Kazuo

Kazuo
Pronunciation	Kazuo
Gender	Male
Language(s)	Japanese
Origin
Word/Name	Japanese
Meaning	It can have many different meanings depending on the kanji used.

Kazuo is a Japanese given name for males. See Japanese name.

Alternate writings

Its has several written forms, and the meaning depends on the characters used (usually kanji, but sometimes hiragana). Common forms include:

• 一雄: first son, first in leadership/excellence
• 一夫: first son
• 一男: first man/male

• 和夫: harmonious/peaceful man
• 和男: harmonious/peaceful man
• かずお (hiragana)
• カズオ (katakana)

Real People

• Kazuo Aoki, Japanese government minister during the Second Sino-Japanese War, and into World War II
• Kazuo Chiba (born 1940), aikido
• Kazuo Harada (died 1998), anime producer, audio director, and sound effects director
• Kazuo Hirai (born 1964), 平井一夫, President/CEO of Sony Computer
• Kazuo Endo, Kobe Earthquake survivor
• Kazuo Hashimoto, late Japanese inventor of Caller ID and the telephone answering machine, including the ansafone.
• Kazuo Hiramatsu, accounting scholar, president of Kwansei Gakuin University
• Kazuo Hirotsu (1891–1968), Japanese novelist and literary critic active in the Showa period Japan
• Kazuo Ichinohe (born 1941), Japanese voice actor (stage name Shin Aomori)
• Kazuo Inamori (born 1932), Japanese businessman
• Kazuo Ishiguro (born 1954), 石黒一雄, British author
• Kazuo Kitagawa (born 1953), 北側一雄, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in the Japanese Cabinet of Junichiro Koizumi
• Kazuo Koike (born 1936), 小池一夫, manga artist
• Kazuo Komizu (born 1946), Japanese film director
• Kazuo Kubokawa (1903–1943), 窪川一雄, astronomer
• Kazuo Matsui (born 1975), 松井稼頭央, baseball player
• Kazuo Misaki (born 1976), Japanese professional mixed martial arts fighter and former judoka
• Kazuo Miyagawa (1908–1999), 宮川一夫, cinematographer
• Kazuo Mizutani 水谷和夫, Chief of Staff of Japanese Imperial Guard during the close of World War II
• Kazuo Nakanishi (1922–2003), briefly the leader of the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza syndicate in the chaotic years of the Yama-Ichi War
• Kazuo Ohno (1906–2010), Japanese dancer associated with Butoh
• Kazuo Oka (born 1948), Japanese voice actor
• Kazuo Sakamaki (1918–1999), 酒巻和男, first prisoner of war held by USA in World War II
• Kazuo Sakurada (born 1948), known as Mr. Sakurada) retired Japanese professional wrestler.
• Kazuo Taoka (1913–1981), 田岡一雄, Godfather of the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza syndicate
• Kazuo Umezu (born 1936), 楳図かずお, horror manga author
• Kazuo Watanabe (born 1955), 渡辺和郎, astronomer
• Kazuo Yamada (1912–1991), Japanese conductor

Fictional characters

• Kazuo Kiriyama, the emotionless antagonist of Battle Royale
• Kazuo Nakano, character in Yudetamago's manga series Kinnikuman
• Kazuo Saki, brother of the Shredder (TMNT) from the animated TV series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)
• Kazuo Uzuki, fictional baseball player that Topps created as an April Fools Day hoax

Video games

• Kazuo or Go! Sudoku, is the name for the Japanese release of the PlayStation Portable puzzle game
• Kazuo Sawa is the name of a video game composer. Notable works include the soundtracks for The Battle of Olympus and Rivercity Ransom
• Kazuo Akuji is the leader of the Ronin in the Saints Row 2