Tatsu is one of Shredder’s most formidable lieutenants: a strict martial artist who helps keep the Foot Clan under control. His movie and animated incarnations share that intimidating presence, but their stories take very different turns.
The live-action Tatsu appears in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze. He serves as Shredder’s second-in-command and briefly claims leadership after his master’s apparent death.
Japanese martial artist and swordsman Toshishiro Obata plays him, bringing real training to the role. Michael McConnohie provides the character’s English voice.
Serious, disciplined, and fiercely loyal, Tatsu carries out Shredder’s instructions and enforces obedience within the Foot.
He trains recruits at the clan’s headquarters. After a defeat by the Turtles, he lashes out at one of the young members, revealing the cruelty behind his strict discipline.
When the Turtles return to New York after their retreat to Northampton, Shredder orders Tatsu to kill their captive father, Splinter.
Danny and Casey Jones attempt to rescue Splinter. Tatsu blocks them, but Casey eventually catches him off guard with a golf-club swing and knocks him out.
The Secret of the Ooze reveals that Tatsu escaped before the police found the Foot’s old headquarters. He rejoins the much smaller surviving group at a junkyard.
With Shredder presumed dead, he announces that he will lead the clan in his master’s name. His promotion lasts only until Shredder himself reappears.
Tatsu immediately returns to his subordinate role. He sends Foot ninjas to follow April O’Neil and helps obtain mutagen from TGRI, giving Shredder the means to create new opponents for the Turtles.
At the nightclub battle, with Vanilla Ice performing nearby, Tatsu faces the brothers once more. They crush him between their shells, leaving him staggering and then unconscious.
The movie does not give him a clear final fate. Arrest is a reasonable possibility, but the film never confirms what happens to him and the remaining Foot members afterward.
The 2012 cartoon introduces Hattori Tatsu, a Japanese swordsman who has been blind since birth. He trains his hearing to an extraordinary level and uses it alongside his skill with a blade.
His abilities carry him into the Foot Clan and into Shredder’s inner circle. He works with Chris Bradford and trains Karai, but eventually leaves after feeling that the clan does not give him the respect he deserves.
He arrives in New York in season five’s “The Forgotten Swordsman.” With Shredder dead, he seeks the Kuro Kabuto, the helmet that would help him claim leadership of the Foot.
Tatsu initially overwhelms Karai, Shinigami, and the Turtles. They turn the battle around by using explosions to disrupt the hearing he relies on, creating an opening for Karai.
Tiger Claw and Kavaxas then arrive to take the helmet for their plan to resurrect Shredder. Kavaxas takes Tatsu’s soul and sends him to the underworld.
His spirit returns in “End Times,” when Kavaxas unleashes the dead against the living. April and the Turtles fight the spectral army with their anti-ghost equipment.
Tatsu also appears in the comic adaptations of the first two live-action films, following the familiar movie storyline.
IDW introduces a character with a similar name and a related role: Natsu. She appears in “Karai’s Path,” a storyline in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe. She is her own character in IDW’s continuity, rather than simply the movie Tatsu with a different name.
Natsu is the granddaughter of yakuza boss Hayashi Toru. After she shoots Karai in the shoulder, their encounter nearly ends with Karai killing her for the insult.
Toru intervenes and begs for his granddaughter’s life. He also wants Karai to retrieve a legendary sword.
Despite her violence, Natsu believes in honor. When she discovers that Toru plans to ambush Karai, she is appalled by both the betrayal and his contempt for the values he claims to represent. She warns Karai’s mentor, Toshiro, and helps him deal with the assassins.
When Karai emerges from the sword’s hiding place, she finds the attackers dead. Natsu considers her debt paid. Karai answers by shooting her in the shoulder, settling their earlier encounter on her own brutal terms. They part without becoming either friends or sworn enemies, and Natsu does not prevent Karai from going after Toru.
Their paths soon converge again. Natsu stands with Karai as she moves against the yakuza leadership and later accompanies her to the United States.
NECA’s Ultimate Tatsu figure recreates his 1990 movie appearance with fabric clothing and numerous accessories. These include alternate heads and hands, a training sword, a katana, and an oni mask—a visual connection to the masked Tatsu familiar from the animated series.
An oni is a demonlike figure in Japanese folklore. The mask’s horns, fierce expression, and exaggerated features make it a striking image of supernatural danger, which helps explain its appeal for a character like Tatsu.
Oni imagery also appears in Japanese performance, decoration, and modern popular culture. Its meaning depends on the setting: a frightening face can represent a threat, while related images can also be used symbolically to ward one off.