Tachibana Masaaki

Tachibana Masaaki was a ubiquitous, well-liked Japanese supporting character actor.

Nicknamed “Bana” on set by his peers, Tachibana officially joined Toho Studios as a contracted actor in 1950 and remained consistently employed there until the exclusive contract system collapsed in 1970. Due to his stern, relatable appearance, he was routinely cast as reporters, police officers, and military personnel.

He appeared in numerous prominent sci-fi and tokusatsu films, frequently collaborating with special effects director Tsuburaya Eiji. He is perhaps best known internationally as the unintentionally funny, doomed news reporter bravely going down with Tokyo Tower in the original Godzilla (1954). Tachibana reportedly covered his whole face with olive oil so he would appear hot and sweaty during his takes. He based his intense dramatic performance on similar real-life news coverage of the horrific Fukui earthquake a decade earlier, when journalists continued reporting from the unstable scene at great personal risk.

Following the collapse of the studio contract system in 1970, Tachibana opted to elegantly retire from the chaotic entertainment industry, securing employment at a standard corporate enterprise. While his exact date of death is officially unknown, public comments made years later by suit actor Nakajima Haruo casually indicated Tachibana had passed away sometime in the late 2000s.