Osamu Hamanaka (濱中 治, born July 9, 1978, in Tanabe, Wakayama) is a former Japanese professional baseball player.…
Osamu Hamanaka (濱中 治, born July 9, 1978, in Tanabe, Wakayama) is a former Japanese professional baseball player. Drafted by the Hanshin Tigers in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball in 1996, Hamanaka spent 11 years with the club from 1997 to 2007. Following his time with Hanshin, Hamanaka spent three seasons with the Orix Buffaloes from 2008 to 2010 and one season with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in 2011. In November 2014 it was announced that Hamanaka had signed a contract to return to Hanshin as a batting coach for the farm team.
Famous People Born in the Year of the Horse
Horse: 1,817 people
Kazutaka Kodaka (Japanese: 小高 和剛, Hepburn: Kodaka Kazutaka; born July 8, 1978) is a Japanese video game designer…
Kazutaka Kodaka (Japanese: 小高 和剛, Hepburn: Kodaka Kazutaka; born July 8, 1978) is a Japanese video game designer, writer, and manga artist. His work is known for recurring themes of contrasting hope and despair, luck and talent, truth and lies, and mixing tragedy with dark humor, as well as using numerous plot twists. He was an employee of Spike Chunsoft (formerly Spike) and is widely known as the creator and writer of the Danganronpa franchise. He left the company in 2017 and founded Too Kyo Games with other ex-employees.
Ken Yoshizawa (吉澤 賢, Yoshizawa Ken; born July 7, 1978 in Shisui, Chiba) is a Japanese former hurdler and currently a…
Ken Yoshizawa (吉澤 賢, Yoshizawa Ken; born July 7, 1978 in Shisui, Chiba) is a Japanese former hurdler and currently a professional keirin cyclist. He represented Japan at the 2004 Olympics in the 400 metres hurdles. He also ran in the 2001 and 2003 IAAF World Championships in Athletics. By virtue of his competing in a rare 300 metres hurdles race in Sheffield in 2002, he is ranked in the all-time top 25 of the event.
Kayo Kitada (北田 佳世, Kitada Kayo; born 7 July 1978) is a retired Japanese judoka.
Ayaka Shiomura (塩村 文夏, Shiomura Ayaka) (born July 6, 1978) is a Japanese politician who is a member of the Senate of…
Ayaka Shiomura (塩村 文夏, Shiomura Ayaka) (born July 6, 1978) is a Japanese politician who is a member of the Senate of Japan.
Aiko Miyake (三宅 愛子, Miyake Aiko) (born 6 July 1978) is a former freestyle swimmer from Japan. She competed for her…
Aiko Miyake (三宅 愛子, Miyake Aiko) (born 6 July 1978) is a former freestyle swimmer from Japan. She competed for her native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. There, she finished in fourth place in the 4x200m freestyle relay, alongside Eri Yamanoi, Naoko Imoto, and Suzu Chiba. On her sole individual start, in the 800m freestyle, she ended up in 21st place, clocking 8:55.77 in the preliminary heats.
Yushi Soda (曽田 雄志, Soda Yushi; born July 5, 1978) is a former Japanese football player.
Takatsugu Muramatsu (村松 崇継, Muramatsu Takatsugu; born July 2, 1978) is a Japanese composer, arranger and music…
Takatsugu Muramatsu (村松 崇継, Muramatsu Takatsugu; born July 2, 1978) is a Japanese composer, arranger and music producer. He is best known for his collaborations in Studio Ghibli's When Marnie Was There. He won Best Music thrice at the Japan Academy Film Prize. In 1996, he released his first solo work, Mado, while in high school. In 2001, he debuted as a movie music composer with Inugami. The same year, he graduated from the Kunitachi College of Music. In 2009, he held his first solo piano concert tour in five places across Japan. In 2014, his music on the movie When Marnie Was There received praise from critics. During that year, his works were featured in Natsumi Abe's cover album Hikari He. He was also included in Mariya Takeuchi's studio album, Trad, which won an award at the 56th Japan Record Awards. In 2018, Empire listed his music from Mary and the Witch's Flower among the best movie soundtrack songs of the year.
