Masako Nozawa

is a Japanese actress. Beginning work as a child actress at the age of three, by the time she became an adult, voice acting had inadvertently become her main occupation. Throughout her career, Nozawa has been affiliated with Production Baobab, 81 Produce, the self-owned Office Nozawa and Aoni Production. She is best known as the voice of Son Goku in the Dragon Ball franchise, beginning with its first animated adaptation in 1986. She also voices most of the character's male relatives, namely Son Gohan, Son Goten, and Bardock. Nozawa's other roles include Kitarō in GeGeGe no Kitarō (1968, 1971, 2008, 2017), Doraemon in the 1973 anime, and Tetsurō Hoshino in Galaxy Express 999 (1978, 1979).

A pioneer of voice acting in Japan, Her husband was fellow voice actor Masaaki Tsukada.

Early life Masako Nozawa was born on October 25, 1936, in the Nippori area of Arakawa, Tokyo, as the only child of painter Ryoshu Nozawa (the top disciple of Kawai Gyokudō) and housewife Tsuru (an orphaned daughter of a daimyo). Due to the influence of her aunt, Shochiku actress Kiyono Sasaki, Masako became a child actress at the age of three. Although she does not remember the titles of her earliest films, she said many depicted the love between a mother and her child.

Her first play was a school production of Umihiko Yamahiko in fifth grade, where she played the male role.

Nozawa made her anime debut in Wolf Boy Ken (1963), and had a guest role on Astro Boy (1963). Her first regular role was in Uchuu Patrol Hopper (1965), For the 1973 adaptation of Doraemon, Nozawa took over the role of the title character from Kōsei Tomita, who had voiced the character for the first 13 episodes. She was chosen to play Goku by Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, who later stated that he would hear Nozawa's voice in his head when writing the original manga.

Nozawa led a lawsuit by 361 voice actors against Nippon Animation and its recording studio subsidiary Onkyo Eizo System in demand of unpaid royalties from DVD releases of anime series. After four years, a judge ruled in 2003 that Onkyo Eizo owed 87 million yen (US$796,000) to the actors, but dismissed the case against Nippon Animation as they deemed actor compensation to be the responsibility of the recording studio. Both parties appealed the decision. The Supreme Court of Japan upheld the ruling in 2005. On April 1, 2006, Nozawa left 81 Produce to establish Office Nozawa. In 2012, she closed the self-owned talent agency. A number of voice actors who were affiliated with her agency went on to affiliate with Media Force.

In 2017, Guinness World Records presented Nozawa with two world records related to her voicing Son Goku in Dragon Ball video games for 23 years and 218 days; "longest video game voice acting career" and "voice actor who voiced the same character in a video game for the longest period". Two years later, Nozawa was included on Newsweek Japans list of "100 Globally Respected Japanese People". In December 2023, Nozawa became the first voice actor to receive the Kikuchi Kan Prize in its 71-year history.

In October 2024, Aoni Production and artificial intelligence platform CoeFont announced that Nozawa was one of the voice actors that they would use vocal data from to create AI-replicated voices for use in virtual assistants, medical devices and robots. Planning to make it available in multiple languages, beginning with English and Chinese, the companies acknowledged the potential threat to actors' rights and livelihoods posed by AI, and promised not to use the data for performances in animation or similar works.

On October 17, 2025, she was selected as a Person of Cultural Merit by the Japanese government, becoming the first person in the voice acting profession to receive the distinction. In March 2026, she became the first voice actor to have a handprint added to the Star Handprints at Asakusa Public Hall. In April, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako recognized Nozawa's contributions in GeGeGe no Kitarō at the by the Imperial Household Agency.

Philosophy and technique Nozawa said she initially preferred acting on stage because she could see the audience's reaction, but came to prefer voice acting in her 30s for "breathing life into things with only your voice." Although she has sung some songs related to her acting roles, such as the theme to The Monster Kid, Nozawa said she is not a good singer and always tries to get out of it.

