List of Japanese people

This is a list of notable Japanese people.

To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Japanese.

Architects

Artists

Athletes

Authors

• Kobo Abe, author of The Woman in the Dunes
• Ryunosuke Akutagawa
• Matsuo Basho, author of The Narrow Road to the Deep North
• Osamu Dazai, author of No Longer Human
• Yasunari Kawabata, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature
• Yukio Mishima
• Haruki Murakami
• Kenzaburo Oe, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature
• Murasaki Shikibu, author of The Tale of Genji
• Sei Shonagon, author of The Pillow Book
• Natsume Soseki, author of Kokoro
• Junichiro Tanizaki
• Kenko Yoshida, author of Essays in Idleness

Company founders

• Yoshisuke Aikawa (1880–1967), founder of Nissan
• Takeo Fujisawa (1910–1988), co-founder of the automobile manufacturer Honda
• Hirotoshi Honda, founder of Mugen Motorsports
• Konosuke Matsushita, founder of Panasonic
• Hiroshi Mikitani, founder of Rakuten
• Mitsui Takatoshi (1622–1694), founder of Mitsui
• Mikimoto Kokichi (1858–1954), founder of Mikimoto
• Soichiro Honda (1906–1991), co-founder of the automobile manufacturer Honda
• Jujiro Matsuda (1875–1952), founder of Mazda automobile company
• Michio Suzuki (1887–1982), founder of Suzuki
• Eiji Toyoda (1913–2013), founder of luxury automobile manufacturer Lexus
• Kiichiro Toyoda (1894–1952), founder of automobile manufacturer Toyota in 1937
• Sakichi Toyoda (1867–1930), founder of Toyota Industries and Toyota Group

Educators

• Mori Arinori
• Tsunesaburō Makiguchi
• Midori Suzuki
• Fukuzawa Yukichi
• Tsuda Yukio
• Kanō Jigorō
• Imai Yone

Emperors

Historians

• Ienaga Saburō
• Kanda Nobuo
• Maruyama Masao
• Naitō Torajirō
• Ikuhiko Hata
• Shinichi Kitaoka
• Kan Kimura
• Ichirō Inaba
• Naoki Inose

Military leaders

Samurai

A

• Abe Masakatsu
• Adachi Kagemori
• Adams, William (foreign born)
• Akao Kiyotsuna
• Akechi Mitsuhide
• Akiyama Nobutomo
• Amago Haruhisa
• Amago Yoshihisa
• See also Amago clan
• Ankokuji Ekei
• Aochi Shigetsuna
• Arai Hakuseki
• Araki Murashige
• Arima Kihei
• Asakura Yoshikage
• Azai Hisamasa
• Azai Nagamasa
• Azai Sukemasa

B

• Baba Nobufusa
• Bessho Nagaharu

C

• Chōsokabe Morichika
• Chōsokabe Kunichika
• Chōsokabe Motochika
• Chōsokabe Nobuchika
• Collache, Eugène

D

• Date Masamune
• See also Date clan
• Doi Toshikatsu

E

• Endō Naotsune
• Enomoto Takeaki

F

• FÅ«ma Kotarō
• Fuwa Mitsuharu
• Fujiwara no Hidesato (Tawara no Tōda)
• Fukushima Masanori

G

• Gamō Katahide
• Gamō Ujisato

H

• Hasekura Tsunenaga
• Hattori Hanzō
• Hatano Hideharu
• Hirate Masahide
• Hitotsubashi Keiki
• Hōjō Masako
• Hōjō Tokimune
• Hōjō Ujiyasu
• Hōjō Ujimasa
• Honda Tadakatsu
• Honda Komatsu (Inahime)
• Honganji Kennyo
• Hosokawa Fujitaka
• Hosokawa Gracia
• Hosokawa Tadaoki
• Hotta Masatoshi

I

• Ii Naomasa
• Ii Naomori
• Ii Naosuke
• Ii Naotaka
• Ii Naoyuki
• Iizasa Ienao
• Ijuin Tada'aki
• Imagawa Yoshimoto
• Imai Kanehira
• Ishida Mitsunari
• Itagaki Nobukata
• Itagaki Taisuke
• Itō Hirobumi
• Iwanari Tomomichi

K

• Kaneko Ietada
• Katagiri Katsumoto
• Katō Kiyomasa
• Kawakami Gensai
• Kido Takayoshi
• Kikkawa Hiroie
• Kimotsuki Kanetsugu
• Kobayakawa Hideaki
• Kobayakawa Hidekane
• Kobayakawa Takakage
• Kojima Toyoharu
• Kuroda Denta
• Kuroda Kanbei Don Sim(e)on Josui Yoshitaka
• Kuroda Kiyotaka
• Kusunoki Masashige
• Kumagai Naozane

