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Shinichi Chiba, born as Sadaho Maeda on January 23, 1939 in Fukuoka, Japan, and known to international audiences as Sonny Chiba, was a world-renowned Japanese martial arts film star best known for films such as ''[[Creator/IkkiKajiwara Bodyguard Kiba]]''[[note]]A quote from which was reused as the Ezekiel verse in ''Film/PulpFiction''[[/note]], ''[[Film/Golgo13 Golgo 13: Kowloon Assignment]]'', and ''Film/TheStreetFighter''. Among his best known film roles are Terry Tsurugi from ''Film/TheStreetFighter'' films and various incarnations of Hanzo Hattori in numerous movies, including ''Film/KillBill''. [[OldShame One of his earlier roles]] was as Space Chief in ''Film/InvasionOfTheNeptuneMen'', a film famous for its rough riffing on ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000''.

He was known in Japan as J.J. Sonny Chiba (J.J. being short for "Justice Japan").

He also founded the Japan Action Club for aspiring action stars in Japan. Among his apprentices was Creator/SueShiomi, who starred in the ''[[Film/TheStreetFighter Sister Street Fighter]]'' films and appeared in two movies in the main trilogy. He had three children, all of whom also became actors and actresses: Julie Manase, Creator/{{Mackenyu}}, and Gordon Maeda.

He passed away on August 19, 2021, at the age of 82 due to pneumonia caused by [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic COVID-19]].
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