# Kazuo

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For the Chinese county commonly known as Kazuo, see [Harqin Left Wing Mongol Autonomous County](/source/Harqin_Left_Wing_Mongol_Autonomous_County).

**Kazuo** (カズオ, かずお) is a masculine Japanese [given name](/source/Given_name).

## Possible spellings

It has several written forms, and the meaning depends on the characters used (usually [kanji](/source/Kanji), but sometimes [hiragana](/source/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](/source/Hiragana))
- カズオ ([katakana](/source/Katakana))

## People with the name

- [Kazuo Abe](/source/Kazuo_Abe) (阿部 一男, born 1935), Japanese sport wrestler
- [Kazuo Aichi](/source/Kazuo_Aichi) (愛知 和男, 1937–2024), Japanese politician
- [Kazuo Aoki](/source/Kazuo_Aoki) (青木 一男, 1889–1982), Japanese government minister during the [Second Sino-Japanese War](/source/Second_Sino-Japanese_War), and into [World War II](/source/World_War_II)
- [Kazuo Azuma](/source/Kazuo_Azuma) (東 和男, born 1955), Japanese shogi player
- [Kazuo Chiba](/source/Kazuo_Chiba) (千葉 和雄, 1940–2015), Japanese aikido teacher
- [Kazuo Dan](/source/Kazuo_Dan) (檀 一雄, 1912–1976), Japanese novelist and poet
- Kazuo Endo, [Kobe earthquake](/source/Great_Hanshin_earthquake) survivor
- [Fukumoto Kazuo](/source/Fukumoto_Kazuo) (福本 和夫, 1894–1983), Japanese Marxist
- [Kazuo Funaki](/source/Kazuo_Funaki) (舟木 一夫, born 1944), Japanese Enka singer
- [Kazuo Hara](/source/Kazuo_Hara) (原 一男, born 1945), Japanese documentary film director
- [Kazuo Harada](/source/Kazuo_Harada) (原田 一男, died 1998), anime producer, audio director, and sound effects director
- [Kazuo Hasegawa](/source/Kazuo_Hasegawa) (長谷川 一夫, 1908–1984), Japanese film and stage actor
- [Kazuo Hashimoto](/source/Kazuo_Hashimoto) (橋本 和芙, died 1995), late Japanese inventor of [Caller ID](/source/Caller_ID) and the telephone [answering machine](/source/Answering_machine), including the [ansafone](/source/Ansafone)
- [Kazuo Hatoyama](/source/Kazuo_Hatoyama) (鳩山 和夫, 1856–1911), patriarchal head of the prominent Japanese Hatoyama political family
- [Kazuo Hayashi](/source/Kazuo_Hayashi) (林 一夫, born 1945), Japanese actor and voice actor
- [Kazuo Hirai](/source/Kazuo_Hirai) (平井 一夫, born 1964), President/CEO of Sony Computer
- [Kazuo Hiramatsu](/source/Kazuo_Hiramatsu) (平松 一夫, 1947–2020), accounting scholar, president of Kwansei Gakuin University
- [Kazuo Hirotomo](/source/Kazuo_Hirotomo) (弘友 和夫, born 1944), Japanese politician
- [Hirotsu Kazuo](/source/Hirotsu_Kazuo) (広津 和郎, 1891–1968), Japanese novelist and literary critic active in the [Shōwa period](/source/Sh%C5%8Dwa_period) of Japan
- [Kazuo Ichinohe](/source/Kazuo_Ichinohe) (一戸 和男, born 1941), Japanese voice actor (stage name Shin Aomori (青森 伸))
- [Kazuo Igarashi](/source/Kazuo_Igarashi) (五十嵐 和男, born 1946), Japanese aikidoka
- [Kazuo Ikehiro](/source/Kazuo_Ikehiro) (池広 一夫, 1929–2025), Japanese film director
- [Kazuo Imanishi](/source/Kazuo_Imanishi) (今西 和男, 1941–2026), Japanese football player and manager
- [Kazuo Inamori](/source/Kazuo_Inamori) (稲盛 和夫, 1932–2022), Japanese businessman
- [Kazuo Inoue](/source/Kazuo_Inoue) (井上 和郎, born 1981), Japanese cyclist
- [Kazuo Ishiguro](/source/Kazuo_Ishiguro) (石黒一雄, born 1954), British author
- [Kazuo Iwama](/source/Kazuo_Iwama_(disambiguation)), multiple people
- [Kazuo Kadonaga](/source/Kazuo_Kadonaga) (角永 和夫, born 1946), contemporary Japanese sculptor
- [Kazuo Kamimura](/source/Kazuo_Kamimura) (上村 一夫, 1940–1986), Japanese manga artist
- [Kazuo Kanayama](/source/Kazuo_Kanayama) (金山 和雄, born 1952), Japanese golfer
- [Kazuo Kawai](/source/Kazuo_Kawai) (川井 一男), Japanese table tennis player
- [Kazuo Kimura](/source/Kazuo_Kimura) (木村 一夫, 1909–?), Japanese high jumper
- [Kazuo Kitagawa](/source/Kazuo_Kitagawa) (北側 一雄, born 1953), Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in the Japanese Cabinet of Junichiro Koizumi
- [Kazuo Kitamura](/source/Kazuo_Kitamura) (北村 和夫, 1927–2007), Japanese actor
- [Kazuo Kobayashi](/source/Kazuo_Kobayashi) (小林 一男, 1908–?), Japanese diver
- [Kazuo Koike](/source/Kazuo_Koike) (小池 一夫, 1936–2019), manga artist
- [Komizu Kazuo](/source/Komizu_Kazuo) (小水 一男, born 1946), Japanese film director
