Photo: The original uploader was Thewomensgame at English Wikipedia. / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Azusa Iwashimizu is the kind of player who never got enough credit outside Japan, and that's a shame, because she was absolutely central to one of the greatest upsets in women's football history — Nadeshiko Japan's 2011 World Cup win, which the whole country needed badly in the months after the Tohoku disaster. A defender from rural Iwate who came up through Nippon Sport Science University, she spent her career doing the unglamorous work: holding the line, reading the game, putting her body where it needed to be. At 163cm she was never going to physically dominate, so she had to be smarter than everyone else, and mostly she was. The fact that her hometown made her an honorary citizen tells you everything — she carried Iwate on her back without making a fuss about it. That quiet, load-bearing toughness is genuinely rare, and I have a lot of respect for it.
Overview
Azusa Iwashimizu is a Japanese professional soccer player born on October 14, 1986, in Takizawa, Iwate Prefecture. She graduated from Nippon Sport Science University, where she developed her athletic foundation. Her contributions to the sport earned her an honorary citizenship award from her home community. She maintains active social media accounts on Instagram and X.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Azusa Iwashimizu
- Name (Japanese)
- 岩清水梓
- Reading
- いわしみず あずさ
- Born
- October 14, 1986 (age 39)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Libra / Tiger (Tora)
- Origin
- Takizawa, Iwate Prefecture, Japan
- Height
- 163cm
- Occupation
- Soccer player
2. Background
- University
- Nippon Sport Science University
Awards & achievements
- Honorary Citizen (year unknown)
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Azusa Iwashimizu born?
Born October 14, 1986 (age 39).
Where is Azusa Iwashimizu from?
Azusa Iwashimizu is from Takizawa, Iwate Prefecture, Japan.
What does Azusa Iwashimizu do?
Azusa Iwashimizu works as Soccer player.
How tall is Azusa Iwashimizu?
Azusa Iwashimizu is 163cm.
Soccer player — see all → · More people from Japan →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
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.