Shirō Sano

Shirō Sano
佐野 史郎
Sano in 2024
Born	(1955-03-04) 4 March 1955 Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan(Raised: Matsue, Shimane)
Occupations	Actor, film director, musician
Years active	1975–present
Spouse	Maki Ishikawa
Website	Kisseidō

Shirō Sano (佐野 史郎, Sano Shirō; born 4 March 1955) is a Japanese actor.

Career

Born in Yamanashi Prefecture, Sano lived in Tokyo and Matsue, Shimane as a child, before returning to Tokyo to enter art school.^[1] He joined several theatrical troupes, including Jurō Kara's Jōkyō Gekijō. He had his first starring role in a film in Kaizō Hayashi's To Sleep so as to Dream in 1986,^[2] but gained fame for playing the character Fuyuhiko in the television drama Zutto Anata ga Suki datta in 1992.^[1] He directed his first film, Karaoke, in 1999.^[3]

Filmography

Films

• To Sleep so as to Dream (1986)
• Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis (1988)
• Tomorrow (1988)
• Violent Cop (1989)
• It's a Summer Vacation Everyday (1994)
• Sharaku (1995)
• Karaoke (1999) (as director)
• Godzilla 2000 (1999)
• The Princess Blade (2001)
• Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
• Infection (2004) – Dr. Kiyoshi Akai^[4]
• Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
• The Sun (2005)
• Waiting in the Dark (2006)^[5]
• Persona (2008)
• Railways (2010)
• Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger vs. Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie (2012) – Chief of Space Police Weeval (Actor)/Makuu Prison Warden Ashurada (Voice)
• Reunion (2012)
• The Millennial Rapture (2012)
• Kamen Rider Heisei Generations: Dr. Pac-Man vs. Ex-Aid & Ghost with Legend Rider (2016) – Michihiko Zaizen (Actor)/Dr. Pac-Man (Voice)/Genomes (Voice)
• Bikuu: Yamigirinochi (2015) - Zesshin
• Nariyuki na Tamashii (2017) – Tadao Tsuge
• Parks (2017) – Professor Inoue
• Roupeiro no Yūutsu (2018)
• My Little Monster (2018)
• We Are Little Zombies (2019), Keiichiro Kamo
• Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger the Movie: Time Slip! Dinosaur Panic!! (2019) - Valma
• Fukushima 50 (2020) – Prime Minister of Japan
• Bolt (2020)
• Independence of Japan (2020) – Tatsukichi Minobe
• Hiroshima Piano (2020)^[6]
• Nezura 1964 (2021) – Azuma^[7]
• Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction (2021)
• Caution, Hazardous Wife: The Movie (2021)
• Intimate Stranger (2022)^[8]
• Oshorin (2023)^[9]
• Between the White Key and the Black Key (2023)^[10]
• Brush of the God (2024)^[11]
• Ghosts Dream Selfish Dreams (2024)^[12]
• Stolen Identity: Final Hacking Game (2024) – Jung Hak-seon^[13]
• Silence of the Sea (2024)^[14]
• Happyend (2024), principal Nagai^[15]
• Aosho! Voices in Bloom (2025), Takumi Shinome^[16]
• Watashi no Mita Sekai (2025)^[17]
• Two Seasons, Two Strangers (2025)^[18]
• It's a Wonderful Life (2025)^[19]
• Magical Secret Tour (2026)^[20]

Television

• Zutto Anata ga Suki datta (1992)
• Hana no Ran (1994), Ashikaga Yoshimi^[21]
• Platonic Sex (2001), Ishikawa^[22]
• Vanpaia Hosuto (2004)
• Water Boys 2 (2004)
• Kuitan 2 (2007)
• Clouds Over the Hill (2009–2011), Kuga Katsunan^[23]
• Deka Wanko (2011)
• Shizumanu Taiyō (2016)
• Naotora: The Lady Warlord (2017), Sessai Choro^[24]
• Spring Has Come (2017)
• Ishitsubute (2017)
• Segodon (2018), Ii Naosuke^[25]
• Genkai Danchi (2018), Seiji Terauchi
• San'yūtei Enraku V (2019), Sanyūtei Enshō VI^[26]
• Dr. Ashura (2025) – Katsuji Fudō^[27]
• The Ghost Writer's Wife (2025–26), Etō^[28]

Anime

• GeGeGe no Kitarō (4th) (1996) – Vampire Elite (ep. 57)

References

1. "Haiyū Sano Shirō" (in Japanese). Kakaku.com. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
2. "Sano Shirō" (in Japanese). NPO Hōjin Myūjikku Somurie Kyōkai. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
3. "Shashin o, fotobukku ni". Refocus (in Japanese). Noritsu Koki.
4. Stuart Galbraith IV (16 May 2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Scarecrow Press. p. 434. ISBN 978-1-4616-7374-3.
5. "暗いところで待ち合わせ". eiga.com. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
6. "おかあさんの被爆ピアノ". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 October 2022.
7. "佐野史郎インタビュー". 映画『ネズラ1964』公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 9 May 2021.
8. "黒沢あすかと神尾楓珠が主演、スリラー「親密な他人」2022年春に公開". Natalie. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
9. "おしょりん". eiga.com. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
10. "白鍵と黒鍵の間に". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 4 June 2023.
11. "カミノフデ 怪獣たちのいる島". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 28 February 2024.
12. "幽霊はわがままな夢を見る". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 April 2024.
13. "スマホを落としただけなのに 最終章 ファイナル ハッキング ゲーム". eiga.com. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
14. "海の沈黙". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 9 August 2024.
15. "HAPPYEND". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 31 August 2024.
16. "アオショー!". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 27 February 2025.
17. "私の見た世界". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 28 April 2025.
18. "旅と日々". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 1 July 2025.
19. "もしも脳梗塞になったなら". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 9 September 2025.
20. "マジカル・シークレット・ツアー". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 29 January 2026.
21. "花の乱". Haiyaku Jiten (in Japanese). Retrieved 19 December 2024.
22. Jonathan Clements; Motoko Tamamuro (1 November 2003). The Dorama Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese TV Drama Since 1953. Stone Bridge Press. pp. 238–239. ISBN 978-1-880656-81-5.
23. "坂の上の雲". Haiyaku Jiten (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 February 2024.
24. "おんな城主直虎". Haiyaku Jiten (in Japanese). Retrieved 14 May 2025.
25. "西郷どん". Haiyaku Jiten (in Japanese). Retrieved 13 December 2024.
26. "笑点ドラマ第2弾で谷原章介が五代目三遊亭圓楽に、番組の誕生秘話も". Natalie. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
27. "Live-Action Dr. Ashura Series Reveals More Cast Members". animenewsnetwork.com. 18 March 2025. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
28. "「ばけばけ」新キャスト発表 主人公のお見合い相手役で寛一郎が朝ドラ初出演". eiga.com (in Japanese). 4 March 2025. Retrieved 4 March 2025.

External links

• Official website Kisseidō (in Japanese)
• Shirō Sano at IMDb