Japanese names appear in the conventional Japanese order, with the family name first, followed by the given name. For example, “Tokugawa” in Tokugawa Musei is the historical benshi’s “family” name, though the entire name is a stage name. (He was born Fukuhara Toshio.) Contemporary benshi, Kataoka Ichiro uses his real name as his stage name. Kataoka is his family name, followed by his given name, Ichiro.
SAWATO Midori
Sawato Midori
Sawato Midori graduated from the Department of Philosophy at Hosei University and studied under the late Matsuda Shunsui. She has garnered high praise through her various performances in both Japan and overseas, including in France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Brazil, Australia, Italy, and the United States. She received a number of awards, including the Award for Excellence in the field of Dramatic Performance at the Agency for Cultural Affairs Arts Festival, for her contributions toward promoting katsuben (benshi performance) as modern entertainment, in addition to being a valuable presence carrying on the tradition of katsuben as a Japanese storytelling art. Her vast repertoire of over 500 films includes silent films in a wide variety of genres, for which she provides well-formed interpretations of the work.
Since her debut in 1973, Sawato has performed katsuben with various genres of silent films, including modern dramas, period dramas, and foreign films, with his versatile storytelling style. In 2015, she was selected as one of the “120 Women Who Represent Japan” by Bungei shunju magazine.
Photos courtesy of Matsuda Film Productions
Kataoka Ichiro
Kataoka Ichiro (1977-)
Kataoka graduated from Nihon University College of Art with a degree in drama. He became the first disciple of Sawato Midori, the leading benshi. His repertoire includes Japanese, Western, Chinese, animation, and documentary films, and he has performed alongside more than 350 films. He was invited to twenty-three countries, including the U.S., Germany, Canada, Australia, Italy, and Croatia. In 2014, Kyoko Omori invited Kataoka and five musicians to Hamilton College for a week-long collaborative workshop to perform alongside a samurai classic, Orochi. In 2017, Kataoka, Omori, and the six-piece international group, the Orochi Ensemble, performed at the Billy Wilder Theater at UCLA. The Orochi Ensemble is composed of: Kataoka as the benshi, three Japanese traditional musical instrumentalists (shakuhachi, biwa, and “narimono” percussion), and two western musical instrumentalists (piano and cello).
In addition, he appeared as an actor (in the role of benshi) in Masayuki Suo’s Katsuben! (2019) and the NHK TV drama Idaten. Kataoka is also a collector of rare and old films.
Photos courtesy of the artist
Sakamoto Raiko
Sakamoto Raiko (1979-)
Aspiring to become a comic artist as a young boy, SAKAMOTO Raiko was heavily influenced by the manga works by Mizuki Shigeru (famous for his yokai manga). Sakamoto began watching old films as a teenager. He soon started dreaming of performing as a benshi.
Sakamoto began his benshi practice in 1997 by joining a training group organized by Matsuda Film Productions. He made his formal debut in 2000. Since then, he has performed at various venues, ranging from small to large theaters, shrines, temples, and overseas. In 2010, Kyoko Omori invited Sakamoto to perform at Hamilton College to perform Jirokichi the Rat and The Kid Commotion. In 2019, Sakamoto appeared in SUO Masayuki’s Katsuben! (Talking the Pictures) as a benshi.
Photos courtesy of the artist
Yamazaki Vanilla
Yamazaki Vanilla debuted in 2001 as a resident benshi at the silent film–themed theater-restaurant Tokyo Kinema Club. Since then, she has developed a distinctive style that blends live narration with music and song, often accompanying herself on the Taishōgoto (Taishō harp) or piano in her signature “helium” voice. In 2022, she began incorporating palillos (flamenco castanets) into her performances. Since 2012, she has headlined her solo show, Yamazaki Vanilla’s Great Benshi Spectacle, at Kokumin Kyosai co-op Hall / SPACE ZERO, and since 2018, she has performed benshi narration for the Youth Section of the yearly Tokyo International Film Festival.
In addition to her work as a benshi, Yamazaki is an accomplished voice actor, best known for voicing Jaiko in the globally popular anime Doraemon. She also appeared as a jester in the opera Utsukushiki Mahoroba: Yamato Takeru in 2021, 2022, and 2025.
Drawing on her Spanish studies at Seisen University, she has contributed regularly to NHK Radio’s Everyday Spanish – Masato’s Madrid Diary (2021) and NHK Educational TV’s Feel-Good Spanish (2024). Yamazaki also serves as a tourism ambassador for Shiroishi City in Miyagi Prefecture. Her publications include Benshi Performer, Yamazaki Vanilla (2009).
Photo Credit
From Yamazaki Vanilla’s Great Benshi Spectacle 2024
Produced by: SPACE ZERO
Photographer: Akiyama Minoru
Photo Credit
From Yamazaki Vanilla’s Great Benshi Spectacle 2023
Produced by: SPACE ZERO
Photographer: Akiyama Minoru
Photo courtesy of the artist
Omori Kumiko
Kumiko Omori debuted as a benshi in 2012. Based in the Kansai region (Kyoto/Osaka/Kobe), she performs at silent-film screenings and at festivals in Japan and abroad, including the Taipei Film Festival, Korea Indie-AniFest, the Kyoto International Film and Art Festival, and the Kyoto HISTORICA International Film Festival. In 2019, she earned acclaim at “The Art of the Benshi” at UCLA’s Billy Wilder Theater in Los Angeles. She also appears regularly as a variety act (iro-mono) in the daytime program at Osaka’s Tenma Tenjin Hanjotei rakugo theater.
For the 2022 silent film I AM JAM: Peril on the Planet of Pizza, Omori both appears on screen and provides live benshi narration. She is active as a radio host and voice-over narrator as well. Her hallmark is a versatile delivery—from bright, pop-inflected comedy (often using the Kansai dialect) to serious drama—voicing characters from dainty young girls to middle-aged men with equal ease. An alumna of the Japan Women’s College of Physical Education, she is known for high-energy performances and is a regular on Radio Kansai’s “Hideki Hagawa Hustle!!” and “Playlist of Harborland,” as well as Radio Osaka’s “Noriyoshi Nakanishi’s Hit & Hit.”
Photos courtesy of the artist
