News
Voice Actress Ryoko Kinomiya Passes Away
posted on by Egan Loo
The agency Haikyō announced on Thursday that voice actress Ryōko Kinomiya passed away on November 25 at 5:47 p.m. due to multiple organ failure. She was 82. Her relatives and close acquaintances held a private funeral where Kazuhiko Yamaguchi was the designated chief mourner. A service will also be held in Tokyo on January 25.
Kinomiya played Maetel's mother and Promethium in Galaxy Express 999, the mother Aya Mifune in Mach Go Go Go (Speed Racer), and the Japanese dub voice for Faye Dunaway in live-action films. She also narrated for countless live-action and anime titles, including Queen Millennia, Saint Young Men, Gintama, Cromartie High School, Jigoku Sensei Nube, and Tenamonya Voyagers.
Kinomiya, whose real name was Ryōko Sakurai, was born in Tokyo on July 10, 1931. She helped establish Haikyō in 1960. In honor of her long career, she received a Merit Award in the 2nd Annual Seiyu Awards in 2002 and a Special Award in the Anime Grand Prix from Tokuma Shoten's Animage magazine in 1980. She had been undergoing medical treatment for some time before her passing.
Sources: Asahi, Daily Sports
