Personal details
Born:
- Birthday: 1949-01-28
- Born Place: Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan
Also Known As:
이치무라 마사치카
Masachika Ichimura
Masachika Ichimura is a highly respected and distinguished Japanese actor and voice actor, born on January 28, 1949, in Kawagoe, Saitama. After studying at the Theater Art College in Tokyo, he made his stage debut in 1973 with Jesus Christ Superstar and quickly rose to become a top actor at the Shiki Theatre Company. He is particularly renowned for his extensive career in musical theatre, where his credits include starring in iconic Japanese productions of The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Evita, and notably holding the record as the longest-running performer to play The Engineer in the Japanese production of Miss Saigon for 30 years (1992–2022). Beyond the stage, Ichimura is a prolific voice actor, perhaps best known to international audiences as the original Japanese voice of Mewtwo in the Pokémon franchise and the official Japanese dubbing voice for Jack Skellington in The Nightmare Before Christmas and the Kingdom Hearts video game series. In live-action film, he has appeared in major titles such as Thirteen Assassins (2010) and Thermae Romae (2012, 2014). He continues to take diverse roles, including the voice role of Amlet in the upcoming Mamoru Hosoda animated film Scarlet (2025). He has been honored for his contributions to the arts with the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2007 and the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class in 2019.
