Kaoru Kobayashi (actor)

This article is about the actor. For the murderer of the same name, see Kaoru Kobayashi (murderer).

Kaoru Kobayashi (小林 薫, Kobayashi Kaoru, born on September 4, 1951) is a Japanese actor born in Kyoto. A multi-award winning thespian, he won best actor at the 30th Yokohama Film Festival^[1] and best-supporting actor at the 8th Yokohama Film Festival for Sorobanzuku.^[2]

Kaoru Kobayashi
Born	(1951-09-04) September 4, 1951 (age 73) Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1971–present
Spouse(s)	Kumi Nakamura (1984–1995) Koume (2009–)
Children	1

Career

Kobayashi starred in Yoichi Sai's Quill.^[3] He also appeared in Yuya Ishii's The Great Passage^[4] He appeared as "Master", the lead character in the Japanese TV series Midnight Diner and the two full-length films based on the series.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref
1977	Ballad of Orin
1979	18sai, umi e
1982	Yaju-deka
1984	The Funeral
1985	Sorekara
	Paradise View
	Love Letter
1986	Sorobanzuku
1987	Twilight of the Cockroaches	Saito
1989	Untamagiru	Giru	Leading role
1997	Princess Mononoke	Jiko-bō (voice)
1999	Himitsu	Heisuke Sugita	Leading role
	The Black House			[5]
2003	Like Asura
2004	Quill
2006	The Blossoming of Kamiya Etsuko
	Tales from Earthsea	The King (voice)
2007	Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad
2008	Vacation
2009	Kamui Gaiden	Hanbei
2010	Boys on the Run	Suzuki
	A Crowd of Three
	Haru's Journey
	Abraxas
	Sketches of Kaitan City
2011	The Egoists
2013	The Great Passage	Araki
	Summer's End
2015	Midnight Diner	The Master	Leading role
2016	Midnight Diner 2	The Master	Leading role
	Fueled: The Man They Called Pirate	Jisaku Kōga
2017	Kiseki: Sobito of That Day	Morita
	Mukoku	Shōzō Yatabe
	Lear on the Shore
	Miracles of the Namiya General Store
2018	The Miracle of Crybaby Shottan	Fujita
2019	His Lost Name	Tetsurō
	The Island of Cats
2020	Independence of Japan	Shigeru Yoshida		[6]
2021	We Made a Beautiful Bouquet	Hirotarō Yamane		[7]
	Arc			[8]
2022	Yes, I Can't Swim	Professor Kamoshita		[9]
	A Winter Rose			[10]
	Dr. Coto's Clinic 2022	Shōichi Hoshino		[11]
2023	Trapped Balloon	Shigezō Kojima		[12]
	Baian the Assassin, M.D.	Tsuyama Etsudō		[13]
	Baian the Assassin, M.D. 2	Tsuyama Etsudō		[13]
	Tsugaru Lacquer Girl	Miyako's father		[14]
	Kubi	Tokugawa Ieyasu		[15]
	The Boy and the Heron	Old Pelican (voice)		[16]
2024	The Yin Yang Master Zero	Fujiwara no Yoshisuke		[17]
	Promised Land	Shimoyama		[18]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref
1982	Tōge no Gunzō	Fuwa Kazuemon	Taiga drama
1992	The Last U-Boat	Tatsumi	TV movie
1996–2015	Naniwa Kin'yūdō	Sumio Kuwata
2003–2006	Dr. Coto's Clinic	Shoichi Hoshino	2 seasons	[11]
2009–2014	Midnight Diner	The Master	Leading role
2011	Carnation	Zensaku Ohara	Asadora
2015	The Emperor's Cook	Kaneichi Usami
	Koinaka: Best Friends in Love	Hirotoshi Serizawa
2016	Botchan	Madonna's father	Special appearance, TV movie
	Hibana	Watanabe
2016–2019	Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories	The Master	Leading role
2017	Naotora: The Lady Warlord	Reverend Nankei	Taiga drama	[19]
	Ties: A Miraculous Colt	Kayama	Miniseries
	Heaven	Hajime Doisaki	Miniseries
2018	Hagetaka	Ryōsuke Iijima
2019	The Great White Tower	Mataichi Zaizen	Miniseries
2021	Reach Beyond the Blue Sky	Shibusawa Ichirōemon	Taiga drama	[20]
	Kyojo 2	Takeshi Shindo	Miniseries	[21]
2023	The Days	Furuya		[22]
	Kazama Kimichika: Kyojo Zero	Takeshi Shindo		[21]
	Fixer	Deputy prime minister Ichirō Suzaki		[23]
2024	The Tiger and Her Wings	Shigechika Hodaka	Asadora	[24]

