List of Famous people born in Kōchi Prefecture
Daisuke Ono
Daisuke Ono is a freelance Japanese voice actor and singer who won the 4th and 9th Seiyu Awards for best lead actor for his role as Sebastian Michaelis in Black Butler, Jotaro Kujo in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and Shukuro Tsukishima in Bleach, as well as "Best Personalities" at the 9th Seiyu Awards. Other notable roles include Erwin Smith in Attack on Titan, Silver the Hedgehog in Sonic the Hedgehog, Drole in Nanatsu no Taizai, Shizuo Heiwajima in Durarara!!, Jyushimatsu in Osomatsu-san, Shintarō Midorima in Kuroko's Basketball, Subaru Asahina in Brothers Conflict, Hades Aidoneus in Kamigami no Asobi, Killer T Cell in Cells at Work! and Ushiromiya Battler in Umineko When They Cry and Nobuyuki Sanada in Samurai Warriors 4 and Warriors Orochi 4. Ono was also featured in The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match as Nameless and the announcer of the game. He hosts radio show Dear Girl: Stories along with voice actor Hiroshi Kamiya.
Ryōko Hirosue
Ryōko Hirosue is a Japanese actress and singer, best known to international audiences for her roles in the Luc Besson-produced Wasabi and the Academy Award-winning Japanese film Departures. She also starred in the 2008 comedy series Yasuko to Kenji.
Tomotaka Okamoto
Tomotaka Okamoto is a Japanese sopranist.
Sumi Shimamoto
Sumi Shimamoto , real name Sumi Koshikawa , is a Japanese actress, voice actress and narrator of film and anime and video games. After graduating from the Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music, she joined Gekidan Seinenza, a theatrical acting troupe. She is currently independent of any talent management company.
Kyuji Fujikawa
Kyuji Fujikawa is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Gen Nakatani
Gen Nakatani is a Japanese politician who was Director General of the Japan Defense Agency in the first cabinet of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in 2001-2002 and was appointed as the Minister of Defense by current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2014.
Rieko Saibara
Rieko Saibara is a Japanese manga artist. She made her professional debut in 1988 with Chikuro Yochien, serialized in Weekly Young Sunday. In 1989, she graduated from the Department of Visual Communication Design at Musashino Art University. Saibara has received numerous awards throughout her career, including the 43rd Bungeishunjū Manga Award in 1997 for Bokunchi; the Excellence Award at the 8th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2004 for Mainichi Kaasan; the Short Story Award at the 9th Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prizes in 2005 for Mainichi Kaasan and Jōkyō Monogatari; the President of the House of Councilors Award at the 40th Japan Cartoonist Awards in 2011 for Mainichi Kaasan; and the 6th Best Mother Award for Literature in 2020.
Yuji Yamamoto
Yuji Yamamoto is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet. A native of Kōchi Prefecture and graduate of Waseda University, he was elected to the assembly of Kōchi Prefecture in 1985 and then to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1990. Yamamoto is currently Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in the Abe cabinet.
Toyonoshima Daiki
Toyonoshima Daiki is a former professional sumo wrestler from Sukumo, Kōchi, Japan. He made his professional debut in January 2002, reaching the top makuuchi division in September 2004. He was a runner-up in five tournaments, and earned ten special prizes. His highest rank was sekiwake, which he first reached in September 2008 and held for five tournaments in total. Following a suspension in July 2010 he was demoted to the jūryō division, but upon his return to makuuchi in November 2010 he took part in a playoff for the championship. He won four kinboshi or gold stars awarded for yokozuna upsets, three of them earned by defeating Harumafuji from 2013 to 2015. He wrestled for Tokitsukaze stable. He retired in 2020 and is now an elder of the Japan Sumo Association under the name of Izutsu Oyakata.
Takenori Emoto
Takenori Emoto is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball. He played for the Toei Flyers in 1971, the Nankai Hawks from 1972 to 1975, and the Hanshin Tigers from 1976 to 1981.