- [Kazuo Kubokawa](/source/Kazuo_Kubokawa) (窪川 一雄, 1903–1943), Japanese astronomer
- [Kazuo Kumakura](/source/Kazuo_Kumakura) (熊倉 一雄, 1927–2015), Japanese actor, voice actor and theatre director
- [Kazuo Kuroki](/source/Kazuo_Kuroki) (黒木 和雄, 1930–2006), Japanese film director
- [Kazuo Manabe](/source/Kazuo_Manabe) (真部 一男, 1952–2007), Japanese shogi player
- [Kazuo Matsuda](/source/Kazuo_Matsuda) (松田 一夫, born 1941), Japanese ice hockey player
- [Kazuo Matsui](/source/Kazuo_Matsui) (松井稼頭央, born 1975), Japanese baseball player
- [Kazuo Misaki](/source/Kazuo_Misaki) (三崎 和雄, born 1976), Japanese professional mixed martial arts fighter and former [judoka](/source/Judoka)
- [Kazuo Miyagawa](/source/Kazuo_Miyagawa) (宮川 一夫, 1908–1999), Japanese cinematographer
- [Kazuo Mizutani](/source/Kazuo_Mizutani) (水谷 一生, 1899–1949), Chief of Staff of Japanese Imperial Guard during the close of World War II
- [Kazuo Mori](/source/Kazuo_Mori) (森 一生, 1911–1989), Japanese film director
- [Kazuo Nagano](/source/Kazuo_Nagano) (永野 一男, 1952–1985), Japanese fraudster
- [Kazuo Nakamura](/source/Kazuo_Nakamura) (1926–2002), Japanese-Canadian painter and sculptor
- [Kazuo Nakamura (basketball)](/source/Kazuo_Nakamura_(basketball)) (中村 和雄, born 1940), Japanese basketball coach
- [Kazuo Nakanishi](/source/Kazuo_Nakanishi) (中西 一男, 1922–2003), briefly the leader of the [Yamaguchi-gumi](/source/Yamaguchi-gumi) yakuza syndicate in the chaotic years of the Yama-Ichi War
- [Kazuo Nishii](/source/Kazuo_Nishii) (西井 一夫, 1946–2001), Japanese magazine editor and photography critic
- [Kazuo Noda](/source/Kazuo_Noda) (野田 一雄, 1908–?), Japanese swimmer
- [Kazuo Oga](/source/Kazuo_Oga) (男鹿 和雄, born 1952), Japanese art director
- [Kazuo Ohno](/source/Kazuo_Ohno) (大野 一雄, 1906–2010), Japanese dancer associated with Butoh
- [Kazuo Oka](/source/Kazuo_Oka) (岡 和男, 1948–2021), Japanese voice actor
- [Kazuo Okada](/source/Kazuo_Okada) (岡田 和生, born 1942), Japanese billionaire businessman, and art collector
- [Kazuo Okamatsu](/source/Kazuo_Okamatsu) (岡松 和夫, 1931–2012), Japanese philologist and novelist
- [Kazuo Okamura](/source/Kazuo_Okamura) (岡村 一夫, 1911–1973), Japanese-American professional wrestler
- [Kazuo Ozaki](/source/Kazuo_Ozaki) (尾崎 加寿夫, born 1960), Japanese footballer
- [Kazuo Saito](/source/Kazuo_Saito) (斉藤 和夫, born 1951), Japanese footballer and manager
- [Kazuo Saito (athlete)](/source/Kazuo_Saito_(athlete)) (斎藤 和夫, born 1942), Japanese racewalker
- [Kazuo Sakamaki](/source/Kazuo_Sakamaki) (酒巻和男, 1918–1999), first prisoner of war held by the US in World War II
- [Kazuo Sakurada](/source/Kazuo_Sakurada) (桜田 一男, 1948–2020), known as Mr. Sakurada, retired Japanese professional wrestler
- [Kazuo Sato (disambiguation)](/source/Kazuo_Sato_(disambiguation)), multiple people
- [Kazuo Shii](/source/Kazuo_Shii) (志位 和夫, born 1954), Japanese politician
- [Kazuo Shimizu](/source/Kazuo_Shimizu) (清水 和男, born 1975), Japanese footballer
- [Kazuo Shimizu (wrestler)](/source/Kazuo_Shimizu_(wrestler)) (清水 一夫, born 1954), Japanese sport wrestler
- [Kazuo Shinohara](/source/Kazuo_Shinohara) (篠原 一男, 1925–2006), Japanese architect
- [Kazuo Shiraga](/source/Kazuo_Shiraga) (白髪 一雄, 1924–2008), Japanese abstract painter
- [Kazuo Sugimoto](/source/Kazuo_Sugimoto) (杉本 和陽, born 1991), Japanese shogi player
- [Kazuo Takahashi](/source/Kazuo_Takahashi) (高橋 和生, born 1969), Japanese mixed martial artist
- [Kazuo Taoka](/source/Kazuo_Taoka) (田岡 一雄, 1913–1981), Godfather of the [Yamaguchi-gumi](/source/Yamaguchi-gumi) yakuza syndicate
- [Kazuo Tokumitsu](/source/Kazuo_Tokumitsu) (徳光 和夫, born 1941), Japanese TV presenter and announcer
- [Kazuo Tsukuda](/source/Kazuo_Tsukuda) (佃 和夫, born 1943), chairman of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
- [Kazuo Umezu](/source/Kazuo_Umezu) (楳図 かずお, 1936–2024), Japanese manga artist
- [Kazuo Wada](/source/Kazuo_Wada) (和田 一夫, 1929–2019), Japanese businessman
- [Kazuo Yamada](/source/Kazuo_Yamada) (山田 一雄, 1912–1991), Japanese conductor
- [Kazuo Yamaguchi](/source/Kazuo_Yamaguchi) (山口 一男, born 1946), Japanese sociologist
- [Kazuo Yokoyama](/source/Kazuo_Yokoyama) (横山 和生, born 1993), Japanese jockey
- [Kazuo Chaed](/source/Kazuo_Chaed)(born 2002), Belgian Film Director

