Genzō Wakayama (若山 弦蔵, Wakayama Genzō; September 27, 1932 — May 18, 2021) was a Japanese actor, voice actor and DJ. He…
Genzō Wakayama (若山 弦蔵, Wakayama Genzō; September 27, 1932 — May 18, 2021) was a Japanese actor, voice actor and DJ. He moved to Sapporo, Hokkaido as a youth and graduated from Sapporo South High School. Due to his low bass voice, Wakayama often voiced villainous or calm characters. He is the official Japanese dub-over artist of actors Sean Connery, Gene Barry, Raymond Burr, Hugh O'Brian and John Bromfield. Also, He was the first dub-over artist of Lee Marvin in his early days. As a disc jockey, Wakayama hosted a program on TBS Radio from 1973 to 1995 that ran for 5,700 installments. Wakayama also narrated over 800 episodes of the television jidaigeki The Unfettered Shogun from 1978 to 2003. He died due to heart failure on May 18, 2021. A private service was held by his family.
Famous Japanese People: Narrator
Narrator: 114 people
Yasuo Yamada (山田 康雄, Yamada Yasuo; 10 September 1932 – 19 March 1995) was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator.…
Yasuo Yamada (山田 康雄, Yamada Yasuo; 10 September 1932 – 19 March 1995) was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator. His most well known and famous role was portraying Arsène Lupin III in the Lupin III series from 1971 to 1995. He was also the official Japanese dubbing voice actor of Clint Eastwood and Jean-Paul Belmondo.
Jōji Yanami (八奈見 乗児, Yanami Jōji; born Shigemitsu Shirato (白土 繁満, Shirato Shigemitsu), August 30, 1931 – December 3…
Jōji Yanami (八奈見 乗児, Yanami Jōji; born Shigemitsu Shirato (白土 繁満, Shirato Shigemitsu), August 30, 1931 – December 3, 2021) was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator who was affiliated with Aoni Production. Some of his most prominent voice roles included the narrator, Dr. Briefs, Kaiō-sama (a.k.a. King Kai or North Kaio), and Bobbidi in the Dragon Ball anime series. Other major roles included Dr. Isaac Gilmore in Cyborg 009, Gennai in Digimon, Ittan Momen in GeGeGe no Kitarō, Dr. Yumi in Mazinger Z, and numerous characters in the Time Bokan series. On September 25, 2015, Toei Animation announced that Yanami would be taking medical leave from working on the Dragon Ball Super television anime series for an indefinite amount of time, with his roles as the narrator and Kaiō-sama being taken over by Naoki Tatsuta.
Ryōko Kinomiya (来宮 良子, Kinomiya Ryōko; 10 July 1931 – 25 November 2013) was a Japanese actress and voice actress. She…
Ryōko Kinomiya (来宮 良子, Kinomiya Ryōko; 10 July 1931 – 25 November 2013) was a Japanese actress and voice actress. She was born Ryōko Sakurai in Kyoto, Japan. She was known for her low voice. Kinomiya was the Japanese dub voice of Faye Dunaway. In 2008 she won a Merit Award at the 2nd Seiyu Awards. Kinomiya died of multiple organ failure on 25 November 2013 at the age of 82.
Asao Koike (小池朝雄, Koike Asao; 18 March 1931 – 23 March 1985) was a Japanese actor. He is most famous for playing yakuza…
Asao Koike (小池朝雄, Koike Asao; 18 March 1931 – 23 March 1985) was a Japanese actor. He is most famous for playing yakuza roles. He is also known as voice actor. In 1950, he joined the Bungakuza Theatre Company. In 1963, he left the Bungakuza Theatre Company and established the Kumo Theatre Company. He appeared in more than 120 films.
Tomoko Naraoka (奈良岡 朋子, Naraoka Tomoko; December 1, 1929 – March 23, 2023) was a Japanese actress and narrator. The…
Tomoko Naraoka (奈良岡 朋子, Naraoka Tomoko; December 1, 1929 – March 23, 2023) was a Japanese actress and narrator. The daughter of a painter, she was born in Komagome, Hongō (present-day Bunkyo), in the city of Tokyo, Japan. She graduated from Joshibi University of Art and Design. Naraoka debuted as a cinema actress in the 1949 film Chijin no Ai, based on the novel Naomi. In 1981 she appeared in Rengō Kantai (lit. "Combined Fleet", United States title: The Imperial Navy). She also appeared in Tora-san's Salad-Day Memorial (a 1988 movie in the long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series) as well as eight films in the Tsuribaka Nisshi series. Naraoka has appeared in several NHK Taiga dramas. Her first was the 1969 Ten to Chi to, in the role of the wife of Uesugi Sadazane. She portrayed Kita no Mandokoro (the wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi) in Haru no Sakamichi (1971). Her next Taiga drama appearance was in 1976 in Kaze to Kumo to Niji to. She narrated the 1986 Inochi and 1989 Kasuga no Tsubone. She is the narrator of the 2008 drama Atsuhime. Other noteworthy narration roles include the 1983 serialized morning television drama Oshin. She also narrated Onna wa Dokyō (1992) and Haru Yo Koi (1994–1995). A nonfiction voice role was in the series Kiwameru: Nihon no Bi to Kokoro. Naraoka died from pneumonia on March 23, 2023, at the age of 93.