Madoka Natsumi (夏見 円, Natsumi Madoka; born July 2, 1978) is a Japanese cross-country skier who has competed since 1995.…
Madoka Natsumi (夏見 円, Natsumi Madoka; born July 2, 1978) is a Japanese cross-country skier who has competed since 1995. She earned the best individual finish of the host nation Japan at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2007 in Sapporo with a fifth-place finish in the women's sprint event which was also her best individual finish at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. Natsumi's best individual finish at the Winter Olympics was 12th in the individual sprint at Salt Lake City in 2002. Her best individual World Cup finish was third at a sprint event in Sweden in 2008.
Yoshio Akeboshi (明星嘉男, Akeboshi Yoshio), mononymously known as Akeboshi (アケボシ), is a Japanese folk singer. He is mainly…
Yoshio Akeboshi (明星嘉男, Akeboshi Yoshio), mononymously known as Akeboshi (アケボシ), is a Japanese folk singer. He is mainly known for the song "Wind", used as an ending theme for the first season of the anime Naruto. Akeboshi was born on July 1, 1978, in Yokohama. He learned to play the piano when he was three years old, later learning to play the guitar. He studied music in Liverpool, and his time there has heavily influenced his music. Before his major debut, he produced two of the songs on Matsu Takako's fourth album, A piece of life.
Miyo Okamoto (岡本三代, Okamoto Miyo; born 1 July 1978) is a Japanese football manager and former player who played as a…
Miyo Okamoto (岡本三代, Okamoto Miyo; born 1 July 1978) is a Japanese football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. She was most recently the head coach of the Thailand senior and under-20 women's national teams.
Haruhiko Sato (佐藤 陽彦, Satō Haruhiko; born 27 June 1978) is a former Japanese football player.
Kohei Hayashi (林 晃平, Hayashi Kōhei; born June 27, 1978) is a former Japanese football player.
Ryo Fukudome (福留 亮, Fukudome Ryo; born June 26, 1978) is a former Japanese football player.
Miki Nakao (中尾 美樹, Nakao Miki) (born June 25, 1978, in Nagasaki, Nagasaki) is a former backstroke swimmer from Japan…
Miki Nakao (中尾 美樹, Nakao Miki) (born June 25, 1978, in Nagasaki, Nagasaki) is a former backstroke swimmer from Japan, who won the bronze medal in the 200m Backstroke at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Shunsuke Nakamura (Japanese: 中村 俊輔, Hepburn: Nakamura Shunsuke; born 24 June 1978) is a Japanese former professional…
Shunsuke Nakamura (Japanese: 中村 俊輔, Hepburn: Nakamura Shunsuke; born 24 June 1978) is a Japanese former professional footballer. He is currently working as an assistant coach of the Japan national football team. He is the only person to have been named J.League Most Valuable Player more than once, receiving the award in 2000 and 2013. Renowned as one of Japan's greatest ever footballers, Nakamura was known for his free-kicks; Steve Perryman once remarked that Nakamura "could open a tin of beans with his left foot". Nakamura began his professional career with J1 League club Yokohama Marinos in 1997, eventually making 338 league appearances during two spells at the club totalling just over twelve seasons. In between his spells at Marinos, Nakamura played in Europe with Espanyol, Celtic, and Reggina. During his time at Celtic, he became one of the best Asian players to have ever played in Europe; he was nominated for the 2007 Ballon d'Or, was named Scottish Player of the Year and SFWA Footballer of the Year in 2007, and became the first Japanese player to score in the UEFA Champions League. His team accomplishments at Celtic include winning the Scottish Premier League in 2006, 2007, and 2008, the Scottish League Cup in 2006 and 2009, and the Scottish Cup in 2007. Nakamura has 98 caps and 24 goals for the Japan national football team, including appearances in the FIFA World Cup finals in 2006 and 2010 and winning the AFC Asian Cup in 2000 and 2004; he was named Most Valuable Player of the 2004 competition. He also appeared in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship as a member of the Japan under-20 team and the 2000 Summer Olympics as a member of the Japan under-23 team.
