is a masculine

Japanese given name in modern times consist of a family name (surname) followed by a given name, in that order. Nevertheless, when a Japanese name is written in the Roman alphabet, ever since the Meiji era, the official policy has been to cater to Western expecta ...

which was popular during the

Shōwa period Shōwa may refer to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu Japanese eras * Jōwa (Heian ...

Possible writings

Isao can be written using different

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

characters and can mean: *功, "achievement" *勲, "meritorious" *績, "exploits" *公, "public" *勇男, "brave, man" *勇夫, "brave, man" *勇雄, "brave, masculine" *伊佐夫 *伊佐雄 *伊三男 The name can also be written in

hiragana is a Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''. It is a phonetic lettering system. The word ''hiragana'' literally means "flowing" or "simple" kana ("simple" originally as contrast ...

katakana is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji and in some cases the Latin script (known as rōmaji). The word ''katakana'' means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana characters are derived fr ...

People with the name

*, Japanese hammer thrower *

Isao Aoki is a Japanese professional golfer. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004. Career Aoki was born in Abiko, Chiba, Japan. He was introduced to golf while caddying at the Abiko Golf Club as a schoolboy. He turned professional in 19 ...

(功, born 1942), Japanese professional golfer *, Japanese ice hockey player *

Isao Harimoto is a Korean former Nippon Professional Baseball player and holder of the record for most hits in the Japanese professional leagues. An ethnic Korean, his birth name is Jang Hun (Hangul: 장훈, Hanja: 張勳). Harimoto has spent his life as a resi ...

(勲, born 1940), Zainichi Korean professional baseball player *

Isao Hashizume is a Japanese actor. He also worked as a narrator for documentaries, both on television and film. He trained as an actor at Bungakuza. 週刊現代6月5日号「私の地図」第485回 p84-86 Selected filmography Film Television Awards a ...

(功, born 1941), Japanese actor *, Japanese singer and composer * Isao Homma (born 1981), Japanese footballer who plays for Albirex Niigata *

Isao Inokuma was a Japanese judoka. He won a 1964 Summer Olympics medal table, gold medal in the heavyweight division (above 80 kg) at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and a world title in 1965.Isao Iwabuchi was a Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team. Club career Iwabuchi was born in Tochigi Prefecture on November 17, 1933. He played for Keio BRB was consisted of his alma mater Keio University players and graduates. He won ...

(born 1933), Japanese Olympic football player *, Japanese ice hockey player *, Japanese ice hockey player *

Isao Kikuchi Isao Kikuchi (9 December 1921 – 31 August 2017) was an American graphic designer, painter, carver and illustrator. Biography Isao Kikuchi was born in East Los Angeles on 9 December 1921, the second child of Yoriyuki Kikuchi – one of the ...

(born 1921), American graphic designer, painter, carver, illustrator *

Isao Kimura , also known as Kō Kimura, was a Japanese actor. He entered the Haiyūza theatre troupe in 1946. He appeared in several films directed by Akira Kurosawa, including '' Stray Dog'' (1949) as Yusa the criminal, and ''Seven Samurai'' (1954) as Kat ...

(功, 1923–1981), Japanese actor *

Isao Kubota is a Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ...

(born 1983), Japanese footballer who plays for Samut Songkhram *, Japanese actor *

Isao Matsumiya Isao Matsumiya is a Japanese politician. He attended the University of Tokyo. Matsumiya served as a member of the House of Representatives of Japan from 2000 to 2012. He was succeeded by Tomomi Inada for the 1st Fukui Prefecture is a prefec ...

, Japanese politician *

Isao Matsuoka is a longtime studio executive and former chairman of Toho Co., Ltd. The grandson of Toho founder Ichizō Kobayashi, he is a graduate of the prestigious Konan University. Matsuoka served as Chairman of the Toho Co., Ltd., for 14 years until his ...

(功, born 1934), Chairman of Toho *, Japanese motorcycle racer *, Japanese swimmer *

Isao Nakauchi was the founder of Daiei. Life and career Isao Nakauchi served in the Philippines as an infantryman during World War II. His business empire started in Osaka 1957 and it led to the creation of "American-style" supermarkets in Japan. In 1972 he ...

(功, 1922–2005), founder of Daiei *

Isao Obata was a pioneering Japanese master of Shotokan karate.Blair, R. L. (1972): "Karate is dying, says Isao Obata, disciple of the venerable Gichin Funakoshi, Founder of Modern Karate." ''Black Belt'', 10(10):27–33. He was a senior student of Gichin F ...

