Japanese Famous Names Starting with Letter K

Was a Japanese film director, actor and screenwriter. He directed 35 films between 1940 and 1970. He

Was a Japanese film director, actor and screenwriter. He directed 35 films between 1940 and 1970. He also appeared in 32 films between 1926 and 1937.

An award-winning Japanese composer, musician, arranger and keyboardist. He is noted for his unique s

An award-winning Japanese composer, musician, arranger and keyboardist. He is noted for his unique style of music.[1]He graduated from Nihon University's department of music at its faculty of art, and in 1978, began his career in music with his first music ensemble, 8&1/2, after which he worked with the group Halmens between 1979 and 1981.[2] In 1980, Ueno formed the musical group Guernica, noted for its unique form of avant garde music, along with vocalist Jun Togawa and lyricist Keichi Ohta.[2]

A professional racecar driver. Ushikobo competed in Japanese GT Series' B-Class in 2001, competing f

A professional racecar driver. Ushikobo competed in Japanese GT Series' B-Class in 2001, competing for the full season.

A Japanese film director who directed such pinku eiga films as Ecstasy of the Angels (????? tenshi n

A Japanese film director who directed such pinku eiga films as Ecstasy of the Angels (????? tenshi no kokotsu) (1972) and Go, Go Second Time Virgin (?????????? yuke yuke nidome no shojo) (1969). He also produced Nagisa Oshima's controversial film In the Realm of the Senses (1976). He has been called "the most important director to emerge in the pink film genre,"[1] and one of "Japan's leading directors of the 1960s." [2]

He was Born Koji Hashimoto (?? ??, Hashimoto Koji?) in Isahaya, Nagasaki, Japan, the youngest of fiv

He was Born Koji Hashimoto (?? ??, Hashimoto Koji?) in Isahaya, Nagasaki, Japan, the youngest of five brothers. After graduation from the Nagasaki Prefectural High School of Technology in 1974, he took employment at the Chiyoda municipal ward office (the Chiyoda-Ku Yakusho) in Tokyo, hence the screen name "Yakusho", a Japanese word meaning "public office

A former Japanese baseball player and manager of the Hiroshima Carp of Japan's Central League. He wa

A former Japanese baseball player and manager of the Hiroshima Carp of Japan's Central League. He was nicknamed Mr.Aka-heru.He is known as the "Mr.Red Helmet" (???????, Mr.Aka-heru?) because he was the star baseball player of Hiroshima Carp, and "red" is the color of the team.

A Japanese animation director.Yamamura was born in Nagoya and studied painting at Tokyo Zokei Univer

A Japanese animation director.Yamamura was born in Nagoya and studied painting at Tokyo Zokei University. His 2002 movie Mt. Head (Atama Yama) won the short film award for the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, and nominated for the Academy Award for Animated Short Film. Yamamura won the 2007 Ottawa Grand Prix with his animated adaptation of Franz Kafka’s A Country Doctor.

A Japanese football player who currently plays for Yokohama F. Marinos of the J-League. Japan's coac

A Japanese football player who currently plays for Yokohama F. Marinos of the J-League. Japan's coach Ivica Osim handed him his first senior cap on August 9, 2006, in a friendly match against Trinidad and Tobago. His first goal for Japan came on August 22, 2007 in a friendly match against Cameroon.His younger brother Yukihiro also plays for Marinos. His father Isao participated in the 1984 Winter Olympics as an biathlete.

A Japanese football player who currently plays for the J-league team FC Gifu.

A Japanese football player who currently plays for the J-league team FC Gifu.

Was a novelist active in the Showa period Japan.Kojima was born in the plebian Shitaya district of T

Was a novelist active in the Showa period Japan.Kojima was born in the plebian Shitaya district of Tokyo to a family of clothing merchants. While attending Keio University he studied Edo period Japanese literature and the works of European authors. He was especially attracted to the works of Nagai Kafu and Mori Ogai. His literary career began as a student, when he contributed short stories to the journal of Keio University's literature department, Mita Bungaku.

Is a Japanese football player who plays for Kyoto Sanga F.C. in the J. League.

Is a Japanese football player who plays for Kyoto Sanga F.C. in the J. League.

A Japanese politician serving in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) as

A Japanese politician serving in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. A native of Osaka, Osaka and graduate of the University of Tokyo he was elected for the first time in 1976 as a member of the now-defunct party New Liberal Club. His father is Kaoru Chuma, former mayor of Osaka.

A Japanese professional boxer in the flyweight division. He is the oldest of the three Kameda brothe

A Japanese professional boxer in the flyweight division. He is the oldest of the three Kameda brothers. His younger brother, Daiki Kameda, is a professional boxer

A Japanese comedian, playwright and director.

A Japanese comedian, playwright and director.

