Masayoshi Tanimura (谷村 正義, Tanimura Masayoshi) is a protagonist in Yakuza 4. He is a Community Safety Division officer for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Because of his poor attitude toward work and open engagement in acts of corruption, he is known as the "Parasite of Kamurocho" (神室町のダニ, Kamuro-chō no Dani).
Profile[]
Appearance[]
Tanimura is a young man with a somewhat small build in contrast with the other protagonists. He has black hair in both his iterations, In the original, he had forward-swept bangs, and in the remaster his hair is off of his forehead and parted.
Attire[]
Tanimura appears with ordinary policeman's uniform with a white dress shirt with the top button unbuttoned, a black necktie which is loosely tied, and a navy blue bomber jacket with chest pockets and epaulettes. He also wears gray slacks, a snakeskin belt with a gold buckle, and brown dress shoes. He always has an earphone attached to his right ear, because he likes to listen to horse races on a pocket radio that he keeps in his jacket. In the final chapter of the game, he wears a black suit with a white shirt and black tie that is similar to his normal outfit.
Personality[]
Tanimura has a strong sense of justice. He is caring and always there to help others, such as his relations with the residents of Little Asia. Tanimura is also determined, shown notably during the time he was researching about the murder of his father. He also can have a tendency to be sometimes cocky, especially when it comes to gambling or challenging his superiors. This side of him can sometimes be seen when he is on patrol, as he is usually gambling instead of doing his work, or listening to the horse races through his earpiece and ignoring anyone on sight. He can also sometimes be a bit greedy or too lenient when it comes to other citizens, as during some police calls, he will let a culprit free if they pay him enough money or fulfil a condition of his.
Background[]
Masayoshi Tanimura was given his name by Taigi Tanimura, his given name meaning "justice". Then-unnamed, Masayoshi was born to a Japanese father, police officer Yusuke Kaga, and a Thai mother who worked as a prostitute. He was given to Taigi by Kaga, who had feared for the safety of his family. Kaga was not involved in Masayoshi's life afterwards. Taigi was killed when Masayoshi was young, and Masayoshi learned later that Taigi had worked with Yasuko Saejima.
Masayoshi spent his life in Homeland as Zhao struggled to raise him in a society that shunned foreigners. Inspired by Taigi having been a skilled detective, Masayoshi joined the police force and quickly became a member of the Community Safety department. Knowing his finances cannot support the immigrant children who were left without their parents and also having experienced their plight, he started gambling illegally and blackmailing smaller criminal businesses in Little Asia to help support them as he could. This quickly netted him a negative reputation of being called the "Parasite of Kamurocho", a reputation Masayoshi accepted to ensure other children have the same opportunities as he did.
Involvement[]
Yakuza 4: 2010[]
Tanimura is introduced as the first officer on the scene of Hiroaki Arai's murder of Masaru Ihara. Here, he meets Shun Akiyama, and warns him to run before the law gets him. Tanimura leaves the police scene in time for Akiyama to be held in custody when he is mistook for the killer, but is soon released.
Tanimura meets Yasuko.
Tanimura next appears beginning his investigations under Junji Sugiuchi's orders and asks Zhao for help. He receives a call from Park, a massage parlor owner saying he may have found Yasuko Saejima. Tanimura finds her only for thugs belonging to Kazuo Shibata kidnapping her, as they wanted to kill her for the deaths of his lieutenants. Fighting his way through the docks, he finds out that Yasuko has been killing people on behalf of Isao Katsuragi and witness Arai killing Shibata. Leading Yasuko to safety, she tells him the location of the yen requested as Tanimura secures the money and contacts Katsuragi to trade for information.
Tanimura confronts Katsuragi.
Meeting with Katsuragi, they discuss the matter on their way as Tanimura pieces together the circumstances of the Ueno Seiwa Shooting and figures that Katsuragi had a bigger role in the events and learns he was the true murderer. As he prepares to depart, Katsuragi orders his men to go to Homeland and kill Zhao and Mei after surrounding Tanimura. He was saved by Sugiuchi who deters Katsuragi's thugs from attacking Tanimura and get there in time to save his family and learned Satoshi Hisai was here waiting as well.
Tanimura meets Akiyama again.
