List of Japanese Americans
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The following is a list of famous Japanese Americans who have made significant contributions to the United States, or have appeared in the news numerous times:
Contents |
[edit] Arts and Entertainment
- Keiko Agena, actress (Gilmore Girls TV series)
- Toshiko Akiyoshi, musician, jazz
- Devon Aoki, model and actress
- Tsuru Aoki (1892 - 1961), Issei, actress
- Gregg Araki, film director
- Tadashi Asoma, a contemporary art painter
- Reiko Aylesworth, actress, best known for playing Michelle Dessler in the television series 24
- Maya Bond, singer-songwriter
- Dean Cain, Hapa, actor and best known for playing Superman in the television series Lois & Clark. Born Dean George Tanaka.
- Marie Eguro, actress, model, musician
- Takayo Fischer, Nisei, actress
- Tak Fujimoto, Nisei, cinematographer of many Hollywood films including The Silence of the Lambs and Ferris Bueller's Day Off
- John Fujioka, actor
- Dale Furutani, novelist
- Philip Kan Gotanda, Sansei, playwright
- Kayo Hatta (1958 - 2005), filmmaker (Sundance Award winner Picture Bride)
- Sessue Hayakawa (1889 - 1973), Issei, Academy Award nominated actor
- Amy Hill, Hapa, actress and performance artist (mother is Japanese)
- Naomi Hirahara, novelist and journalist
- Shizuko Hoshi, Shin-Issei (Japanese-born), actress
- Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, Nisei, novelist, author of Farewell to Manzanar
- James Iha, Guitarist for Smashing Pumpkins and A Perfect Circle
- Naomi Iizuka, Shin-Issei (Japanese-born), playwright
- Jeff Imada, actor, stuntman, stunt coordinator
- Carrie Ann Inaba, dancer, actress
- Lawson Fusao Inada, Nisei, poet
- Tatsuya Ishida, creator of the webcomic Sinfest
- Robert Ito (Canadian-born), actor, best known as "Dr. Sam Fujiyama" on the popular TV series Quincy, M.E.
- Jhene, singer
- Kenn Kashima, film editor, filmmaker
- Hiroshi Kashiwagi, Nisei, poet, playwright, actor
- Janice Kawaye, voice actress
- Ariane Koizumi, film actress
- Sho Kosugi, Shin-Issei (Japanese-born), actor and martial artist
- Eric Koyanagi, filmmaker
- Denise Kumagai, actress (Night Court TV series)
- Dan Kuramoto, Sansei, musician, composer, band-leader of Hiroshima
- Emily Kuroda, actress (Gilmore Girls TV series)
- Clyde Kusatsu, actor
- Bob Kuwahara animator for Walt Disney and Terrytoons. Created Hashimoto-san series.
- Sean Ono Lennon, Hapa, musician, son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono
- Sean Mackin, Hapa, violinist/backing vocals and sometimes vocals from Yellowcard (half-Japanese and half-Irish)
- Mako (1933 - 2006), Shin-Issei (Japanese-born), Oscar and Tony nominated actor, Founder of East West Players
- Lily Mariye, actress (ER), filmmaker
- Keiko Matsui, Shin-Issei (Japanese-born), jazz musician
- Nobu McCarthy (1934 - 2002), Shin-Issei (Japanese-born), Actress
- Kim Miyori, actress (St. Elsewhere TV series)
- Diane Mizota, dancer, actress, TV host
- Ken Mochizuki, author
- Pat Morita (1932 - 2005), Nisei, Academy Award nominated actor and comedian
- Doris Muramatsu, Girlyman band member
- Kent Nagano, conductor, Los Angeles Symphony
- Eric Nakamura, founder of Giant Robot magazine
- Suzy Nakamura, Sansei, actress
- Desmond Nakano, Sansei, director and screenwriter
- George Nakashima (1905 - 1990), Nisei, cabinetry, crafts movement, internment survivor
- Ken Narasaki, Sansei, actor and playwright (brother of Karen Narasaki)
- Hiro Narita, Shin-Issei (Japanese-born), cinematographer
- Nigo, member of the Teriyaki Boyz and owner of "a Bathing Ape"
- Lane Nishikawa, Sansei, actor and filmmaker
- Isamu Noguchi (1904 - 1988), Issei, artist, sculptor, designer
- Sophie Oda (1991 - ) child actress[1]
- Masi Oka, Shin-Issei (Japanese-born), Golden Globe nominated television actor (Heroes)[2]
- Daryn Okada, cinematographer, current president of American Society of Cinematographers
- Steven Okazaki, Sansei, Academy Award winning documentary filmmaker
- Ryo Okumoto, Spock's Beard band member
- Yuji Okumoto, Sansei, actor
- Lisa Onodera, film producer (Picture Bride, The Debut, Americanese)
- Seiji Ozawa, conductor, director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1973-2002
- Douglas Robb, Hapa, lead singer of Hoobastank, whose mother is Japanese American
- Bianca Ryan, Hapa, winner of America's Got Talent, Japanese American descent from mother's side
- Stan Sakai, cartoonist, creator of Usagi Yojimbo comic series
- Ed Sakamoto, Nisei, playwright
- Harold Sakata (1920 - 1982), Nisei, actor ("Odd Job" from James Bond film Goldfinger) and wrestler (see also Sports below)
- Sueo Serisawa (1910 - 2004), Issei, noted Californian Impressionist artist
- Jake Shimabukuro, ukulele virtuoso
- James Shigeta, Nisei, actor
- Jenny Shimizu, fashion model
- Yuki Shimoda (1921 - 1981), Nisei, actor
- Gary Shimokawa, television director
- Sab Shimono, actor
- Larry Shinoda, automotive designer noted for his work on the Corvette and the Boss 302 Mustang
- Mike Shinoda, Hapa, Linkin Park band member (father is Japanese)
- Jon Shirota, novelist and playwright
- Jack Soo (1916 - 1979), Nisei, actor ("Det. Sgt. Nick Yemana" from Barney Miller TV series)
- Pat Suzuki, Nisei, female singer in Broadway hit musical Flower Drum Song
- Shoji Tabuchi, Shin-Issei (Japanese-born), famous fiddler
- Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Shin-Issei (Japanese-born), actor
- Rene Tajima-Peña, Academy Award nominated documentary filmmaker (Who Killed Vincent Chin?)