### Fictional characters

- Kazuo Tengan, the antagonist of *[Danganronpa](/source/Danganronpa)*
- Kazuo Nakano, character in Yudetamago's manga series *[Kinnikuman](/source/Kinnikuman)*
- [Kazuo Saki](/source/Shredder_(Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles)#Kazuo), brother of the [Shredder](/source/Shredder_(Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles)) from the 1987–1996 animated TV series, *[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles](/source/Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles_(1987_TV_series))*
- Kazuo Uzuki, fictional baseball player that [Topps](/source/Topps) created as an April Fools' Day hoax
- Kazuo Kiriyama, the primary antagonist of *[Battle Royale](/source/Battle_Royale_(novel))*
- Kazuo Makunoichi, fictional character in *[Hajime no Ippo](/source/Hajime_no_Ippo)*

### Video games

- Kazuo or [Go! Sudoku](/source/Go!_Sudoku), is the name for the Japanese release of the [PlayStation Portable](/source/PlayStation_Portable) puzzle game
- [Kazuo Sawa](/source/Kazuo_Sawa) is the name of a video game composer. Notable works include the soundtracks for *[The Battle of Olympus](/source/The_Battle_of_Olympus)* and *[Rivercity Ransom](/source/Rivercity_Ransom)*
- Kazuo Akuji is the leader of the Ronin in the [Saints Row 2](/source/Saints_Row_2)
- Kazuo Hoshiro is the leader of the Investigation Team of [Sweet Home (video game)](/source/Sweet_Home_(video_game))

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kazuo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazuo) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazuo?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.