Most Famous People from Japan
Japan has produced 2,162 notable individuals throughout history, with athletes and actors being the most represented categories. The highest-ranked is Hayao Miyazaki. Rankings are based on a cross-verified academic dataset of 152,953 people.
Category All
Citizenship All
HM
Hayao Miyazaki Japanese Film Born 1941
#
224
AK
Akira Kurosawa Japanese Film 1910 – 1998
#
273
HM
Haruki Murakami Japanese Writer Born 1949
#
569
H
Hirohito Japanese Emperor 1901 – 1989
#
941
TK
Takeshi Kitano Japanese Film Born 1947
#
1,194
OT
Osamu Tezuka Japanese Film 1928 – 1989
#
1,458
TM
Toshiro Mifune Japanese Actor 1920 – 1997
#
1,533
YK
Yasunari Kawabata Japanese Writer 1899 – 1972
#
1,569
MB
Matsuo Bashō Japanese Poet 1644 – 1694
#
1,920
A
Akihito Japanese Monarch Born 1933
#
1,966
KŌ
Kenzaburō Ōe Japanese Writer Born 1935
#
2,303
ON
Oda Nobunaga Japanese Daimyo 1534 – 1582
#
2,447
H
Hiroshige Japanese Painter 1797 – 1858
#
2,678
IT
Isao Takahata Japanese Film 1935 – 2018
#
2,766
AH
Ayumi Hamasaki Japanese Singer Born 1978
#
3,062
MM
Miyamoto Musashi Japanese Writer 1584 – 1645
#
3,092
YK
Yayoi Kusama Japanese Artist Born 1929
#
3,141
TH
Toyotomi Hideyoshi Japanese Politician 1536 – 1598
#
3,206
NS
Natsume Sōseki Japanese Writer 1867 – 1916
#
3,332
TA
Tadao Ando Japanese Architect Born 1941
#
3,334