Master Tatsu!!!
 

After email contact with with him I received my photo back from Toshiro Obata. He played Master Tatsu in the first and second TMNT movie.

He signed and inscribed my Tatsu photo and included a photo himself which he signed on the front and inscribed on the back in japanese. I've yet to find out what it says!

http://www.xs4all.nl/~rgret/Toshiro%20Obata%20a.jpg

http://www.xs4all.nl/~rgret/Toshiro%20Obata%20b.jpg
http://www.xs4all.nl/~rgret/Toshiro%20Obata%20c.jpg

OMG!!!1 Tatsu is the most awesome characters in the movies. I'm so jealous.

Cool.

He's still bald.8) :P

I used to think Tatsu would give Saki a run for his money. And I would have loved to see him fight the Turtles but he just stand there. I think he's afraid of getting beaten like his own Foot Soldiers

Wow cool. That's lucky to meet someone who played a henchman in TMNT. I see that that Tatsu looks the same as he did in TMNT 1 and 2.

But man, that's cool to hear.

I like the 2nd pic better than him as Tatsu...supposedly when he made tmnt 1/2 the martial arts world looked down on it. I hope he doesn't look down on tmnt.

Interestingly enough, Tatsu didn't do much martial arts in the movies. Basically kick the crap out of a poor foot soldier, then out of Casey, and nothing in part 2. If he fought some of the TMNT, he would have had more of a chance to show his hand-to-hand skills.

AWESOME :o
I'm a big fan of TATSU

I've heard that too. I remember reading somewhere that he doesn't like to talk about TMNT because it's taken him so long to live it down. I think it was on Vegita-San's site.

WOW look at that lazy eye in that pic!!

I wonder why they had to cast a real martial artist for this role, since he didn't really do anything spectacular in the movies. Maybe he was well known at the time which would attract more viewers, or maybe the script had more parts for Tatsu to show off, but it would be too violent for PG. But why would the martial arts world look down on him for this?

http://www.xs4all.nl/~rgret/Toshiro%20Obata%20c.jpg

You realize this picture is upside down, right? I MIGHT be able to read it if it's right side up.

Just turn you head...:P It'd be cool if you could TF...really cool.

Turn my head upside down, or read the words?

The left side (which is suppose to be the right) says the date. It's Feb 21st 2006. The writing is in script and it's really hard to read even right side up. The first line BASICALLY means something like "Life of the sword" and that's about all I can make out. I might be able to make out more if it's right side up, but no promises.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...20Obata20c.jpg
Help?

I've turned it , also on my website,

He dated both pictures 3/20/2006 in numbers, so why would the Japanese means February 26, 2006.
I mean I've sent the pics March 13, and he signed them march 20. So I think you are wrong with the February.

I emailed Obata about the meaning, so I'll just await the answer

Actually, I was originally thinking it might be March but the way the words are squished together makes it hard to see. If you look at the symbol that looks like an "=" sign, that is actually a "2" in Chinese and Kanji. To write the 3, you need 3 lines rather than 2 lines. The bottom line is smudged together with the word moon, or month in this case. The word moon--the one the looks like a latter--is suppose to have a line at the top.

That date is indeed 21st, it's no biggie because he's in Japan and the time zones differ, that would explain it. That or he was mistaken about the date. Happens to anyone.

Might be, his school in in Los Angeles, and he is in France at the moment, can all be very confusing for him :D

I'll let you know what it all says, when Obata writes me again

Oh cool his school's up in LA...it'd be cool if i saw him while on a trip ...im always driving the piece of bus around there ....
I know i'd recognise him, i liked tatsu..i wish raph couldve gone up against him...and kicked his butt

i just looked at his dojo's address...I know exactly where it is...I've seen it HAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!

his site: http://www.shinkendo.com/

That way to awesome Buslady.
Can you go visite him, and make a photo of him? And pose with him.
It'll be cool meeting him for real. But like I said, at the moment he is in France for a while

Take pics of the dojo itself...that'd rock!