Yuki Hamano (濵野 勇気, Hamano Yūki; born June 23, 1978) is a former Japanese football player.
Shūhei Morita (Japanese: 森田 修平, Hepburn: Morita Shūhei); born June 22, 1978) is a Japanese anime filmmaker…
Shūhei Morita (Japanese: 森田 修平, Hepburn: Morita Shūhei); born June 22, 1978) is a Japanese anime filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer. He is known for directing the critically successful 2013 film Possessions for which Morita was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, as well as the 2014 anime series Tokyo Ghoul for its first and second seasons.
Shogen Itokazu (尚玄; born 20 June 1978), known mononymously as Shogen, is a Japanese actor. He is best known for his…
Shogen Itokazu (尚玄; born 20 June 1978), known mononymously as Shogen, is a Japanese actor. He is best known for his role as Nao Tsuchiyama in Gensan Punch (2021), which had a joint win for the Kim Jiseok award with The Rapist (2021) at the 26th Busan International Film Festival. Born in Okinawa, he formerly worked as a model before making his acting debut in Bloody Snake Under the Sun (2005).
Yasuhiro Suzuki (鈴木 康弘, Suzuki Yasuhiro; born June 18, 1978), better known by the ring name Kotaro Suzuki (鈴木 鼓太郎…
Yasuhiro Suzuki (鈴木 康弘, Suzuki Yasuhiro; born June 18, 1978), better known by the ring name Kotaro Suzuki (鈴木 鼓太郎, Suzuki Kotarō), is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to Gleat. He is best known for working for the Pro Wrestling Noah and All Japan Pro Wrestling promotions, where he was a four-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion for Noah and a one-time World Junior Heavyweight Champion for AJPW.
Masato Uchishiba (内柴 正人, Uchishiba Masato; born 17 June 1978) is a Japanese judoka who won the gold medal in the men's…
Masato Uchishiba (内柴 正人, Uchishiba Masato; born 17 June 1978) is a Japanese judoka who won the gold medal in the men's under 66 kg division at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, and at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
Mika Haruna (春名 美佳, Haruna Mika; born 14 June 1978) is a former Japanese swimmer who competed in the 1992 Summer…
Mika Haruna (春名 美佳, Haruna Mika; born 14 June 1978) is a former Japanese swimmer who competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics and in the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Tomoaki Satoh (佐藤 友亮, Satō Tomoaki; born in Fujisawa, Kanagawa) is a Japanese professional baseball player. He is…
Tomoaki Satoh (佐藤 友亮, Satō Tomoaki; born in Fujisawa, Kanagawa) is a Japanese professional baseball player. He is currently with the Saitama Seibu Lions in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. In 2008, he was selected Most Valuable Player of the 2008 Asia Series.
Shinichiro Koyama (小山 伸一郎, Koyama Shinichiro; born June 13, 1978) is a former pitcher and now who played for the…
Shinichiro Koyama (小山 伸一郎, Koyama Shinichiro; born June 13, 1978) is a former pitcher and now who played for the Chunichi Dragons and the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. He is currently a pitching coach for the Chunichi Dragons of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.
Kazutoshi Satō (佐藤 和俊, Satō Kazutoshi; born June 12, 1978) is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 7-dan.
Hirotaka Yokoi (横井宏考) (born June 8, 1978) is a Japanese former mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. A…
Hirotaka Yokoi (横井宏考) (born June 8, 1978) is a Japanese former mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. A professional MMA competitor from 2000 until 2007, Yokoi fought for PRIDE, Shooto, RINGS, and DEEP, while in professional wrestling he wrestled mainly for Pro Wrestling Zero1.
Koumei Oda (Japanese: 小田 孔明, Oda Kōmei; born 7 June 1978) is a Japanese professional golfer.
