[1] Masakazu Tamura was born 1 August 1943 in Kyoto, Japan to Japanese actor Tsumasaburō Bandō.
[3] He was thus trained in fighting with swords and more traditional forms of Japanese theatre like Kabuki and Nihon Buyō.
[4][2][5][6] In 1960, he made a cameo appearance in the film Hatamoto Gurentai, in which his older brother Takahiro starred.
[11][12] He appeared in many period dramas (jidaigeki) such as Naruto Hichō on NHK and most of his roles were skilled swordsmen.
[5][2] In 1993, Tamura played the role of "Ogami Ittō" in Akira Inoue's film Lone Wolf and Cub: Final Conflict by Kazuo Koike's strong request.
[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 playwright Kōki Mitani.
[2][19] Tamura won "Outstanding Actor" at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival for his work in the TV special Ah, You're Really Gone Now in 2009.