suddenly had an accident with his lower back, forcing him to stay until a full recovery, which took him six years. As the backache eased by treatment and therapy, he grew determined to become an actor, at which point he entered acting school.

　　【Entertainment Career】

　　Tenma started his acting career in 1993. Determined to become globally active, he felt the need to accumulate experiences in Japan first until an opportunity occurs.

　　Besides acting on a daily basis, Tenma further improved his performing skill in various ways, including method acting class taught by Yoko Narahashi, who would later become a prominent figure of Japanese film industry; film acting classes at Eizoujuku, a professional film college founded by Genji Nakamura, director of over 40 films; Japanese classical dancing class from Nishikawa’ Kazuma, the master of Nishikawa school; vocal training at AK MUSIC specializing in opera, chanson and pop music. Tenma acted in a number of independent and short films, in addition to his guest appearances for various film productions, which familiarized him with their methods and styles. Meanwhile, he had also taken part in filmmaking. He would even sing his original songs while playing guitar. Tenma sought improvement day and night.

　　Tenma’s commercial debut was in Sadistic Song (1995), a film directed by Genji Nakamura. And in 1997 comes theatric opportunities for Tenma. In March, he participated in Bolero, a famous ballet work. The performance was choreographed by Maurice Béjart, directed by Shiro Mizoshita of Tokyo Ballet, as one of dance ensembles presented at Tokyo culture hall. In July, he took parts in Princess Sayo, as both a character and Japanese folk dancer. In August 1997, Tenma served as assistant director in Annie Get Your Gun, a famous Broadway musical, in Nagoya Chunichi Theater. In the next year, he had the longed opportunity to work with a famous theatric director. He passed the audition and played Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, as directed by Yukio Ninagawa. He kept at his cinematic career nonetheless. In 2001, Tenma got a role in Agitator, a film by Takashi Miike, prolific filmmaker. He played a member of the Mafia, who would support his leader played by Naoto Takenaka. Tenma was only able to play small bits as detective, gangster, doctor, lawyer during this period. Tenma’s first experience with computer-generated animation was in Appleseed. His playing of 4 characters was recorded and later processed into animation through “motion capture” technique. The film was directed by Shinji Aramaki, and was released in 2004 globally.

　　Tenma had made plans to start performing in China, only deterred by linguistic difficulties. After learning Mandarin in Beijing Language and Culture University for six months, he’d officially started his acting career in Chinese show business world. He starred in his first Chinese TV drama Caoyuanchunlaizao, playing an actual person on history, Shouji Kanai, in autumn 2006. In the following year, he co-led his first movie in China, Feihuduidiezhan. Directed by Li Shu, this film was the most rebroadcasted program of the year, aired by the predominant movie channel in China, CCTV-6. Although still a new face to Chinese audiences, his performances were soon recognized in the industry. Tenma had been noticed, and would have been picked for a role in his next show by the director, Li Shu, which in turn led to more opportunities to play. Tenma is grateful for all the support his co-workers have given.

　　In 2008, Tenma played in Yip Man, a kung-fu movie by Wilson Yip, which would win the best film award of 28th Hong Kong Film Awards. Tenma’s role, Colonel Sato, a cold-blooded and crafty villain, not only gained him reputation among professionals, but also made his impression in general public. In fact, the director, Wilson, had half-jokingly warned him to stay away from movie theaters, noticing the excitement of the audience and the success of the film.

　　Tenma was offered an opportunity to act in his first costume TV drama, Yangguifeimishi, in 2009. Directed by You Xiaogang, starring Yin Tao, Anthony Wong, the show was set in in China in the Tang dynasty. Being a foreigner, Tenma sensed and successfully portrayed his ancient-Chinese character, fascinating thousands of viewers all over China.