Taro Suruga (駿河 太郎, Suruga Tarō; born 5 June 1978) is a Japanese musician and actor from Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture.
Hiroyuki Kobayashi (小林 宏之, 小林宏, Kobayashi Hiroyuki, Kobayashi-Hiro; born June 4, 1978) is a Japanese professional…
Hiroyuki Kobayashi (小林 宏之, 小林宏, Kobayashi Hiroyuki, Kobayashi-Hiro; born June 4, 1978) is a Japanese professional baseball right-handed pitcher. He played in the 2006 World Baseball Classic for Japan. As a relief pitcher Kobayashi throws a fastball that sits in 87-91 mph (tops out at 93 mph), silder, change-up, and an effective forkball as his out pitch.
Ayako Ikeda (池田 綾子, Ikeda Ayako) (born 1 June 1978) is a Japanese song writer and singer. She is signed onto Sony Music…
Ayako Ikeda (池田 綾子, Ikeda Ayako) (born 1 June 1978) is a Japanese song writer and singer. She is signed onto Sony Music Japan. She debuted with her single "Yasashii Uta" (優しい歌) on 21 February 2002, her single 'Life' became the theme song of the TV drama "Ai nante iranee yo, natsu" (愛なんていらねえよ、夏), and she has composed and sung the opening and ending themes to the anime Dennou Coil.
Takanori Kumagae (熊谷皇紀, Kumagai kōki; born 1 January 1978) is a former Japanese rugby union player who played as a…
Takanori Kumagae (熊谷皇紀, Kumagai kōki; born 1 January 1978) is a former Japanese rugby union player who played as a lock. He spent his whole career playing for NEC Green Rockets in Japan's domestic Top League, playing a single season. He was named in the Japan squad for the 2007 Rugby World Cup, making 1 appearance in the tournament. He made a further 25 appearances for Japan in his career, scoring one try.
Tomohiko Ito (伊藤 友彦, Itō Tomohiko; born May 28, 1978) is a former Japanese football player.
Shogo Yamamoto (山本 省吾, Yamamoto Shōgo; born May 28, 1978 in Ishikawa, Japan) is a Japanese former Nippon Professional…
Shogo Yamamoto (山本 省吾, Yamamoto Shōgo; born May 28, 1978 in Ishikawa, Japan) is a Japanese former Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher.
Jiro Yabe (矢部 次郎, Yabe Jiro; born May 26, 1978) is a former Japanese football player and manager.
Miwako Yamanaka (山中 美和子, Yamanaka Miwako; born 24 May 1978) is a retired Japanese long-distance runner. Her first and…
Miwako Yamanaka (山中 美和子, Yamanaka Miwako; born 24 May 1978) is a retired Japanese long-distance runner. Her first and only international medal came at the 1997 Summer Universiade where she took the bronze in the 10,000 metres. She won the Kobe Women's Half Marathon in 2001, setting a personal best time of 1:08:54 for the event. Her greatest achievements came in 2002 when she won the Fukuoka International Cross Country and went on to finish in fourth in the long race at the 2002 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. She also won the Chiba International Cross Country competition in 2005.
Hideaki Kitajima (北嶋 秀朗, Kitajima Hideaki; born May 23, 1978) is a former Japanese football player and last play for…
Hideaki Kitajima (北嶋 秀朗, Kitajima Hideaki; born May 23, 1978) is a former Japanese football player and last play for Japan national team. He's to set manager of JFL club, Criacao Shinjuku from 2024.
Koichi Sekimoto (関本 恒一, Sekimoto Koichi; May 23, 1978 – January 23, 2016) was a Japanese football player.
Yoshifumi Ono (大野 貴史, Ono Yoshifumi; born May 22, 1978) is a former Japanese football player.
Yuji Yoshimi (吉見 祐治, born May 21, 1978, in Wakayama, Wakayama) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher in…
Yuji Yoshimi (吉見 祐治, born May 21, 1978, in Wakayama, Wakayama) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He played with the Yokohama BayStars from 2001 to 2010 and for the Chiba Lotte Marines from 2010 to 2013. He also played for Team Japan at the 2000 Olympics.
