Masako Nozawa facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Masako Nozawa
野沢 雅子
Nozawa in 1962 (Age 26)
Born	(1936-10-25) October 25, 1936 (age 88) Arakawa, Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Empire of Japan
Other names	Masako Tsukada (塚田 雅子)
Occupation	Actress voice actress
Years active	1939–present
Agent	Aoni Production
Notable work	Dragon Ball series as Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten, Turles, Bardock, and Goku Black GeGeGe no Kitarō as Kitarō (1968–1971) Galaxy Express 999 as Tetsurō Hoshino Digimon Tamers as Guilmon
Spouse(s)	Masaaki Tsukada ​ (died 2014)​

Masako Nozawa (Japanese: 野沢 雅子, Hepburn: Nozawa Masako, born October 25, 1936) is a famous Japanese actress. She is especially known for her amazing voice acting. Masako Nozawa started acting when she was only three years old! As she grew up, voice acting became her main job.

She is most famous for being the voice of Son Goku in the Dragon Ball series. She also voices many of Goku's family members, like Son Gohan, Son Goten, and Bardock. Besides Dragon Ball, she has voiced many other popular characters. These include Kitarō in GeGeGe no Kitarō, Doraemon in the 1973 anime, and Tetsurō Hoshino in Galaxy Express 999.

Masako Nozawa is seen as a pioneer in Japanese voice acting. This means she helped shape the industry. She has won many awards for her work, including from the Seiyu Awards. She even holds two Guinness World Records for voicing Goku in Dragon Ball video games for a very long time!

Early Life and First Steps

Masako Nozawa was born on October 25, 1936, in Tokyo, Japan. Her father was a painter, and her aunt was an actress. Because of her aunt's influence, Masako started acting when she was just three years old. She acted in many films, often playing roles about the love between a mother and child.

In 1944, her family moved to Numata to stay safe during World War II. She lived there from elementary school until she finished high school. Masako loved being on stage and was never shy. She decided to pursue theater instead of film.

Becoming a Voice Acting Star

When Masako Nozawa was in junior high, she joined a theater company. She worked as an actress in Tokyo during her school breaks. After high school, she moved to Tokyo permanently. She started voice acting in her late teens to help her theater company.

Her first voice role was dubbing an Indian boy in a foreign film when she was 19. In those early days of television, voice acting was often done live. Adult men's voices had already changed, so women were chosen to voice young boy characters. Even though she didn't plan it, voice acting became her main job as it grew very popular.

Landing Iconic Roles

Masako Nozawa started her anime career in 1963 with Wolf Boy Ken. Her first main role was Kitarō in GeGeGe no Kitarō in 1968. The creator of the series, Shigeru Mizuki, chose her for the role.

In 1973, she took over the voice of Doraemon for the Doraemon anime. She also voiced Tetsurō Hoshino in Galaxy Express 999 starting in 1978.

A big moment came in 1986 when she was chosen to voice Son Goku in Dragon Ball. The creator, Akira Toriyama, picked her because he could hear her voice in his head when he wrote the manga. She was able to audition for this role because of a rule that prevented voice actors from playing too many main characters at once. This rule actually opened the door for her to become Goku!

Fighting for Voice Actors' Rights

Masako Nozawa also helped lead a lawsuit for voice actors. She and 360 other voice actors fought for unpaid money from DVD releases of anime series. After four years, in 2003, a judge ruled that the recording studio owed money to the actors. In 2004, the court also found Nippon Animation responsible. The Supreme Court of Japan supported this decision in 2005. This showed her dedication to her fellow actors.

World Records and Recognition

In 2017, Masako Nozawa received two Guinness World Records. These were for her long career voicing Son Goku in Dragon Ball video games. She earned records for the "longest video game voice acting career" and "voice actor who voiced the same character in a video game for the longest period." She had voiced Goku for over 23 years in video games!

In 2019, Newsweek Japan included her on their list of "100 Globally Respected Japanese People." In December 2023, she made history again. She became the first voice actor to receive the Kikuchi Kan Prize in its 71-year history. This award celebrates people who have made great contributions to Japanese culture.