　　In 2010, Tenma took a main role in Shenhe, Minetsugu Yoshida, an ornithologist who came to Zhalong Lake to search two lost cranes from Japan. The entire film was shot in Qiqihaer, a northeastern city in China where, during the shooting of the film, would reach a temperature of -30˚C

　　Tenma’s next TV drama, Jieqiang, was both commercially successful and critically acclaimed. His part, Kato Keiji, an emotional and cunning antagonist, was remarked by critics as both evil and fascinating. The program has broken the record of the highest revenue in the history of Chinese TV shows. Participating in such works as Yip Man and Jieqiang, Tenma certainly became one of most popular Japanese actors China. As his works being broadcasted in other countries, he even gains popularity all over the world

　　TV drama Daxifa, released in 2012, gave Tenma a chance to play a complex and unique character. The role of Wutengzhang, Japanese Magician who came to China to steal a secret document of Chinese traditional magic, differs greatly from the soldier roles that Tenma was used to. As the story progresses, the character adapts various identities such as honest young man, sexy female dancer of kabuki, magician playing magic on the stage, old woman, mad middle aged man. Yet another challenge to Tenma is to speak Mandarin fluently in all 40 episodes. Overcoming all challenges, Tenma gained praises for his acting skill and professionalism.

　　Tenma once again impressed his fans by playing Ichiro Nakamura, the second male leading role in the film Hushed Roar in 2012. Ichiro was a simple-minded person suffered from hypoglycemia, whose marriage with his long-time lover was deterred for his fear of his illness being heredity. This film officially participated in Montréal World Film Festival. The character, rich in emotions, was quite a new type for Tenma to play, as he played numerous stereotypical, sometimes one-sided roles so far. Tenma spoke only English in the film as required by the setting of the film. Without knowing him in person, the producer said that Tenma’s playing as a comical role gave her confidence to cast him, and that she was very satisfied with Tenma’s performance.

　　In 2013, Tenma participated in KANO as the only Japanese cast from Chinese mainland. The film tells a story about a high school baseball team in Taiwan. Ma Zhixiang, the director, offered the role as he was impressed by Tenma’s performance in Yip Man. Tenma was also happy to accept his offer not only base on the strength of the script, but also the reputation of the director of being cooperative and accepting to different opinions. Breaking the box office record in Taiwan, the film was also very successful in Japan, Hong Kong and some other countries.

　　Tenma appeared in Xiaobaohelaocai in 2013. It was his first opportunity for a comedic role in China which he loves to play. Being busy in Taiwan for shooting KANO at the time, he was able to join for one day shooting in Beijing. The supporting role of colonel Qingtian was a complicating one, despite appearance in few scenes. Colonel Qingtian, who stationed in China In the ending WWⅡ, got desperate as the situation of the war worsen. Knowing he would dispatch from his station the next day, he murdered another character, leading the turn of the plot. His part was insufficient to depict the character’s personality, but Tenma was able to act impromptu and even add humor to it. His performance was praised by both the crew members and the audience. Tenma had been noted in main cast in spite of his small part.

　　Tenma continued to expand his range of roles that he could play in China through TV dramas Fenghuoshuangxiong (2013), Youchai (2015) and Tiezaishao (2015). In Fenghuoshuangxiong, he falls in love with a Japanese girl and losses her at the end of the story; in Youchai, he had a relationship with a Japanese female spy whose death causes his seek to vengeance; in Tiezaishao, he falls in love with a Chinese girl but is forced to kill her. Through his performance, viewers were able to see different emotions, and carefully shaped personalities, which is rare to see on roles such as Japanese soldiers.

　　Tenma had more freedom on choosing his future appearance as his fame and wealth increased by 2015. He led in Wanfeng, a graduation project by a group of student in Beijing. Tenma found it interesting to work with students because of their passion and talent, regardless of the budget of the film. He decided to join students’ graduation film; not only to be an actor but also to give advises in all aspects of filmmaking.

　　Tenma values communication with directors and other crews, leading his repeated collaborations with many directors, including Xiao Feng. They kept in touch since they worked together in Hushed Roar in 2012, and when Xiao Feng directed The Bombing (Dahongzha) four years later, he entrusted Tenma with the only Japanese main role. The film was co-produced by Chinese, Korean, and Hollywood teams. Its consultants include Vilmos Zsigmond, Richard Anderson, and Ronald Bass, who are Oscar winners in cinematography, sound effect, and screenplay, respectively. Telling the story about the Japanese bombings on city of Chongqing during the WWⅡ, the film stars Liu Ye from China, Bruce Willis from the U.S, Song Seung-heon from Korea. Tenma plays an ace pilot who flies a Zero fighter and battles against Chinese battle-planes. All of the air battle scenes Tenma acted were taken in the studio of special effect, which would have restriceted his acting. Being in the cockpit, he could only act by facial expressions. Furthermore, his acting completely depended on his imagination as there were no opponents or objects in the studio. Tenma received praises in general despite all the obstacles.