M

• Maeda Keiji
• Maeda Nagatane
• Maeda Toshiie
• Maeda Toshinaga
• Maeda Toshitsune
• Manabe Akifusa
• Matsudaira Nobutsuna
• Matsudaira Nobuyasu
• Matsudaira Higo no Kami Katamori
• Matsudaira Sadanobu
• Matsudaira Tadayoshi
• Matsudaira Teru
• Matsunaga Hisahide
• Matsuo Bashō
• Matsudaira Motoyasu
• Minamoto no Mitsunaka
• Minamoto no Yoshiie
• Minamoto no Yoshimitsu
• Minamoto no Yoshinaka
• Minamoto no Yoshitomo
• Minamoto no Yoshitsune
• Minamoto no Tameyoshi
• Minamoto no Yorimasa
• Minamoto no Yorimitsu
• Minamoto no Yoritomo
• Minamoto no Noriyori
• Mirei Kiritani
• Miura Anjin
• Miura Yoshimoto
• Miyamoto Musashi
• Miyoshi Chōkei
• Miyoshi Yoshitsugu
• Mizuno Tadakuni
• Mōri Motonari
• Mori Nagayoshi
• Mōri Okimoto
• Mori Ranmaru
• Mōri Takamoto
• Mōri Terumoto
• Mori Yoshinari

N

• Nagakura Shinpachi
• Nagao Harukage
• Nagao Masakage
• Nagao Tamekage
• Naoe Kanetsugu
• Nakagawa Kiyohide
• Naoe Kagetsuna
• Naoe Kanetsugu
• Nihonmatsu Yoshitsugu
• Niimi Nishiki
• Niiro Tadamoto
• Niwa Nagahide
• Niwa Nagashige

O

• Oda Nobuhide
• Oda Nobunaga
• Oda Nobutada
• Oda Nobutomo
• Oda Nobukatsu
• Ogasawara Shōsai
• Ōishi Kuranosuke
• Okada Izō
• Judge Ōoka
• Ōta Dōkan
• Ōtomo Sōrin
• Okita Sōji
• Ōkubo Toshimichi
• Ōuchi Yoshitaka

R

• Rokkaku Yoshitaka
• Rusu Masakage
• RyÅ«zōji Takanobu
• See also RyÅ«zōji clan

S

• Saigo Kiyokazu
• Sagara Taketō
• Saigō Takamori
• Saigō Yoshikatsu
• Saitō Dōsan
• Saitō Hajime
• Saitō Yoshitatsu
• Sakai Tadakiyo
• Sakai Tadashige
• Sakai Tadayo
• Sakamoto Ryōma
• Sakuma Morimasa
• Sakuma Nobumori
• Sanada Masayuki
• Sanada Nobuyuki
• Sanada Yukimura
• Sasaki Kojirō
• Sasaki Yoshikiyo
• Serizawa Kamo
• Shibata Katsuie
• Shima Sakon
• Shimada Ichirō
• Shimazu Katsuhisa
• Shimazu Tadahisa
• Shimazu Tadatsune
• Shimazu Tadayoshi
• Shimazu Takahisa
• Shimazu Yoshihiro
• Shimazu Yoshihisa
• Sue Yoshitaka

T

• Tachibana Muneshige
• Tachibana Dōsetsu
• Tachibana Ginchiyo
• Taigen Sessai
• Taira no Kiyomori
• Taira no Masakado
• Takahashi Shigetane
• Takenaka Shigeharu
• Takaoka Muneyasu
• Takasugi Shinsaku
• Takayama Justo (Shigetomo)
• Takayama Ukon
• Takechi Hanpeita
• Takeda Katsuyori
• Takeda Nobushige
• Takeda Shingen
• Tani Tateki
• Toki Yorinari
• Tokugawa Ieyasu
• Tokugawa Hidetada
• Tokugawa Nariaki
• Tokugawa Yoshinobu
• Toyotomi Hideyoshi
• Toyotomi Hideyori
• Tozuka Tadaharu
• Tsukahara Bokuden

U

• Uesugi Kagekatsu
• Uesugi Kagetora
• Uesugi Kenshin
• Ukita Naoie
• Umezawa Michiharu
• Usami Sadamitsu

W

• Watanabe Kazan
• Watanabe no Tsuna

Y

• YagyÅ« JÅ«bei Mitsuyoshi
• Yamada Arinaga
• Yamada Arinobu
• Yamada Nagamasa
• Yamagata Masakage
• Yamanami Keisuke
• Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu
• Yonekura Shigetsugu
• YagyÅ« Munenori
• Yamauchi Kazutoyo
• YÅ«ki Hideyasu