With Hisai's help they find out that Sugiuchi was the one who wrote the report and that he had a link to the case as he was the one responsible for the investigation and motives behind the attack. With Yasuko leaving for Okinawa to find her brother, Tanimura attempts to return the money only for Akiyama to decline the offer as he wanted Yasuko to personally return it. He gives him a tip that Yutaka Mishima, the other surviving thug at Elnard, was hiding at the docks. Tanimura faces the true culprit behind the murder of his father, Sugiuchi, who comes in and kills Mishima to ensure his silence. Defeating his mentor and father figure after lengthy chase, he confronts him and asks about why he murdered his father and covered up the incident. Sugiuchi confesses to being a mole but became a legitimate detective over the years as he enjoyed being a cop despite being sent there as a spy. He also points out that Seishiro Munakata, the current chief of police, was the one who provoked the events that led to everything that shook the Tojo Clan as a result of taking advantage of his and his oath brother Katsuragi's poor planning regarding the Ueno Seiwa shooting, turning them both into his pawns. Sugiuchi was murdered by Hisai.
Tanimura vs Suiguchi.
Tanimura returned to Homeland to learn that Hisai had chosen to commit suicide over killing Zhao and Mei Hua. With Akiyama's help both of them managed to allow Yasuko to get into Purgatory as they try and fail to defeat Kiryu, only to learn that Katsuragi has already knew where Saejima and Yasuko were but was forced to stay to tend to their wound. He is patched up by Makoto Date at New Serena, who he views as a police legend. When Akiyama and Kiryu return, they discuss the former's stolen money.
The Final Battle, Masayoshi Tanimura vs Seishiro Munakata.
After learning that Yasuko has died killing Katsuragi, Tanimura and the three briefly mourn her death before going to the Millennium Tower. They use Akiyama's reclaimed money to lure out their enemies and reach the top via helicopter. They dismount and head off to deal with their respective foes as Tanimura defeats Munakata and his retinue of policemen under his direct command.
Yakuza 5: 2012[]
Tanimura is nowhere to be seen. When Kiryu, Saejima, and Akiyama receive letters from the Amon Clan, Akiyama attempts to call him on his cell phone, but he does not answer the call. Saejima assumes that he must be playing Mahjong, though Akiyama guesses that he would be laying low after receiving the letter. Before the showdown between Kiryu, Saejima, Akiyama, Shinada, and the Amon Clan, Jo stresses that he asked for the same three allies that Kiryu brought last time, and tells Sango that it was likely Tanimura was so scared of fighting him that he fled.
Fighting Style[]
Tanimura's fighting style is based around Taiho-Jutsu (逮捕術, lit. "arresting art"), the standard martial art of the Japanese police, with influences from aikido and jiu-jitsu. Tanimura is unable to equip guns despite carrying a standard issue revolver. The revolver is also only used for his taunt, and is unable to hit anyone.
Combos[]
His Rush Combo is 4 hits: left jab, right hook, left gut punch and left haymaker, and can be extended to 5 hits, the 5th hit being a high right kick. Finishers include: a right spinning back fist, a flying right knee, a left push kick, a right superman punch and a spinning right back kick.
Basic attacks[]
His heavy, running and quickstep attacks are all Kiryu's. His downed attack is a downward punch.
Grab attacks[]
Tanimura has a unique grab that can be executed after a usual grab. Pressing the grab button again with an enemy grabbed puts the enemy in an Waki-gatame arm lock. He has 3 follow-ups: light attack has him wrench the enemy's arm backwards to break it, heavy attack has him release the enemy and reverse roundhouse kick their face, and grab has him throw the enemy away. His usual grab also has Kiryu's light attack punches and heavy attack side kick as follow-ups.
Blocking, dodging and reversals[]
Tanimura blocks like Kiryu. He also has Kiryu's get-up kick. With training from Nair, he can reverse throws like Kiryu.
Counterattacks[]
He has a parry which can be done by holding the block button while an enemy attacks and he still glows blue; if successful, Tanimura will push them away from him, leaving them open to attacks from behind or allowing wall combos. This parry is his main move. It works on all melee attacks except for Junji Sugiuchi's charged attacks while he is in Heat mode, in which case Tanimura simply moves his head backward. The parry can be upgraded to activate faster and last longer with upgrades and training from Nair.