　　Tenma appeared quite frequently on TV in China in the autumn of 2015. Including re-aired shows, five TV series Tenma played was broadcasted on twelve TV channels including CCTV-8, Tianjin satellite, Anhui satellite, Beijing, Zhejiang satellite. A number of Tenma’s fans commented and discussed the roles Tenma portrayed, especially of his new drama, Tiezaishao. They were moved when his passion and sensitivity came to an end when he had to kill the love of his life. Tenma’s performance receives upmost praise for its subtle, complex transition of emotions. Audiences were impressed especially by the compassionate image Tenma has project, opposed to the usual, monstrous Japanese characters in Chinese productions.

　　Up to 2016, Tenma Shibuya has appeared in over 100 works including movies, TV dramas and stages in Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the U.S. Today, he is recognized as one of famous Japanese actors in Chinese speaking regions, especially in mainland China.

　　[Advertisement, Spokesperson]

　　Nov, 2010: Promotional video of Hunan TV and taobao.com, Happy Taobao.

　　July, 2013: Art exhibition, An honor to meet you.

　　Mar, 2014: Antique jewelry brand, House of Willow

　　May, 2014: Yinluchi Art District Fine Brushwork Exhibition

　　Jul, 2015: Chao Hong’s Painting Art Exhibition, Combining the East and the West

　　Jun to Jul, 2015: African art brand, African Symbol

　　[Comments about Tenma Shibuya]

　　l “In Xiaobaohelaocai, Tenma Shibuya was appreciated by the audiences for his skills accumulated by dedicated training, his every body movements seemed like talking, and he kept it real in its entire drama.” (internet users from NetEase.com,Inc)

　　l “Mr. Tenma Shibuya not only speaks fluent Chinese, but also he was my English teacher in the film, Paoxiaowusheng.” (Actress, Liu Yun)

　　l “Every time I see him in the filming location, he has already totally changed into his role. He is not only very dedicated and strict on himself, but also he doesn’t give up pursuit of studying his character even out on shooting, he is a good actor.” (Actor, Li Liqun)

　　Filmography

　　Film

　　YearTitleRegionRole

　　2016The BombingChinaZero fighter pilot;Sato

　　2014KanoTaiwanShimindaibiao

　　2013XiaoxiaofeihuduiChinaGangcun

　　2012Chengchengfenghuo JueshaChinaGaoqiao

　　2012Hushed RoarChinaIchiro Nakamura

　　2011The Flowers of WarChinaFuguan

　　2010EergunaheyouanChinaHideo Suzuki

　　2010TiexuejiangqiaoChinaKanji Ishibashi

　　2010ShenheChinaJitian Fengci

　　2010Death and Glory in ChangdeChinaYiteng Sanlang

　　2009CowChinaTerada

　　2008Yip ManHong KongColonel Sato

　　2008FeihuduidiezhanChinaXiongben

　　2007YexiChinaLieutenant Tanaka

　　2004AppleseedJapanUranus (motion capture)

