Akira Emoto

Akira Emoto is, for my money, one of Japan's great character actors. Starting from comedy and Tokyo's downtown roots, he developed into a performer who can pivot from laughter to quiet devastation within a single scene. The honors speak volumes, a Blue Ribbon for Best Supporting Actor back in 1983, the Medal with Purple Ribbon, and the Order of the Rising Sun. What I love most is his ability to command attention even in the smallest roles. As the head of an acting family and a voice talent besides, he embodies a kind of total commitment to the craft that I deeply admire.

Name (English)

Akira Emoto

Name (Japanese)

柄本明

Reading

えもと あきら

Born

November 3, 1948 (age 77)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Scorpio / Rat

Origin

Chūō, Tokyo, Japan

Height

175 cm

Occupation

actor / comedian

Awards & achievements

• 2011 Medal with Purple Ribbon
• 1983 Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Supporting Actor
• 2019 The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette

• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira%20Emoto
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9F%84%E6%9C%AC%E6%98%8E
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q873921

Tags

• Tokyo
• actor
• comedian

Last updated

2026-06-21

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.