KEYHUNTER!

While I'm on my Japanese kick......this Japanese detective action TV series from the 60's stays on my mind for over thirty years! A little known TV series to North American viewers, Keyhunter was a hugely popular series that was on air from 1968-1973. Even my Japanese tattoo artist remembered the series fondly from his childhood days.

One of the reason for it's popularity was the cast, an ensemble of young talented actors led by the veteran Japanese movie screen legend Tamba Tetsuro ("You Only Live Twice").





And to round up the exciting cast ..... the one and only Sonny Chiba ("Kill Bill")!

The catchy Keyhunter theme song played in the closing credits every week was sung by the leading lady of the series Nogiwa Yoko, who also happened to be Sonny Chiba's wife from 1967-1994. (Click here to watch the action-packed series opening sequence on Youtube).

The Premise: Banded together by Japan's Kokusai Keisatsu (Universal Police i.e. INTERPOL) branch to tackle those crimes and cases that go beyond the scope of Japanese Law Enforcement, the Keyhunter are a group of former police officers and amateur sleuths. They are lead by the dapper, fedora wearing former Police Inspector Kuroki played by Tetsuro...how could I resist?

Unfortunately I have never seen this series released on DVD.