Kei Satō (佐藤 慶, Satō Kei; born December 21, 1928 in Aizuwakamatsu – May 2, 2010) was a Japanese character actor and…
Kei Satō (佐藤 慶, Satō Kei; born December 21, 1928 in Aizuwakamatsu – May 2, 2010) was a Japanese character actor and narrator. He is known for his work with Japanese New Wave director Nagisa Oshima, and for several films with Kaneto Shindo, such as Onibaba and Kuroneko. He won the best actor award from Kinema Junpo for the films The Ceremony and Nihon no akuryō. He also worked as a narrator for many documentaries, both on television and film.
Hisashi Katsuta (勝田 久, Katsuta Hisashi; 2 April 1927 – 21 February 2020) was a Japanese actor and voice actor. He is…
Hisashi Katsuta (勝田 久, Katsuta Hisashi; 2 April 1927 – 21 February 2020) was a Japanese actor and voice actor. He is best known for his voice-over portrayal of Professor Ochanomizu in three anime adaptations of the Astro Boy franchise, and also voiced Dr. Hoshi in Astroganger (1972–1973), Professor Tobishima in Groizer X (1976–1977), and Shin'ichirō Izumi in Tōshō Daimos (1978–1979).
Junkichi Orimoto (織本 順吉, Orimoto Junkichi; 9 February 1927 – 18 March 2019) was a Japanese actor. Orimoto often worked…
Junkichi Orimoto (織本 順吉, Orimoto Junkichi; 9 February 1927 – 18 March 2019) was a Japanese actor. Orimoto often worked with Kinji Fukasaku and Sadao Nakajima. He started his acting career at the Shinkyō theatre company in 1949. His first film appearance was in the 1952 film Yamabiko Gakkō directed by Tadashi Imai. In 2019, he died of old age at the age of 92. His final film appearance was in the 2018 film blank13.
Taketoshi Naito (内藤 武敏, Naitō Taketoshi; 16 June 1926 – 21 August 2012) was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than…
Taketoshi Naito (内藤 武敏, Naitō Taketoshi; 16 June 1926 – 21 August 2012) was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1953 and 2003. He died of lymphoma on 21 August 2012.
Hideji Ōtaki (大滝 秀治, Ōtaki Hideji; June 6, 1925 – October 2, 2012) was a Japanese actor. He served as President of the…
Hideji Ōtaki (大滝 秀治, Ōtaki Hideji; June 6, 1925 – October 2, 2012) was a Japanese actor. He served as President of the Mingei Theatre Company.
Akira Kume (久米 明, Kume Akira; February 8, 1924 – April 23, 2020) was a Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator. As of…
Akira Kume (久米 明, Kume Akira; February 8, 1924 – April 23, 2020) was a Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator. As of 2019, with his role as the narrator of the NHK show Tsurube's Salute to Families, he was the world's oldest active voice actor.
Tae Hitoto (一青 妙, Hitoto Tae; born September 24, 1970 in Taipei, Taiwan; born Yan Miao (顏妙)) is a Japanese actress…
Tae Hitoto (一青 妙, Hitoto Tae; born September 24, 1970 in Taipei, Taiwan; born Yan Miao (顏妙)) is a Japanese actress, dentist and author. Her mother was Japanese, and her father was a Taiwanese businessman Gan Hui Bin（顏惠民）. She graduated from Showa University with a degree in Dentistry. Yō Hitoto is her younger sister. Hitoto published her first non-fiction book, Box My Child, about her father in 2012. She subsequently wrote a second non-fiction book and four travel books, also about Taiwan. Hitoto's first novel, The Blue Flower, continued her literary career's focus on Taiwan. Although written in Japanese, a Chinese translation of the novel was published in Taiwan in 2025 before a Japanese edition was released.
Monster Maezuka (前塚 モンスター, Maezuka Monsuta; born as Atsushi Maezuka (前塚 厚志, Maezuka Atsushi), on March 19, 1962 in…
Monster Maezuka (前塚 モンスター, Maezuka Monsuta; born as Atsushi Maezuka (前塚 厚志, Maezuka Atsushi), on March 19, 1962 in Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese voice actor currently associated with the Clutch voice actor agency. Maezuka is noted for his roles as Ralf Jones, Benimaru Nikaido, and Choi Bounge in The King of Fighters fighting game series. He has also voiced the latter two in Capcom vs. SNK, and the first in The King of Fighters: Another Day anime; in addition to that, he has had voiceover experience playing Sling and the narrator in the original Japanese version of Beast Wars Neo. Maezuka is also noted for having done the voices of Kyoshiro Senryo and Nicotine Caffeine in the Samurai Shodown series, as well as Ken Masters in SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos.