Thirty Years on the Throne: The Singular Case of Takuya Kimura
Sitting on the throne of "the coolest man in Japan" for over thirty years, who else could possibly pull that off? It's a stretch of time long enough to wear out anyone's welcome. And yet Takuya Kimura still only has to flip his hair and deliver a line to command the gaze of every generation and gender at once.
He began as an idol, then expanded into acting, singing, and voice work, becoming a genuinely different person in each role. Surfing, fishing, photography, every one of his hobbies somehow turns into a picture. The universe was rather greedy in packing this much talent into a single human being.
This is the story of a boy born in Chofu, Tokyo, who became a proper noun unto himself: "Kimutaku."
From a Single Resume
Takuya Kimura was born on November 13, 1972, in Chofu, Tokyo. His entry into show business came not from his own ambition but from a single resume that his aunt mailed to Johnny & Associates. In 1987, he joined the agency.
After attending Isobe Daiichi Junior High School in Chiba, he moved through high school, transferring from Komabashi High to the part-time course at Tokyo Metropolitan Yoyogi High. He did not go on to university, immersing himself early in the entertainment world. In 1988 he began performing as a member of SMAP, and in 1991 the group made its CD debut with "Can't Stop!! -LOVING-."
A Social Phenomenon
The turning point arrived in 1996. His starring drama Long Vacation became a smash hit with ratings exceeding 30 percent, and his name went national almost overnight. The dramas that followed, Love Generation and Beautiful Life among them, each produced era-defining hits.
Then, in 2001, the prosecutor Kuryu Kohei whom he played in the crime drama HERO drew an astonishing average rating of 30.6 percent and became his signature role. The nickname "Kimutaku" grew to mean more than one man; it came to stand for an entire era.
From Idol to Actor
Dismiss him as a mere idol and he'll catch you off guard. Whether as Kuryu in HERO or the stubborn chef in Grand Maison Tokyo, the moment he stepped into a role he became a different person entirely. In 2004 he voiced the title character Howl in Studio Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle, revealing yet another side as a voice actor.
With the 2017 film Blade of the Immortal and the 2019 drama Grand Maison Tokyo, he kept winning Best Leading Actor awards even as he aged. His performances quietly reduced the "former idol" label to nothing more than a footnote.
Talent That Feels Like Cheating
He is not only versatile as an actor; his off-screen self is just as wide-ranging. His hobbies include surfing, fishing, darts, photography, and watching anime, and his listed specialties are painting and kendo. Somehow, every one of them turns into a perfectly composed image.
In his private life, he married singer Shizuka Kudo in 2000, and the couple has two daughters, Cocomi and Koki. The daughters have each begun walking their own paths as performers, extending the Kimura family's story into a new generation.
Disbandment, and Unshaken Presence
In 2016, SMAP, long at the center of Japanese entertainment, disbanded. For many fans it marked the end of an era, yet the presence of Takuya Kimura himself never wavered.
In 2023 his affiliation moved from Johnny & Associates to STARTO ENTERTAINMENT, but as an actor and a singer he has remained on the front line. With roughly 4.2 million followers on Instagram, far along in a long career, he continues to be a living symbol of relevance.
More than thirty years at the top, and not a trace of having gone stale. If anything, he keeps revealing a new face each time, and in the end yields his place to no one.
"Kimutaku can only be Kimutaku." That single line says everything. This, surely, is exactly what it means to be one of a kind.