[citation needed] After a few years in a kabuki troupe run by the Toho company, he moved to Kansai; he lived there for nearly 20 years, performing in Osaka and other venues, and taking part in the final performances at the Ōsaka Kabuki-za, which closed and became a department store in 1958.

He performed as Kakogawa Honzō in Kanadehon Chūshingura (The Tale of the 47 Ronin) in December 1974 at the National Theater.

In January 1975, Bandō visited a Kyoto restaurant with friends and ordered four portions of fugu kimo, or puffer fish liver.

The liver is one of the most toxic parts of the fish, and its sale was prohibited by local ordinances (it was banned nationally in 1984).

[1] Claiming that he could survive the fish's poison, he ate the livers and died following eight hours of gradual paralysis and breathing difficulties.