Dubbing

• The West Wing (seasons 1-4), Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen)^[25]

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Work(s)	Result	Ref.
1979	4th Hochi Film Award	Best New Artist	18sai, umi e	Won	[26]
1986	59th Kinema Junpo Awards	Best Supporting Actor	Sorekara	Won
	9th Japan Academy Film Prize	Best Supporting Actor	Sorekara and Love Letter	Won	[27]
1987	8th Yokohama Film Festival	Best Supporting Actor	Sorobanzuku	Won
2000	23rd Japan Academy Film Prize	Best Actor	Himitsu and Coquille	Nominated	[28]
2008	31st Japan Academy Film Prize	Best Supporting Actor	Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad	Won	[29]
2009	30th Yokohama Film Festival	Best Actor	Kyūka and Kanki no Uta	Won	[30]
2017	26th Japanese Movie Critics Awards	Best Actor	Midnight Diner 2	Won

References

1. 第30回ヨコハマ映画祭 2008年日本映画個人賞 (in Japanese). Yokohama Film Festival. Archived from the original on September 28, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2010.
2. 第8回ヨコハマ映画祭 1986年日本映画個人賞 (in Japanese). Yokohama Film Festival. Archived from the original on September 28, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2010.
3. Tobias, Scott (May 17, 2012). "Quill: The Life Of A Guide Dog - Film - Movie Review". The A.V. Club. The Onion.
4. Teh, Yvonne (August 22, 2013). "Film Review: Tongue-tied linguist's lexicon of love in The Great Passage". South China Morning Post.
5. "黒い家". eiga.com. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
6. "浅野忠信＆宮沢りえが白洲次郎、正子夫妻 小林薫が吉田茂に 「日本独立」12月18日公開". eiga.com. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
7. "清原果耶＆オダギリジョーら『花束みたいな恋をした』追加キャスト発表". Cinema Cafe. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
8. "芳根京子が石川慶の監督作「Arc」で不老不死に、寺島しのぶや岡田将生ら共演". Natalie. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
9. "はい、泳げません". eiga.com. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
10. "冬薔薇（ふゆそうび）". eiga.com. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
11. "映画「Dr.コトー診療所」に柴咲コウ、時任三郎、大塚寧々ら出演！富岡涼も参加". Natalie. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
12. "とべない風船". eiga.com. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
13. "新たな鬼平 新たな梅安". Jidaigeki Senmon Channel. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
14. "高森さん(三戸)小説原作の映画｢バカ塗りの娘｣ 10日から弘前で撮影開始". The To-o Nippo Pressl. 10 September 2022. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
15. "北野武監督『首』今秋公開決定！ティザービジュアルが解禁！". Fan's Voice. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
16. 「君たちはどう生きるか」ストーリー、声優、主題歌が明らかに [Story, voice actors, and theme song revealed for "How Do You Live?"]. Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. July 14, 2023. Archived from the original on July 14, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
17. "陰陽師0". eiga.com. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
18. "プロミスト・ランド". eiga.com. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
19. "おんな城主直虎". Haiyaku Jiten. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
20. "青天を衝け". TV drama database. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
21. "堀田真由、ジャニーズWEST・濵田崇裕ら『風間公親－教場0－』新キャストに決定 前作より小林薫＆小日向文世も出演". Crank-in!. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
22. "役所広司主演「THE DAYS」ティザー予告に竹野内豊、小日向文世、小林薫". Natalie. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
23. "「連続ドラマW フィクサー」ビジュアル＆予告、唐沢寿明が政界を舞台に暗躍". Natalie. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
24. "松山ケンイチ＆小林薫、朝ドラ『虎に翼』出演決定 伊藤沙莉の"師匠"となる法曹界の人物に". Real Sound. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
25. "ザ・ホワイトハウス". SuperDramaTV. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
26. "過去の受賞一覧". Hochi Shimbun. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
27. "第9回 日本アカデミー賞（1986年）". eiga.com. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
28. "第23回 日本アカデミー賞（2000年）". eiga.com. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
29. "第31回 日本アカデミー賞（2008年）". eiga.com. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
30. "第30回ヨコハマ映画祭: 2008年日本映画個人賞". homepage3.nifty.com (in Japanese). Yokohama Film Festival. 2008-12-16. Archived from the original on 2012-09-28. Retrieved 2009-02-06.

External links

• Official profile (in Japanese)
• Kaoru Kobayashi at IMDb