　　2003IchigonokakeraJapanBartender

　　2002AgitatorJapanShintani

　　2002HiroshimayakuzasensouJapanYakuza

　　2001ZonbigokudouJapanDetective

　　2002BastoniJapanAgent of Porn Actress

　　2001MinaminoteiouJapanFactory Worker

　　2001SalarymanpachinkaergingtaroJapanSecretary

　　2001AokiookamitachiJapanHitman

　　2000KamomeJapanLoan Shark

　　1999FubundaisousaHong KongAdult Shop Manager

　　1998HananoanaJapanRebel

　　1998GenkinokamisamaJapanHusband

　　1997MamushinokyoudaiJapanPunk

　　1996Sadistic SongJapanPlayboy

　　1996SaigonoshigotoJapanThief

　　Television

　　YearTitleRegionRole

　　2015TiezaishaoChinaGaomu Yiren

　　2014YouchaiChinaShuigu Xinfu

　　2014ErshisidaoguaiChinaDachuan

　　2013FenghuoshuangxiongChinaHeitian zhongxiong

　　2013XiaobaohelaocaiChinaQingtian Dazuo

　　2012XuanyaChinaSaburo Shibuya

　　2012ShenmirenzhiChinaSongben Wulang

　　2012HaojiahuoChinaKanji Abe

　　2011DakuaizeChinaGuitian Cilang

　　2011DaxifaChinaWuteng Zhang

　　2011JiezhenguochuanqiChinaJitian

　　2011XingfumanwuChinaMouye

　　2010JieqiangChinaJiateng Jinger

　　2010ZhizhewudiChinaYunchuan Xiuyi

　　2010WoshichuanqiChinaHeichuan Shuo

　　2010ChuanjuntuanxuezhandaodiChinaYedao Canger

　　2010TiexuezhonghunChinaYuantian Duizhang

　　2009ShengsixianChinaDubian Chunliang

　　2009YangguifeimishiChinaDaban Gumalv

　　2009XuebaoChinaDubian Wu

　　2009WatashigakodomodattakoroJapanXianbingduiyuan

　　2008DidaoyingxiongChinaShangdao Cilang

　　2006CaoyuanchunlaizaoChinaShouji Kanai

　　2005IryoushounenyinmonogatariJapanTruck Driver

　　2004KekkonJapanMedical Jurisprudence

　　2003KougenheirasshaiJapanHotel Manager

　　2002RakutenseikatsuJapanCameraman

　　Stage

　　Theater

　　YearTitleRegionRole

　　2000YukionnaJapanHeikichi

　　1998Romio and JulietJapanCapulet family,Dance Ensemble

　　1997Princess SayoJapanFarmer, Dance Ensemble

　　1996Emperor JonesJapanMoneylender

　　Musical

　　YearTitleRegionRole

　　1998-99Kumagon’s forestJapanKumakon-Leading

　　Ballet

　　YearTitleRegionRole

　　1997BoleroJapanDance Ensemble

　　Voice Over

　　MediaTitleRegionRoleNotes

　　TV CSTaiken PekinPekinPekinJapanNarration16 episodes

　　TV CSTaiken Pekinpekinpekin 2JapanNarration16 episodes

　　TV BSChugokumenroadwoyukuJapanNarration16 episodes

　　VPCannonJapanNarration

　　VPSharp cell phoneJapanNarration

　　VPChina LianyungangChinaNarration

　　VPChina JinmenqiaoChinaNarration

　　VPCannonJapanNarration

　　CG animationJapanimationU.S.A4 Main Roles

　　FilmDongfengyuChinaFujiki

　　TV dramaZhongtiankenjianChinaTakahashi

　　TV dramaXuebaoChinaYamamoto

　　CG Game SoftSuikodenJapanNarration

　　ep BroadcastingIntroduction of ep BroadcastingJapanNavigator

　　TV/Radio Show Program

　　MediaTitleRegionNotes

　　BMNWozai BeijingChinaGuest

　　CCTVDuihuaChinaGuest

　　CRITetsubeyaChinaFeatured

　　[Career of International Cultural Exchange Activities]

　　Tenma Shibuya noticed the importance of cultural exchanges and mutual understanding among different races and different culture through his experience in the U.S in his early time. After returning to Japan, he spent a lot of his private time for cultural exchange activities as a volunteer, he used to be a teacher of free Japanese classes; he also established a free Japanese classical dance class and taught foreign people in Japan by himself. After he went to China in 2006, as he promoted several cultural exchange events in Beijing; he established a nonprofit organization, Japan-China cultural exchange promotion in Tokyo, aiming to promote cultural exchange between Japan and China in 2009. As the founding-general director, Tenma led over twenty cultural exchange activities, which were frequently in close cooperation with national organizations, Embassy of Japan, Japan foundation, Japan culture center, and the society of Sino-Japanese Relations History. His eagerness of promoting communication and understanding of different cultures is proven by his unceasing effort ever since the 1990s.

　　[Major activities of Japan-China cultural exchange promotion]

　　April, 2007

　　• First Conference of Japanese culture association, the predecessor of Japan-China cultural exchange promotion. Tenma attended the conference as one of the representatives, who offered insights on their professional fields, such as classical Japanese dance, tea ceremony, flower arrangement-kado, aikido, karate, animation&comic and street dance.

