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 74) 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]
2025	Sham			[19]
	The Last Blossom	The current Minoru Akutsu (voice)	Leading role	[20]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref
1982	Tōge no Gunzō	Fuwa Kazuemon	Taiga drama	[21]
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	[22]
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	[23]
	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	[24]
	Kyojo 2	Takeshi Shindo	Miniseries	[25]
2023	The Days	Furuya		[26]
	Kazama Kimichika: Kyojo Zero	Takeshi Shindo		[25]
	Fixer	Deputy prime minister Ichirō Suzaki		[27]
2024	The Tiger and Her Wings	Shigechika Hodaka	Asadora	[28]
2025	1972: Nagisa no Keika	Taiei Tamashiro	Miniseries	[29]
	Pray Speak What Has Happened	Taro Furosu		[30]

Dubbing

• The West Wing (seasons 1-4), Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen)^[31]

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Work(s)	Result	Ref.
1979	4th Hochi Film Award	Best New Artist	18sai, umi e	Won	[32]
1986	59th Kinema Junpo Awards	Best Supporting Actor	Sorekara	Won
	9th Japan Academy Film Prize	Best Supporting Actor	Sorekara and Love Letter	Won	[33]
1987	8th Yokohama Film Festival	Best Supporting Actor	Sorobanzuku	Won	[34]
2000	23rd Japan Academy Film Prize	Best Actor	Himitsu and Coquille	Nominated	[35]
2008	31st Japan Academy Film Prize	Best Supporting Actor	Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad	Won	[36]
2009	30th Yokohama Film Festival	Best Actor	Kyūka and Kanki no Uta	Won	[37]
2017	26th Japanese Movie Critics Awards	Best Actor	Midnight Diner 2	Won