Kamakura shōguns

1. Minamoto no Yoritomo, r. 1192–1199
2. Minamoto no Yoriie, r. 1202–1203
3. Minamoto no Sanetomo, r. 1203–1219
4. Kujō Yoritsune, r. 1226–1244
5. Kujō Yoritsugu, r. 1244–1252
6. Prince Munetaka, r. 1252–1266
7. Prince Koreyasu, r. 1266–1289
8. Prince Hisaakira, r. 1289–1308
9. Prince Morikuni, r. 1308–1333
10. Prince Morinaga, r.1333–1334
11. Prince Norinaga, r. 1334–1338

Kamakura shikken

1. Hōjō Tokimasa, r. 1203–1205
2. Hōjō Yoshitoki, r. 1205–1224
3. Hōjō Yasutoki, r. 1224–1242
4. Hōjō Tsunetoki, r. 1242–1246
5. Hōjō Tokiyori, r. 1246–1256
6. Hōjō Tokimune, r. 1268–1284
7. Hōjō Sadatoki, r. 1284–1301
8. Hōjō Morotoki, r. 1301–1311
9. Hōjō Takatoki, r. 1316–1326

Ashikaga shōguns

1. Ashikaga Takauji, ruled 1338–1358
2. Ashikaga Yoshiakira, r. 1359–1368
3. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, r. 1368–1394
4. Ashikaga Yoshimochi, r. 1395–1423
5. Ashikaga Yoshikazu, r. 1423–1425
6. Ashikaga Yoshinori, r. 1429–1441
7. Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, r. 1442–1443
8. Ashikaga Yoshimasa, r. 1449–1473
9. Ashikaga Yoshihisa, r. 1474–1489
10. Ashikaga Yoshitane, r. 1490–1493, 1508–1521
11. Ashikaga Yoshizumi, r. 1494–1508
12. Ashikaga Yoshiharu, r. 1521–1546
13. Ashikaga Yoshiteru, r. 1546–1565
14. Ashikaga Yoshihide, r. 1568
15. Ashikaga Yoshiaki, r. 1568–1573

Tokugawa shōguns

Over the course of the Edo period, influential relatives of the shōgun included:

• Tokugawa Mitsukuni of the Mito domain
• Tokugawa Nariaki of the Mito domain
• Tokugawa Mochiharu of the Hitotsubashi branch
• Tokugawa Munetake of the Tayasu branch.
• Matsudaira Katamori of the Aizu branch.
• Matsudaira Sadanobu, born into the Tayasu branch, adopted into the Hisamatsu-Matsudaira of Shirakawa.

Pre-modern

Emperors

• Emperor Jinmu
• Emperor Kōbun
• Emperor Tenmu
• Emperor Go-Toba
• Emperor Go-Daigo

Commanders from loyal family

• Kibitsuhiko-no-mikoto
• Yamato Takeru
• Empress JingÅ«

Commanders in Thirty-Eight Years' War

• Ōtomo no Otomaro
• Sakanoue no Tamuramaro
• Aterui

Modern

• Anami Korechika
• Doihara Kenji
• Enomoto Takeaki
• Kuroki Itei (Kuroki Tamemoto)
• Matsui Iwane
• Ōta Minoru
• Suzuki Kantarō
• Tōgō Heihachirō
• Tōjō Hideki
• Yamamoto Isoroku
• Shiro Kawase
• Ishiwara Kanji

Musicians

Personalities

Comedians

Idols (male)

Idols (female)

Models

Musicians and singers (male)

Musicians and singers (female)

Tarento

• Aya Ueto
• Becky
• Kazushige Nagashima
• Kano sisters
• Matt Kuwata
• Mina Fukui
• Momoiro Clover Z
• Naomi Watanabe
• Roland (Japanese host)

Actors

Actresses

TV and radio personalities

• Iijima Ai
• Mao Inoue
• Kano sisters
• Sugita Kaoru
• Mino Monta
• Shinohara Tomoe

Others

• Kurihara Harumi
• Ghib Ojisan
• Papaya Suzuki
• Rina Gonoi

Prime Ministers

Meiji period (1868–1912)

Prime Ministers of Emperor Meiji

Taishō period (1912–1926)

Prime Ministers of Emperor Taishō

Shōwa period under 1890 Constitution (1926–1947)

Prime Ministers of Emperor Shōwa under 1890 Constitution

Shōwa period under 1947 Constitution (1947–1989)

Prime Ministers of Emperor Shōwa under 1947 Constitution

Heisei period (1989–2019)

Prime Ministers of Emperor Akihito

Reiwa period (2019–present)

Prime Ministers of Emperor Naruhito

Politicians

Religious leaders

Scientists

Mathematicians

Economists

Other notables

Other Japanese

See also

• List of people by nationality

References