---
name: "Joji Yanami"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/joji-yanami"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "30 August 1931"
died: "3 December 2021"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-17T06:20:34.320091+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Joji Yanami

Actor. Born 30 August 1931 in Tokyo, Japan. Died 3 December 2021.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 30 August 1931, Tokyo, Japan
- **Died:** 3 December 2021
- **Also known as:** 八奈見 乗児, Jouji Yanami, Johji Yanami, Янами Дзёдзи, 야나미 조지, Shigemitsu Shirato, 白土 繁満, 八奈美乗児, 八奈见乘儿
- **Elsewhere:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2568004, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0945881/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/619

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Warriors of the Wind*](https://film.one/film/warriors-of-the-wind.md) (85)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Joji Yanami, also credited as Jōji Yanami or 八奈見 乗児, was a Japanese voice actor and narrator. Born Shigemitsu Shirato on 30 August 1931 in Fushun, Manchuria, he was affiliated with Aoni Production.

He voiced Gikkuri in *Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind* (1984). Yanami was best known for his long association with the *Dragon Ball* franchise, providing the narration and voicing characters including Dr Briefs and Kaiō-sama (King Kai) across *Dragon Ball* (1986), *Dragon Ball Z* (1989) and later films and series up to *Dragon Ball Super* (2015).

Other notable roles included Dr Isaac Gilmore in *Cyborg 009* (1968) and characters in the *Time Bokan* series. He took medical leave from *Dragon Ball Super* in 2015, after which his roles were recast. Yanami died on 3 December 2021.

*Sources: imdb.com, animenewsnetwork.com, en.wikipedia.org, kotaku.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Warriors of the Wind* (1984), Fi1m 85, as Gikkuri (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/warriors-of-the-wind.md)

## Also known for

- *Dragon Ball Z* (1989), Dr. Briefs (voice)
- *Dragon Ball* (1986), Narrator (voice)
- *InuYasha* (2000), Tōtōsai (voice)
- *Dragon Ball GT* (1996), King / Narrator / North Kaiō (voice)
- *Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods* (2013), Kaio / Dr. Briefs / Narrator (voice)
- *Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan* (1993), Kaiô / Burîfu hakase / Narrator (voice)
- *Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn* (1995), North Kaiô / Narration (voice)
- *Dragon Ball Z Kai* (2009), Narrator (voice)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/joji-yanami