　　June, 2007

　　• Meeting with over 40 guests of various nationalities and societal backgrounds. Discussions over cultures in general, demonstrations of Japanese classical dance, and lecture of Japanese animation were held and enjoyed

　　July, 2007

　　• Publication of Tea ceremony of Urasenke, cooperated with magazine, Super city.

　　February, 2008

　　• Seminar introducing Japanese culture to Chinese students willing to study abroad in Japan, Beijing International Studies University, hosted by Embassy of Japan in China.

　　February, 2008

　　• Lecture and workshop on Japanese traditional art and culture, Beijing Yinghua Japanese language school.

　　March - April, 2008

　　• Series of lectures of Japanese culture hosted at Embassy of Japan in China and Japan International Exchange Foundation, cooperated by Embassy of Japan Information and Culture center and China the society of Sino-Japanese Relations History.

　　Titles of lectures:

　　1. Japanese fashion: kimono & contemporary

　　2. Japanese dance: classical & street dance

　　3. Japanese martial arts: kendo & karate & aikido

　　4. Japanese pop culture: manga & animation & music

　　July, 2008

　　• Japanese tour promotion, Zero Distance Campaign, hosted by Japan National Tourism Organization.

　　September, 2008

　　• Bonodori festival. Bonodori is a traditional Japanese dance. About one hundred people participated in this dance festival.

　　September, 2008

　　• Participation in Japan tourism festival, Chaoyang Park, Beijing. Tenma performed Japanese classical dance, Sukeroku.

　　September, 2008

　　• Coordination of a lecture on Japanese Kitsuke, introducing Japanese cloths, kimono, and how to wear them. This activity was held at Fureainoba in Changchun China, and hosted by Japan International Exchange Foundation.

　　March - June, 2009

　　• Second series of lectures of Japanese culture, Japan culture center, Beijing. The lectures were hosted by Japan-China cultural exchange promotion and Japan International Exchange Foundation, in cooperation of Embassy of Japan in China, and China Society for People’s Friendship Studies. Ten lectures were given in five days

　　Titles of lectures:

　　1. Japanese animation & pop music

　　2. Japanese tea & sweets

　　3. Japanese fashion & make-up

　　4. Japanese architecture & interior design

　　5. Japanese sake & cuisine

　　May, 2009

　　• Establishment of Tenma-kai, a women’s Japanese classical dance group consisting both of Japanese and Chinese dancers. Organized by Tenma, the group was part of the second China-Japan exchange festival, co-hosted by Japanese association of Peking University and China-Japan Exchange Association.

　　October, 2009

　　• Participation of Japan-China cultural exchange activity hosted by Manbu. Stage performances and volunteer staffs were provided by Japan-China cultural exchange promotion.

　　November, 2009

　　• Meeting with Mr. Li Dechun, a famous Chinese scholar of Japanese literature. Tenma, as the representative of Japan-China cultural exchange promotion, exchanged views on promoting cultural exchange between Japan and China with Mr. Li, who became special adviser of Japan-China cultural exchange promotion afterwards.

　　November, 2009

　　• Film set visit of Eergunaheyouan, a film about ethnic minority in China founded by Eurasian Club.

　　May, 2012

　　• Meeting with college students, on which Tenma gave a lecture about cultural exchange of film and television, and sang his original song Pengyou along with playing guitar.

　　28th July, 2012

　　• Japan-China cultural exchange event, “Souka! – 搜卡!, exchange meeting to promote understanding of Japan & China by listening people’s experience.” Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations, Japan-China cultural exchange promotion hosted the event in cooperation of Embassy of Japan Information and Culture center and China the society of Sino-Japanese Relations History. This event invited two special guests, Mr.Yuji Miyauchi and Mr. Liu Xinhua. They exchanged views and experiences before the audience.

　　October, 2012

　　• Japanese classical dance performance on ‘2012 Sino-Japan Exchange Expo’, China National convention center. Tenma directed the dance on this event celebrating the 40th anniversary of nominalization of Sin-Japan relation.

　　March, 2013

　　• Exhibition and workshop on Ikebana, Japanese traditional flower arrangement, Japan culture center, Beijing. Directed by Koryu bi・Seikai, hosted by Japan-China cultural exchange, the event was held for two days. About 150 guests attended the event. Supported by Embassy of Japan Information and Culture center and China the society of Sino-Japanese Relations History, it has become an annual event since 2013.