Biography
Keiju Kobayashi was a Japanese actor. Born in Gunma Prefecture on 23 November 1923, he dropped out of Nihon University and began acting at the Nikkatsu studio, making his film debut in 1942. He moved to Toho in 1956.
In a career spanning more than six decades, Kobayashi appeared in over 250 films. He was particularly noted for his roles in the "Company President" comedy series at Toho and worked with directors including Akira Kurosawa, Yasujirō Ozu, Mikio Naruse and Kihachi Okamoto. He voiced Shirō Nishi in the 1995 Studio Ghibli film Whisper of the Heart.
Kobayashi won several acting awards, including Mainichi Film Awards for The Naked General (1958), Kuroi gashū (1960) and The Elegant Life of Mr Everyman (1963). He died in Tokyo on 16 September 2010.
