---
name: "Sonny Chiba"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/sonny-chiba"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "23 January 1939"
died: "19 August 2021"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 74
updated: "2026-09-16T21:14:18.834529+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Sonny Chiba

Actor. Born 23 January 1939 in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Died 19 August 2021.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 23 January 1939, Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan
- **Died:** 19 August 2021
- **Active:** 2003–2004
- **Also known as:** Shinichi Chiba, Sadaho Maeda

## Biography

Sonny Chiba, also credited as Shinichi Chiba and Sadaho Maeda, was a Japanese actor and martial artist. Born in Fukuoka on 23 January 1939, he competed in sports including baseball, volleyball and gymnastics before studying martial arts at university and earning a black belt in Kyokushin Karate in 1965.

Chiba began his screen career in the 1960s with roles in tokusatsu superhero series. He rose to prominence in Japan with the lead role in *The Street Fighter* (1974) and its 1974 sequel, and later appeared in English-language films including *Kill Bill: Vol. 1* (2003) and *Kill Bill: Vol. 2* (2004) as Hattori Hanzo, and *The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift* (2006).

Chiba died in Tokyo on 19 August 2021, aged 82, from complications of COVID-19.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Kill Bill: Vol. 2* (2004), Fi1m 77, as Hattori Hanzo — [page](https://film.one/film/kill-bill-vol-2.md)
- *Kill Bill: Vol. 1* (2003), Fi1m 72, as Hattori Hanzo — [page](https://film.one/film/kill-bill-vol-1.md)

## Also known for

- *The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift* (2006), Uncle Kamata
- *Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair* (2011), Hattori Hanzo
- *Battle Royale II: Requiem* (2003), Makio Mimura
- *Survive Style 5+* (2004), Azama
- *Sushi Girl* (2012), Sushi Chef
- *The Street Fighter* (1974), Takuma Tsurugi
- *The Storm Riders* (1998), Lord Conqueror
- *Return of the Street Fighter* (1974), Takuma Tsurugi

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/sonny-chiba