Kenji Kazama | |
|---|---|
| Born | Minoru Tsutsui 1943 (age 81–82) Aichi Prefecture, Japan |
| Other names | Ken Kazama, Kenji Kazuma, Ken Kazuma, Kazuma Kenji, Fung Gaan Kin |
| Occupation(s) | Film actor, fight director |
Kenji Kazama is a Japanese (martial artist). He played the henchman Spider who fought Fred Williamson in the 1973 action film That Man Bolt and he played Yokohama a mean and brutal Japanese official who fought Jhoon Rhee in the 1973 martial arts classic When Taekwondo Strikes . In 1974 he played the part of Senkaku Kan in the Sonny Chiba cult classic The Street Fighter .
Ken Kazama was born Minoru Tsutsui in Aichi Prefecture, Japan in 1943. He won the Karate Championship in 1961 and won a Shorinji Kempo Championship in 1963. During the mid-1960s, he established at Shorinji Kempo Nagoya Chuo-doin school. He also established Shorinji Kempo Clubs at the Aichi Gakuin University and the Chukyo Joshi Tanki University. In the late 1960s, he won a middleweight kickboxing championship in South Korea. Also with Shinichi Chiba he founded the Japan Action Club (JAC). [1]
In When Taekwondo Strikes , a 1973 martial arts film that featured Jhoon Rhee, Angela Mao Ying, Carter Wong, Anne Winton and Sammo Hung, Kazama was cast as Yokohama. [2] [3] He had one of climactic fights with the hero's taking him on. [4] [5] [6] Kazama's role of Spider in That Man Bolt was that of a long time adversary to the main character, Bolt (Played by Fred Williamson) who takes him on in a fight. [7] [8] Following his role in the 1973 film, he was appearing the following year in Sonny Chiba's film, The Street Fighter . [9] He also had another role in the film as action director. [10] [11] In the sequel to the film, Return of the Street Fighter , he was credited as kick boxing director. [12] In 1976 he had the lead role in a film called Karate From Shaolin Temple which also featured Henry Yu Yung, Fung Ngai, Henry Yu Yung and Bill Lake. [13] [14]
Also in the 70s, Kazama recorded a song, "Forever Bruce Lee" and released on a 45 RPM single, Tam YT-1081. [15] [16]
| Title | Role | Director | Year | Notes # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gangster Cop aka Yakuza deka | Kazamaki | Yukio Noda | 1970 | as Ken Kazama |
| When Taekwondo Strikes aka Tai quan zhen jiu zhou | Yokohama | Feng Huang | 1973 | as Kenji Kazama |
| That Man Bolt | Spider | David Lowell Rich, Henry Levin | 1974 | as Ken Kazama |
| The Street Fighter aka Gekitotsu! Satsujin ken | Senkaku Kan | Shigehiro Ozawa | 1974 | as Ken Kazama |
| Karate from Shaolin Temple aka Shorinji Kempo: Musashi Hong Kong ni arawaru (少林寺拳法 ムサシ香港に現わる) | Musashi Yamanaka | Hideo Nanbu | 1976 | Lead role as Ken Kazama |
| Angel Guts aka Jokôsei: tenshi no harawata | Yakuza | Chûsei Sone | 1978 | as Ken Kazama |
| Sûpâ gun redei Wani Bunsho | Shimokawa | Chûsei Sone | 1979 | as Ken Kazama |
| Station akaEki | Yasuo Furuhata | 1981 | as Ken Kazama | |
| Kill Devil | Yuichi Onuma | 2004 | as Ken Kazama | |
| Title | Episode | Role | Director | Year | Notes # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daitokai - Tatakai no hibi | "Episode #2.52" | Jun Iwasaki | 1978 | ||
| Title | Role | Director | Year | Notes # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Streetfighter | Kickboxing direction | Shigehiro Ozawa | 1974 | |
| Return of the Street Fighter | Kickboxing direction | Shigehiro Ozawa | 1974 | |
| The Real Miyagi | Himself | Kevin Derek | 2015 | [17] |