Kenji Arai (新井 健二, Arai Kenji; born May 19, 1978) is a former Japanese professional football player.
Toru Yano (矢野 通, Yano Tōru; born May 18, 1978) is a Japanese professional wrestler, signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling…
Toru Yano (矢野 通, Yano Tōru; born May 18, 1978) is a Japanese professional wrestler, signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He was one-third of the inaugural NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions. He is also a three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion and two-time GHC Tag Team Champion, and was the KOPW 2020 and the KOPW 2021 Provisional Champion. He is mainly known as a comic relief wrestler, often cheating in an attempt to secure quick wins in his matches. Though often positioned below NJPW's top wrestlers, Yano has gained a reputation as a spoiler, occasionally scoring upset wins over bigger names and feuding with other elite wrestlers.
Hiroshi Morita (森田 浩史, Morita Hiroshi; born May 18, 1978) is a former Japanese football player.
Masasumi Kakizaki (Japanese: 柿崎正澄, Hepburn: Kakizaki Masasumi; born May 18, 1978) is a Japanese manga artist. He…
Masasumi Kakizaki (Japanese: 柿崎正澄, Hepburn: Kakizaki Masasumi; born May 18, 1978) is a Japanese manga artist. He debuted in 2001 with the one-shot Two Tops prior to launching his first series, X-Gene, in 2002. Rainbow: Nisha Rokubō no Shichinin, which he illustrated, won the Shogakukan Manga Award in the general category in 2005.
Norihiro Yamagishi (山岸 範宏, Yamagishi Norihiro; born 17 May 1978) is a Japanese football player.
Ryuji Hijikata (土方 隆司, Hijikata Ryūji) (born May 17, 1978) is a Japanese professional wrestler also known under the…
Ryuji Hijikata (土方 隆司, Hijikata Ryūji) (born May 17, 1978) is a Japanese professional wrestler also known under the ring name Toshizo (歳三, Toshizō). Hijikata is best known for his tenure in Battlarts and All Japan Pro Wrestling since 2002 where he is a former World Junior Heavyweight Champion.
Takashi Aiki (相木 崇, Aiki Takashi; born May 16, 1978 in Kumamoto, Japan) is a retired Nippon Professional Baseball…
Takashi Aiki (相木 崇, Aiki Takashi; born May 16, 1978 in Kumamoto, Japan) is a retired Nippon Professional Baseball player. He played for the Orix Buffaloes and the Hanshin Tigers.
Akihiro Tabata (田畑 昭宏, Tabata Akihiro; born May 15, 1978) is a former Japanese football player.
Hideki Sahara (佐原 秀樹, Sahara Hideki; born May 15, 1978) is a former Japanese football player. He is currently the…
Hideki Sahara (佐原 秀樹, Sahara Hideki; born May 15, 1978) is a former Japanese football player. He is currently the assistant manager of J1 League club, Kawasaki Frontale.
Kosei Inoue (井上 康生, Inoue Kōsei; born 15 May 1978) is a Japanese judoka. He won the gold medal in the under 100 kg…
Kosei Inoue (井上 康生, Inoue Kōsei; born 15 May 1978) is a Japanese judoka. He won the gold medal in the under 100 kg class at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He is well known for his specialty throws, Uchi Mata (内股, inner thigh throw) and Ōuchi gari (大内刈, major inner reap). He is considered by the Judo community as one of the best competitive judoka. His notable accomplishments include three golds at the World Championships and All Japan Championships (one of four Judokas who have accomplished this). His older brother, Tomokazu Inoue is also judoka and former Asian champion. He is affiliated with Sohgo Security Services (Alsok), a security firm.
Shingo Kawabata (川畑 伸吾, Kawabata Shingo; born 15 May 1978) is a Japanese former sprinter who competed in the 2000…
Shingo Kawabata (川畑 伸吾, Kawabata Shingo; born 15 May 1978) is a Japanese former sprinter who competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics.