Yamanaka (written: ; lit: "middle of mountain") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Akira Joe Yamanaka, singer for the Flower Travellin' Band *

Akiko Yamanaka thumb is a Special Ambassador for Peacebuilding of Japan. She was a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Otaru, Hokkaido and graduate ...

(born 1945), Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party *

Chihiro Yamanaka is a Japanese jazz pianist and composer, born in Kiryū, Gunma Prefecture."Chihiro Yamanaka BiographyAllMusic/ref> As of 2012, she was based in New York City. She has had more than a dozen albums as a leader, most of them being released by Verve ...

, Japanese jazz pianist and composer *

Daichi Yamanaka (born 1 May 1990) is a Japanese speed skater. Yamanaka competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics for Japan. In the 1000 metres he finished 36th overall. Yamanaka competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics for Japan. In the 500 metres he finished 5th over ...

(born 1990), Japanese speed-skater *

Hirofumi Yamanaka is a Japanese former baseball pitcher. He has played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Tokyo Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon P ...

(born 1985), professional Japanese baseball player * Hiroko Yamanaka (born 1978), retired Japanese female mixed martial arts fighter *

Lisa Yamanaka Lisa Jai Yamanaka is a Canadian actress. She is known as the voice of Wanda Li in ''The Magic School Bus'' and Yoko in ''Timothy Goes to School''. Yamanaka is also known for her work on ''Babar'' and ''Resident Evil 2''. She is also credited as L ...

, Japanese Canadian actress and voice actress *

Lois-Ann Yamanaka Lois-Ann Yamanaka (born September 7, 1961) is an American poet and novelist from Hawaii. Many of her literary works are written in Hawaiian Pidgin, and some of her writing has dealt with controversial ethnic issues. In particular, her works confro ...

(born 1961), Japanese American poet and novelist from Hawaii *

Miwako Yamanaka is a retired Japanese long-distance runner. Her first and only international medal came at the 1997 Summer Universiade where she took the bronze in the 10,000 metres. She won the Kobe Women's Half Marathon in 2001, setting a personal best time o ...

(born 1978), retired Japanese long-distance runner *, Japanese female table tennis player * Norio Yamanaka (born 1928) *, Japanese diver *

Ryoji Yamanaka is a former Japanese football player. Playing career Yamanaka was born in Oita Prefecture on April 19, 1983. After graduating from high school, he joined J2 League club Mito HollyHock in 2002. On October 23, he debuted as substitute defender f ...

(born 1983), former Japanese football player *

Ryosuke Yamanaka is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a left back for J1 League club Cerezo Osaka. International He made his Japan national football team debut on 20 November 2018 in a friendly against Kyrgyzstan and scored a goal in the second ...

(born 1993), Japanese football player *, Japanese footballer *

Ryuya Yamanaka is a Japanese professional boxer who held the WBO mini-flyweight title from 2017 to 2018. Background Yamanaka took up boxing in the sixth grade of elementary school, after having read a boxing manga called Hajime no Ippo. In the second year o ...

(born 1995), Japanese boxer *

Sadajirō Yamanaka Yamanaka Sadajirō (山中定次郎, August 20, 1866 - October 30, 1936) was an Osaka, Japan-based art dealer who arrived in the United States in 1894, opening a small antique shop in Chelsea, New York City, Boston (1899) and London (1900); also a ...

(1866-1936), Japanese art dealer * Sadao Yamanaka (1909–1938), Japanese film director and screenwriter * Sawao Yamanaka (born 1968), the frontman of the bands The Pillows *

Seiko Yamanaka is a former Japanese football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where t ...

(born 1989), Japanese football player *

Shino Yamanaka is a Japanese modern pentathlete. At the 2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 Augu ...

(born 1990), Japanese modern pentathlete * Shinsuke Yamanaka (born 1982), Japanese professional boxer *

Shinya Yamanaka is a Japanese stem cell researcher and a Nobel Prize laureate. He serves as the director of Center for iPS Cell (induced Pluripotent Stem Cell) Research and Application and a professor at the Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences at Kyoto ...

(born 1962), Japanese Nobel Prize-winning stem cell researcher *, Japanese ice hockey player *

Tsuyoshi Yamanaka was a Japanese freestyle swimmer. He competed in the 400 m, 1500 m and 4 × 200 m events at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won four silver medals; he also helped Japan win a bronze relay medal in 1964 by swimming in the heat, and placed f ...

(born 1939), Japanese olympic swimmer * Yamanaka Yukimori (1545–1578), Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period

Fictional characters

Ino Yamanaka The manga and anime series features an extensive cast of characters created by Masashi Kishimoto. The series takes place in a fictional universe where countries vie for power by employing ninja who can use superhuman abilities in combat. The s ...

, a character in the '' Naruto'' Anime and Manga *Inoichi Yamanaka, a character in the '' Naruto'' Anime and Manga *Sawako Yamanaka, a character in the '' K-ON!'' Anime and Manga

Fictional characters

See also