Yoshio

Yoshio is both a masculine Japanese given name and a Japanese surname.

Written forms

Yoshio can be written using many different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples:

• 義雄, "justice, masculine"
• 義男, "justice, man"
• 義夫, "justice, husband"
• 吉雄, "good luck, masculine"
• 吉男, "good luck, man"
• 吉夫, "good luck, husband"
• 善雄, "virtuous, masculine"
• 善男, "virtuous, man"
• 善夫, "virtuous, husband"
• 芳雄, "fragrant/virtuous, masculine"
• 芳男, "fragrant/virtuous, man"
• 芳夫, "fragrant/virtuous, husband"
• 喜雄, "rejoice, masculine"
• 喜男, "rejoice, noble"
• 喜夫, "rejoice, husband"
• 慶雄, "congratulate, masculine"
• 佳夫, "fine, husband"
• 嘉男, "excellent, man"
• 余四男, "too much, 4, man"
• 誉士夫, "reputation, knight, husband"

The name can also be written in hiragana よしお or katakana ヨシオ.

Notable people with the name

• , Japanese zoologist
• Yoshio Anabuki (穴吹 義雄, 1933–2018), Japanese former baseball player and former manager of the Nankai Hawks
• Yoshio Fujiwara, (藤原 良夫, Birth and death unknown) former Japanese football player
• Yoshio Fukuyama (福山 喜雄, 1921–1995), theologian who holds a doctorate in sociology from the University of Chicago
• Yoshio Furukawa (古川 好男, born 1934), former Japanese football player
• Yoshio Hachiro (鉢呂 吉雄, born 1948), Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)
• Yoshio Harada (原田 芳雄, 1940–2011), Japanese actor
• , Japanese ice hockey player
• , Japanese triple jumper
• Yoshio Inaba (稲葉 義男, 1920–1998), Japanese actor who played Gorobei in Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai
• Yoshio Ishida (石田 芳夫, born 1948), professional Go player
• Yoshio Kato (加藤 好男, born 1957), former Japanese football player
• Yoshio Kawai (河合 義雄, born 1954), Japanese voice actor
• Yoshio Kikugawa (菊川 凱夫, born 1944), former Japanese football player
• Yoshio Kimura (木村 義雄, born 1948), Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party
• Yoshio Kimura (shogi) (木村 義雄, 1905–1986), Japanese shogi player
• Yoshio Kitagawa (北川 佳男, born 1978), former Japanese football player
• Yoshio Kitajima (北島 義生, born 1975), Japanese football player
• Yoshio Kodaira (小平 義雄, 1905–1949), Japanese rapist and serial killer
• Yoshio Kodama (児玉 誉士夫, 1911–1984), prominent figure in the rise of organized crime in Japan
• , Japanese footballer
• Yoshio Kojima (小島 義雄, born 1980), Japanese comedian famous for appearing in only a small bathing suit
• Yoshio Kushida (串田 嘉男, born 1957), Japanese astronomer
• Yoshio Machida (町田 良夫, born 1967), experimental musician, a steelpanist, composer, and visual artist
• Yoshio Maki (牧 義夫, born 1958), Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan
• Yoshio Makino (牧野 義雄, 1869–1956), Japanese artist and author who spent much of his life in London
• Yoshio Masui (増井 禎夫, born 1931), Japanese cell biologist
• Yoshio Mikami (三上 義夫, 1875–1950), Japanese mathematician and wasan historian
• Yoshio Miki (三木 義雄, 1905–????), Japanese hurdler
• , Japanese rower
• Yoshio Mochizuki (望月 義夫, 1947–2019), Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party
• , Japanese racewalker
• Yoshio Nakagawa (中川 義雄, born 1938), Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party
• , Japanese judoka
• Yoshio Nishi (西 義郎, 1934–2019), Japanese scholar of Tibeto-Burman linguistics
• Yoshio Nishina (仁科 芳雄, 1890–1951), the founding father of modern physics research in Japan
• , Japanese idol, musician and actor
• Yoshio Oishi (大石 良雄, 1659–1703), the chamberlain of the Akō han in Harima Province, Japan (1679–1701)
• Yoshio Okada (岡田 吉夫, 1926–2002), former Japanese football player
• Yoshio Sakai (酒井 義雄, 1910–?), Japanese field hockey player
• Yoshio Sakamoto (坂本 賀勇, born 1959), Japanese game designer working for Nintendo
• Yoshio Sakurauchi (櫻内 義雄, 1912–2003), Japanese politician
• Yoshio Sawai (澤井 啓夫, born 1977), Japanese gag manga creator
• , Japanese cyclist
• Yoshio Shinozuka (篠塚 良雄, 1923–2014), former Imperial Army soldier who served with a top secret Japanese biological warfare group in World War II
• Yoshio Shirai (白井 義男, 1923–2003), professional boxer from Tokyo, Japan
• , Japanese sociologist
• Yoshio Tabata (田端 義夫, 1919–2013), Japanese ryÅ«kōka and enka singer, songwriter and electric guitarist
• Yoshio Tachibana (立花 芳夫, 1890–1946), lieutenant general of the Japanese Imperial Army
• Yoshio Taniguchi (谷口 吉生, 1937–2024), Japanese architect who redesigned the Museum of Modern Art in New York
• Yoshio Tarui (樽井 芳雄, 1902–1977), Japanese photographer
• Yoshio Tezuka (手塚 仁雄, born 1966), Japanese politician
• Yoshio Tsuchiya (土屋 嘉男, 1927–2017), Japanese actor who has appeared in several films
• Yoshio Ueki (植木 善大, born 1969), professional Go player
• Yoshio Urushibara (漆原 良夫, born 1944), Japanese politician of the New Komeito Party
• Yoshio Utsumi (内海 善雄, born 1942), the secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union 1998–2006
• Yoshio Watanabe (渡辺 義雄, 1907–2000), renowned Japanese photographer
• Yoshio Yamada (山田 孝雄||1873–1958), Japanese linguist
• Yoshio Yatsu (è°·æ´¥ 義男, 1934–2021), Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party
• Yoshio Yoda (ヨシオ・ジェームス・ヨダ, 1934–2023), Japanese-American actor who played Fuji Kobiaji on the television series McHale's Navy
• Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男, 1933–2025), Japanese baseball player and manager
• Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 好雄, 1921 – before 2000), Japanese World War II flying ace

Notable people with the surname Yoshio

• Kosaku Yoshio (吉雄 耕牛, 1724–1800), Japanese scholar of "Dutch studies", and the chief Dutch translator in Nagasaki
• , Japanese sprint canoeist

Fictional characters

Yoshio Saotome (早乙女 好雄), from Tokimeki Memorial

Nicknames and other uses

Yoshio, artistic name of Mexican-Japanese singer born Gustavo Nakatani Ávila