Kenichi Matsuyama

I'll always have a soft spot for Kenichi Matsuyama because of his L in Death Note, that hunched, sugar-devouring oddball he made completely his own and somehow lovable. What gets me is how a guy with the looks to coast as a leading man instead keeps diving headfirst into the strangest roles he can find. He came out of Mutsu, a small town up in Aomori, and quietly built himself into one of Japan's most chameleonic actors, racking up a Japanese Academy Prize and an Élan d'or along the way without ever seeming the least bit precious about it. At 180 centimeters he photographs like a star, yet I love that he reportedly got into forestry and rural living, refusing to play the glossy celebrity game. There's something genuinely cool about that kind of restless, unbothered career.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

Kenichi Matsuyama is a Japanese actor and model born on March 5, 1985, in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture. He has established himself as one of Japan's leading actors, earning the Japan Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2007 and Best Actor in 2009, as well as the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor in 2017. He is known for his willingness to take on physically and emotionally demanding roles across a wide range of genres.

Name (English)

Kenichi Matsuyama

Name (Japanese)

松山ケンイチ

Reading

まつやま けんいち

Born

March 5, 1985 (age 41)

Origin

Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, Japan

Height

180 cm

Occupation

Actor / Model / Fashion Model

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Pisces / Ox

Blood type

B

Agency

ホリプロ

Active years

2001 -

Awards & achievements

• 2007 – Elan d'Or Award, New Actor Prize
• 2007 – Japan Academy Award, Best Supporting Actor
• 2009 – Japan Academy Award, Best Actor
• 2017 – Blue Ribbon Award, Best Actor
• Unknown year – Mainichi Film Award, Best Actor

Spouse

小雪

Works summary

Appearances

169 (2002–2027)

By year

2002: 1, 2003: 5, 2004: 8, 2005: 9, 2006: 7, 2007: 11, 2008: 9, 2009: 11, 2010: 6, 2011: 4, 2012: 6, 2013: 3, 2014: 6, 2015: 7, 2016: 6, 2017: 6, 2018: 4, 2019: 6, 2020: 5, 2021: 5, 2022: 5, 2023: 4, 2024: 4, 2025: 9, 2026: 9, 2027: 1

Filmography / notable works

• Official sitehttp://www.horipro.co.jp/hm/matuyama/
• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/momiji2022_official/
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9D%BE%E5%B1%B1%E3%82%B1%E3%83%B3%E3%82%A4%E3%83%81
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q360986

Tags

• From Aomori Prefecture
• Actor
• Model
• Fashion Model

Last updated

September 18, 2026

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Works and profile fields sourced from Wikipedia reflect content as of 2026-08-26. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.