(1904–1976), pioneering Japanese master of Shotokan karate *

Isao Okano is a retired judoka who competed in the middleweight (−80 kg) division in the 1964 Summer Olympics.

(功, born 1944), Japanese judoka *

Isao Okawa (May 19, 1926 – March 16, 2001) was a Japanese businessman and the former Chairman of Sega. History Okawa was born in Osaka, Japan. As a young adult, he studied at Waseda University in Tokyo. After graduating from Waseda, he formed Comp ...

(功, 1926–2001), former Chairman of Sega *

Isao Okazaki was a Japanese right-wing activist who caused the Matsue Incident in 1945. Early years He was born in Shimane Prefecture in 1920. He graduated from Matsue Middle School in 1939 (now Shimane Prefectural Matsue Secondary High School). He worked ...

(功, 1920–2006), Japanese right-wing activist *, Japanese ice hockey player *

Isao Sasaki is a Japanese actor, voice actor, and singer. He has had voice roles in anime such as '' Legend of the Galactic Heroes'', ''Space Battleship Yamato'', and '' Gatchaman''. He has also performed the opening themes for anime such as ''Yamato'', ''S ...

, (功, Japanese anime singer, actor, and voice actor * Isao Shinohara, (篠原功), Japanese voice actor *, Japanese professional wrestler *

Isao Takahata was a Japanese director, screenwriter and producer. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he earned international critical acclaim for his work as a director of Japanese animated feature films. Born in Ujiyamada, Mie Prefecture, Takahata joined Toei ...

(勲, 1935–2018), Japanese anime director *

Isao Tamagawa was a Japanese actor. He appeared in the Japanese film ''Branded to Kill'', as Michihiko Yabuhara: the yakuza boss that hires Hanada and seduces his wife. Upon the discovery that his diamond smuggling operation has been burgled, he employs Hanada ...

(伊佐男, 1922–2004), Japanese actor *

Isao Tomita , often known simply as Tomita, was a Japanese composer, regarded as one of the pioneers of electronic music and space music, and as one of the most famous producers of analog synthesizer arrangements. In addition to creating note-by-note rea ...

(勲, born 1932), Japanese electronic music composer *, Japanese film director *

Isao Yamagata was a Japanese film actor. In 1942, Yamagata and So Yamamura formed the ''Bunkaza Theatre Company''. In 1949 he made his film debut with ''Kirareya Senta''. Yamagata became famous for his role in 1953 film '' Gate of Hell''. He became a charac ...

(1915–1996), Japanese film actor (fl. 1951 and 1984) *, Japanese diver *

Isao Yoneda ; (born August 20, 1977 in Hamburg, Germany) is a Japanese gymnast. He was raised in Tokyo. He is the 2004 Summer Olympics gold medalist in the team event and the bronze medalist in the high bar The horizontal bar, also known as the high ba ...

(功, born 1977), Japanese gymnast *

Isao Yukisada is a Japanese film director from Kumamoto. He served as assistant director on Shunji Iwai's ''Love Letter'', ''April Story'', and ''Swallowtail Butterfly''. Filmography Director * ''Open House'' (1998) * (Sunflower) (2000) * ''A Closing Day'' ...

(勲, born 1968), Japanese film director

Fictional characters

*Isao, a character in the manga series ''

How to Keep a Mummy is a Japanese manga series by Kakeru Utsugi. It has been serialized online via Comico Japan Comico is a webtoon portal based in Japan that is part of NHN Japan Corporation. NHN Japan first launched its webtoon platform Comico in Japan in ...

'' *

Isao Iinuma is a 1969 novel by Yukio Mishima, the second in his The Sea of Fertility, ''Sea of Fertility'' tetralogy. Mishima did much research to prepare for this novel, visiting locations recorded in the book and studying historical information about the ...

, protagonist of the novel ''Runaway Horses'' *

Isao Ohta This is a character guide to the manga and anime series '' Mobile Police Patlabor''. Characters Section 2 Division 2 ; : :English voice actors: Michael Schwartz (Central Park Media, TV/OVA), Peter Marinker (Manga, Movies 1-2), Roger C. Smi ...

(功), a character in the anime and manga series ''Mobile Police Patlabor'' *Kondo Isao, a character in the anime and manga series ''

Gin Tama is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hideaki Sorachi. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 2003 to September 2018, later in ''Jump Giga'' from December 2 ...

'' {{given name Japanese masculine given names