- Rea Tajiri, Sansei, filmmaker
- Miiko Taka, actress, starred opposite Marlon Brando in Sayonara
- Iwao Takamoto (1925 - 2007), Nisei, animator/producer for Hanna Barbera, creator of Scooby Doo
- Cyril Takayama, illusionist
- George Takei, Nisei, actor, "Sulu" from Star Trek TV series and films
- Chris Tashima, Sansei, actor, Academy Award winning director
- Teppei Teranishi, Thrice band member
- Brian Tochi, Sansei, actor
- Marcus Toji, Yonsei, actor
- Marilyn Tokuda, Sansei, actress
- Tamlyn Tomita, Sansei on father's side (mother is Japanese/Filipina), actress
- Miyoshi Umeki, Shin-Issei (Japanese-born), Academy Award winning actress (Sayonara)
- Michael Toshiyuki Uno, Academy Award nominated director
- Hikaru Utada, singer/songwriter. Multi-million selling Japanese pop music star. Topped Billboard Club chart with "Devil Inside" in 2004
- Gedde Watanabe, Sansei, actor, Long Duk Dong in Sixteen Candles
- Don "the Dragon" Wilson, Hapa, actor in Hollywood action films, mother is Japanese (see also Sports below)
- Rachael Yamagata, singer (second-generation Japanese American father & German-Italian mother)
- Hiro Yamamoto, original bass player for Soundgarden
- Minoru Yamasaki (1912 - 1986), Nisei, architect, best known for the New York World Trade Center "Twin Towers."
- Iris Yamashita, Academy Award nominated screenwriter (Letters from Iwo Jima)
- Wakako Yamauchi, Nisei, playwright
- Patti Yasutake, actress who played "Nurse Alyssa Ogawa" on Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series
[edit] Business
- Glen Fukushima, Co-President and Representative Director, NCR Japan, Ltd., and former President, American Chamber of Commerce in Japan
- Scott Oki, former senior vice-president of sales and marketing for Microsoft
[edit] News/Media
- Guy Aoki, founder of Media Action Network for Asian Americans
- Ann Curry, newsreader on Today (mother is Japanese)
- Rob Fukuzaki, sports anchor for KABC-TV in Los Angeles
- James Hattori, pioneering network news correspondent
- Joseph Heco (1837 - 1897), fisherman and writer, first to publish Japanese language newspaper
- Michiko Kakutani, New York Times literary critic and author
- Ken Kashiwahara, Emmy winning television journalist
- Guy Kawasaki, author, Apple evangelist
- Gordon Morioka, photojournalist based in Cincinnati, Ohio (formerly with the Daton Journal Herald and the Cincinnati Enquirer)
- David Ono, anchorman for KABC-TV in Los Angeles
- Scott Sassa, former President, NBC West Coast
- Iva Toguri (1916 - 2006), radio broadcaster who has been nicknamed "Tokyo Rose"
- Wendy Tokuda, anchorwoman for San Francisco KRON 4
- Tricia Toyota, former anchorwoman, founder of Asian American Journalists Association
[edit] Military
- Terry Teruo Kawamura, Medal of Honor recipient, Sergeant First Class in Vietnam War
- Alice K. Kurashige, the first Japanese American woman to be commissioned in the United States Marine Corps
- Hiroshi Miyamura, Medal of Honor recipient, Corporal in Korean War
- James H. Mukoyama, Major General, first Asian American to command an Army division
- Sadao Munemori, Medal of Honor recipient, Private First Class in WW2
- Jiro Shimoda, Sergeant in WWII
- Eric Shinseki, United States Army General, Army Chief of Staff, 1999-2003
- Ehren Watada, Army Lieutenant to be tried by court martial (5 Feb. 2007) for refusal to deploy to Iraq.