Heat Actions[]
He can immediately do Heat Actions after doing a combo or a parry, and mostly relies on these to deal damage. If his Essence of Finishing is done on a weak enemy which is writhing in pain on the ground, he will instead attempt Essence of Arresting, which has Tanimura attempt to handcuff them, instantly taking them out of the fight. The Essence of Arresting can also be performed on standing stunned enemies, with Tanimura throwing the enemy onto the ground and throwing a hammer fist punch before arresting them. With training from Nair, he can also use the Komaki Firearm Flip, and through IF7-R, he can use Kiryu's Essence of Hurling and Essence of Reversing.
Trivia[]
- On December 2, 2016, Hiroki Narimiya would face drug allegations from Japanese tabloid Friday. Despite initially proving his innocence, Narimiya would leave the entertainment business.[5] This controversy not only led to Toshiki Masuda voicing Tanimura in the remaster but also a redesign as well, as the original Tanimura was based on Narimiya's likeness.
- This has led to some misconceptions where Tanimura's disappearance from Yakuza 5 and onward was due to these drug allegations. However, the allegations occurred after the releases of Yakuza 5 and Yakuza 0, where he was already nowhere to be seen.
- Tanimura is the only character who fights the final boss instead of Kiryu in the mainline series leading up to Yakuza 6.
- Tanimura is a polyglot, being able to speak multiple languages due to his upbringing in Little Asia. Based on what is confirmed in Yakuza 4, Tanimura also speaks Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Thai and Tagalog.
- There are a few references to Tanimura after Yakuza 4:
- During the events of Yakuza: Dead Souls, some civilians discuss a cop who always visited mahjong parlors during work, and that he was dragged out of the force. It is highly implied that this former cop is Tanimura. Furthermore, a young child in Little Asia references a "Masa" when asked if he spoke Japanese, which is Tanimura's nickname.
- In Yakuza: Like a Dragon, the Job EXP item for Koichi Adachi's Detective Class, Vintage Notebook, has a description that reads: "A notebook detailing the life of a man who never lost sight of his vision of justice". Tanimura wrote his revelations in a notebook, and the kanji form of his given name Masayoshi (正義) translates to "justice".
- During Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, one of Kiryu's memories, triggered by examining a spot in Little Asia, references Tanimura. Kiryu has lost contact with him but hopes he is doing well, and notes that Little Asia is still recovering from the catastrophic fire it faced during Yakuza 6.
- In Yakuza 4, as a reference to the Four SymbolsWP, Tanimura represents the Black TortoiseWP.
Gallery[]
Yakuza 4[]
Yakuza 4 Remastered[]
_Tanimura.png "Masayoshi (Masa) Tanimura.png (140 KB)")
Ryu Ga Gotoku Online[]
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.png "RGGO - Card - SSR Masayoshi Tanimura (2010 III).png (373 KB)")
.png "RGGO - Card - KSR Masayoshi Tanimura (Assault).png (397 KB)")
.png "RGGO - Card - KSR Masayoshi Tanimura (Ascension).png (397 KB)")
.png "RGGO - Card - KSR Masayoshi Tanimura (Summon).png (414 KB)")
Notes[]
- ↑ Known as "Masa" in the original PS3 release of Yakuza 4.
- ↑ While Tanimura's date of birth has been listed as July 3,[4] the validity of the source is questionable, as it is unclear whether the dates were set in cooperation with Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, and the dates have not since been acknowledged by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio.
References[]
- ↑ Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, Pause Menu - Character Profiles, Yakuza 4 Remastered (2010; Tokyo: SEGAWP, 2019), PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Windows.— Yakuza 4 Remastered
Known as the Parasite of Kamurocho, he collects hush money from illegal businesses, but actually uses the money to support local orphans.
- ↑ Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, Substory Floriography, Yakuza 4 Remastered (2010; Tokyo: SEGAWP, 2019), PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Windows.
- ↑ Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, Yakuza 4 Remastered (2010; Tokyo: SEGAWP, 2019), PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Windows.
Tanimura —
How old are you, Shizuka-chan?
Shizuka —I'm 29.
Tanimura —Really? You're the same age as me.
— Tanimura on his first visit to Club Shine - ↑ Hostess Calendar, Yakuza 4 Kuro Edition Ichiban Box (Sydney: SEGA Australia, 2011).
- ↑ [Japanese Entertainment] The unfortunate story of an actor's career being destroyed over false allegations- the story of Hiroki Narimiya