A Japanese footballer. He is a midfielder and currently plays for Scottish Premier League side Celti

A Japanese footballer. He is a midfielder and currently plays for Scottish Premier League side Celtic. He is also the cousin of fellow Japanese international Keita Suzuki.In early January 2008, speculation arose in the Scottish press that Celtic would move for Mizuno. This was later confirmed by Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell who explained that the club planned on signing Mizuno, if he was granted a work permit.[1]

A prolific Japanese singer-songwriter from Tokyo. She is known mostly for her performances in video

A prolific Japanese singer-songwriter from Tokyo. She is known mostly for her performances in video game and anime soundtracks; having appeared in eight different game/anime soundtracks to date. Kokia is also known for her vocal range, and ability to hold

Was a master Japanese bamboo flute player, teacher, and craftsman. He played an especially raw style

Was a master Japanese bamboo flute player, teacher, and craftsman. He played an especially raw style of flute he called the kyotaku, similar to the shakuhachi and very similar to the hocchiku. His teacher was Kyochiku Tani, a komuso monk. Nishimura Koku himself became a komuso and wandered Japan for ten years, playing kyotaku. His son, Koryu, continues to play and teach kyotaku in Kumamoto, Kumamoto.

Was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period, who served the Shimazu clan of Satsuma, and went on t

Was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period, who served the Shimazu clan of Satsuma, and went on to become a government official of the early Meiji era. He was also commonly known as Komatsu Tatewaki (?????). Komatsu ruled the fief of Yoshitoshi, which was a part of the Satsuma Domain. Appointed karo in 1862, he held high office in the Satsuma domain until its dissolution in 1871.[1] Komatsu was also a descendant of the Sengoku-era samurai Nejime Shigenaga.[2]

Was a noted Japanese writer.

Was a noted Japanese writer.

Was a Japanese Noh actor and playwright of the Komparu school. He was the grandson of Komparu Zenchi

Was a Japanese Noh actor and playwright of the Komparu school. He was the grandson of Komparu Zenchiku. Zempo's plays were more popular and dramatic, novel and crowd-pleasing with large casts and more elaborate effects and sets, than the plays of his grandfather's, or his great-grandfather Zeami's, although he did have an appreciation of yugen and wabi (Zempo was a pupil of Shuko and quoted him as saying "The moon not glimpsed through rifts in clouds holds no interest"[3]).

Was a Japanese film director.In the 1930s Ichikawa attended a technical school in Osaka. Upon gradua

Was a Japanese film director.In the 1930s Ichikawa attended a technical school in Osaka. Upon graduation, in 1933, he found a job with a local rental film studio, J.O. Studio, in their animation department. Decades later, he told the American writer on Japanese film Donald Richie, "I'm still a cartoonist and I think that the greatest influence on my films (besides Chaplin, particularly The Gold Rush) is probably Disney."[1]Eventually he was moved to the feature film department as an assistant director when the company became a complete production company, working under such luminaries as Yutake Abe and Nobuo Aoyagi.

Is a former sumo wrestler from Hokkaido, Japan. His highest rank was sekiwake. He is now a sumo coac

Is a former sumo wrestler from Hokkaido, Japan. His highest rank was sekiwake. He is now a sumo coach and head of the Nishonoseki stable. In 1975 Kongo's stablemaster, former ozeki Sagonohana, died and his widow asked Kongo to marry her second daughter an

A Hawaiian-born Japanese–Samoan sumo wrestler, nicknamed "The Dump Truck."[1] He was the first for

A Hawaiian-born Japanese–Samoan sumo wrestler, nicknamed "The Dump Truck."[1] He was the first foreign-born wrestler to reach ozeki, the second highest rank in the sport. During his career he won the top division championship on three occasions and came close to becoming the first foreign-born grand champion, or yokozuna, prompting a debate as to whether a foreigner could have the necessary cultural understanding to be acceptable in sumo's ultimate rank. At a typical fighting weight of 264 kg (580 lb) he was also the heaviest rikishi ever in sumo.

Was a sumo wrestler from Sanbu District, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. He was the sport's 17th Yokozuna.

Was a sumo wrestler from Sanbu District, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. He was the sport's 17th Yokozuna.

Was a Japanese industrialist, the founder of Panasonic, a company based in the suburb of Kadoma (on

Was a Japanese industrialist, the founder of Panasonic, a company based in the suburb of Kadoma (on the Keihan line), Osaka in Japan. For many Japanese, he is known as "the god of management". A biography of Matsushita's life called Matsushita Leadership was written by American business management specialist John Kotter in 1998.Konosuke Matsushita was born in 1894 in the farming village of Wasa in Wakayama Prefecture, the son of a landlord. Poor investment decisions by his father in rice speculation ruined the family's finances, and Matsushita was sent to Osaka to work at a very young age.