- Bruce Yamashita, worked to expose racial discrimination in the United States Marine Corps
- Rodney James Takashi Yano, Medal of Honor recipient, Sergeant First Class in Vietnam War
[edit] Politics and Law
- Richard Aoki, civil rights activist and co-founder of the Black Panther Party
- George Ariyoshi, first Asian American governor of a U.S. state, Hawaii
- S. I. Hayakawa, former Senator from California and linguistics scholar
- Gordon Hirabayashi, plaintiff in Hirabayashi v. United States, which challenged Japanese-American internment during World War II
- Mazie Hirono, former lieutenant governor of State of Hawaii.
- Mike Honda, Congressman from California and community leader
- Paul Igasaki, former Vice Chair and Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Daniel Inouye, Senator from Hawaii, Medal of Honor recipient
- Lance Ito, judge, presided over O.J. Simpson criminal trial
- Yuri Kochiyama, the Japanese American civil rights activist and friend of Malcolm X
- Fred Korematsu, Medal of Freedom reciepient who argued against the internment
- Mari Matsuda, first tenured Asian American, female law professor in the United States
- Doris Matsui, widow of Robert Matsui who succeeded him in Congress
- Robert Matsui, late Congressman from California and former chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
- Spark Matsunaga, US Senator from Hawaii
- Stan Matsunaka, Colorado State Senator
- Norman Mineta, Congressman from California and Secretary of Transportation
- Patsy Takemoto Mink, first Asian American Congresswoman, Hawaii
- Paula A. Nakayama, Associate Justice of the Hawaii State Supreme Court
- Karen Narasaki, Executive Director of the Asian American Justice Center.
- Paul Tanaka, Mayor of the City of Gardena and Assistant Sheriff of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
- A. Wallace Tashima, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- Takuji Yamashita, early civil rights pioneer
[edit] Religion
- Robert T. Hoshibata, Bishop of the United Methodist Church
- Roy I. Sano, Bishop of the United Methodist Church
[edit] Science and Education
- Takeshi Amemiya, economist, Stanford professor
- Ted Fujita, creator of the Fujita scale
- Francis Fukuyama, economist and historian
- Yamato Ichihashi, one of the first Asian academics in the US
- Akira Iriye, historian, Professor at Harvard
- Michio Kaku, scientist known for his string field theory
- Shizuo Kakutani, mathematician, fixed-point theorem, professor at Yale University
- Dorinne K. Kondo, anthropologist
- John Maeda, computer scientist, artist, professor at MIT
- Yoichiro Nambu, physicist
- Ellison Onizuka, first Asian American astronaut; one of the "Challenger Seven"
- Charles J. Pedersen, organic chemist, Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry (mother is Japanese)
- Ronald Takaki (author), historian, University of California, Berkeley professor
- Susumu Tonegawa, Nobel Prize, Physiology or Medicine, 1987
[edit] Sports
- Bryan Clay, Olympic silver medalist and 2005 world champion in the decathlon.
- Paul Fujii, professional boxer and WBA Junior Welterweight Champion.
- Tadd Fujikawa, Teen golf phenom.
- Hiroto Hirashima, member of the American Bowling Congress Hall of Fame.
- Christian Hosoi, professional skateboarder.
- Bryan Iguchi, professional snowboarder.
- Rena Inoue, first place in the 2004 and 2006 U.S. Figure Skating Championships (pairs).
- Miki Gorman, two-time winner of both the Boston and New York City marathons; former American and unofficial world record holder in the marathon.
- Ford Konno, U.S.A Olympic swimmer and Olympic champion.
- Tommy Kono, Olympic gold medalist (twice) weightlifter.
- Shogo Kubo, professional skateboarder.
- Wataru Misaka, professional basketball pioneer.
- Chad Morton, running back for the Washington Redskins.
- Johnnie Morton, wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs.
- Hikaru Nakamura, chess grandmaster and former US champion.
- Keo Nakata swimmer and world record holder.
- Apolo Anton Ohno, Olympic short track speed skating competitor.
- Dan Osman, extreme sport practitioner.
- Lance Otsubo, won the 2004 U.S. Individual National Spearfishing Championships.
- Yoshinobu Oyakawa, U.S.A Olympic swimmer and Oylympic champion.
- Dave Roberts, Professional baseball player.
- Soichi Sakamoto, Olympic swimming coach and member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
- Harold Sakata, 1948 Olympic medalist weightlifter.
- Lenn Sakata, Professional baseball player for the World Series Champions Baltimore Orioles.
- Derek Tatsuno, baseball player and selected to the All-Time All-Star Team of Collegiate Baseball America.
- Don "the Dragon" Wilson, 11 World Championships in Kickboxing, 28 starring roles in Hollywood Action Films, mother Toshie Hoshino Wilson is Japanese...
- Kristi Yamaguchi, Olympic Gold Medalist figure skater
- Lindsey Yamasaki, Professional basketball player (Miami Sol, New York Liberty, San Jose Spiders), Stanford University (basketball, volleyball)
- Roger Yasukawa, auto-racing driver (IRL)
- Wally Kaname Yonamine, Football player, first Japanese American in the NFL, as well as a professional baseball player in Nippon Professional Baseball League.