Voice and Technology

In October 2024, a company called CoeFont announced something new. They are using Masako Nozawa's voice data to create AI-replicated voices. These AI voices could be used for things like virtual assistants or medical devices. The companies promised not to use her AI voice for new animation performances. This helps protect actors' rights in the age of new technology.

Her Voice Acting Style

Masako Nozawa loves voice acting because she can "breathe life into things with only your voice." She sees voice acting and stage acting as very similar jobs. She is known for being extremely dedicated and always on time. There was only one time she was late, and it was because her house had burned down that morning!

She often voices young male characters. This started early in her career when real boys couldn't be used for live dubbing. Staff members would recommend her because she was good at it. She thinks this might be because she was a tomboy as a child, preferring sword fights over dolls.

When she auditions, she doesn't plan the voice beforehand. She improvises when she's in front of the microphone. After getting a role, she thinks about the character's background. She doesn't read the original story if it's an adaptation. This way, her reactions feel real. She watches her shows twice: once as a fan and once to check her own performance.

Voicing Goku and Family

In Dragon Ball, Masako Nozawa voices Goku, his son Gohan, and his younger son Goten. When these characters are in a scene together, she records all three voices in the same take! She switches between them on the spot. Her co-workers say no one else can do this.

She also helped create Goku's unique way of speaking, known as "Goku language." His famous phrase, "Ossu! Ora Goku!" (オッス！オラ悟空！, 'Yo! I'm Goku!'), was something she made up as a joke during a recording session. It became a classic line!

Filmography

Anime Television Series

• Wolf Boy Ken (1963)
• Astro Boy (1963) (Boy robot)
• Obake no Q-tarō (1965) (Shin'ichi Ōhara)
• Sally, the Witch (1966) (Tonkichi Hanamura, Kanta Hanamura)
• GeGeGe no Kitarō (1968) (Kitaro)
• Tiger Mask (1969) (Kenta)
• Doraemon (Doraemon, Botako)
• Galaxy Express 999 (1978) (Tetsurō Hoshino)
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1980) (Tom Sawyer)
• The Monster Kid (1980) (Tarō Kaibutsu)
• Dragon Ball (1986) (Son Goku)
• Dragon Ball Z (1989) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Bardock, Son Goten, Gotenks, Vegetto)
• Dragon Ball GT (1996) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten, Gogeta, Son Goku Jr.)
• Digimon Tamers (2001) (Guilmon, Dukemon, Narrator)
• One Piece (2001) (Doctor Kureha)
• Dragon Ball Kai (2009) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Bardock, Son Goten, Gotenks, Vegetto)
• Dragon Ball Super (2015) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten, Gotenks, Goku Black, Vegetto)
• GeGeGe no Kitarō (2018) (Medama-oyaji)
• Digimon Adventure (2020) (Narrator, YukimiBotamon)
• Dragon Ball Daima (2024) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten)

Theatrical Animation (Movies)

• Galaxy Express 999 (1979) (Tetsurō Hoshino)
• Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies (1986) (Son Goku)
• Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone (1989) (Son Goku, Son Gohan)
• Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might (1990) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Tullece)
• Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge (1991) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Bardock)
• Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan (1993) (Son Goku, Son Gohan)
• Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn (1995) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten, Gogeta, Gotenks)
• Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten, Gotenks)
• Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' (2015) (Son Goku, Son Gohan)
• Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018) (Son Goku, Son Goten, Gogeta, Bardock)
• Weathering with You (2019) (Fortune-teller)
• Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (2022) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten, Gotenks)
• Birth of Kitarō: The Mystery of GeGeGe (2023) (Medama-oyaji)

Computer and Video Games

• Dragon Ball series (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Bardock, Son Goten, Turles, Vegetto, Gotenks, Gogeta, Goku Black)
• Digimon Tamers Battle Evolution (Guilmon)
• Kingdom Hearts series (Merryweather)
• J-Stars Victory VS (Son Goku)
• Jump Force (Son Goku)

Dubbing Roles (Voice for Foreign Films/Shows)

• Babe (Esmé Hoggett)
• The Goonies (Clark, a.k.a., "Mouth")
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Short Round)
• Meet the Parents (Dina Byrnes)
• Sleeping Beauty (Merryweather)
• The Croods (Gran Crood)

Awards

See also

In Spanish: Masako Nozawa para niños