In Dragon Ball, Nozawa is responsible for portraying Goku as well as his sons Gohan and Goten. When they have scenes together, she records the lines for all three in the same take, switching on the spot, rather than performing singular takes for each character. Nozawa helped create the unique way Goku speaks, which is known as . His famous phrase from anime adaptations, , was ad-libbed by her during a recording session as a joke for the staff. However, she noted Toei Animation has somehow gone on to receive credit for creating it. Astro Boy (1963) (Boy robot)

2020s Digimon Adventure (2020) (Narrator, YukimiBotamon) The Foolish Angel Dances with the Devil (2024) (Joe) Mysterious Disappearances (2024) (Station Attendant) Go! Go! Loser Ranger! (2024) (Draggie-kun) Dragon Ball Daima (2024) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten) Sanda (2025) (Toyo Tetsudome) Baki-Dou (2026) (Sabuko Tokugawa) Ranma ½ (2026) (Grand Master) Dragon Ball Super: Beerus (2026) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten) Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol (TBA) (Son Goku)

Original video animation (OVA) The Hakkenden (1990) (Kamezasa) Dragon Ball Z Side Story: Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans (1993) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Turles) Iczer Girl Iczelion (1995) (Iczel) Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! (2008) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten, Gotenks) Dragon Ball: Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans (2010) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Turles) One Piece Film Strong World Episode: 0 (2010) (Dr. Kureha) Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock (2011) (Bardock)

Original net animation (ONA) Super Dragon Ball Heroes (2018) (Son Goku, Son Goku Xeno) Star Wars: Visions (2021) (T0-B1)

Theatrical animation Flying Phantom Ship (1969) (Hayato) 30,000 Miles Under the Sea (1970) (Isamu) Galaxy Express 999 (1979) (Tetsurō Hoshino) Bōkenshatachi: Gamba to 7-biki no Nakama (1984) (Gamba) Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies (1986) (Son Goku) Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle (1987) (Son Goku) Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure (1988) (Son Goku) Hare Tokidoki Buta (1988) (Yamada-san) Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone (1989) (Son Goku, Son Gohan) Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) (Tombo's friend with pink shirt and red jacket) Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest (1990) (Son Goku, Son Gohan) Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might (1990) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Tullece) Kim's Cross (1990) (Kim Sae-Fan) Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug (1991) (Son Goku, Son Gohan) Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge (1991) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Bardock) Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler (1992) (Son Goku, Son Gohan) Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13! (1992) (Son Goku, Son Gohan) Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan (1993) (Son Goku, Son Gohan) Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound (1993) (Son Goku, Son Gohan) Dragon Ball Z: Broly – Second Coming (1994) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten) Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly (1994) (Son Goku, Son Goten) Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn (1995) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten, Gogeta, Gotenks) Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon (1995) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten, Gotenks) Dragon Ball: The Path to Power (1996) (Son Goku) Doraemon: Nobita Drifts in the Universe (1999) (Rogu) Ojarumaru (2000) (Semira) Digimon Tamers: Battle of Adventurers (2001) (Guilmon) Digimon Tamers: Runaway Locomon (2002) (Guilmon) Doraemon: Nobita in the Robot Kingdom (2002) (Kururimpa) Oshare Majo Love and Berry: Shiawase no Mahou (2007) (Headmistress Izabera) Asura (2012) (Asura) Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles—Animal Adventure (2012) (Young Nobisuke Nobi) Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten, Gotenks) Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' (2015) (Son Goku, Son Gohan) Gamba: Gamba to Nakama-tachi (2015) (Tsuburi) Kaze no Yō ni (2016) (Sanpei) Kimi no Koe wo Todoketai (2017) (Nagisa's grandmother) Yo-kai Watch Shadowside: Oni-ō no Fukkatsu (2017) (Kitarō) Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us (2018) (Hisui) Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018) (Son Goku, Son Goten, Gogeta, Bardock) Weathering with You (2019) (Fortune-teller) Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (2022) (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten, Gotenks) Birth of Kitarō: The Mystery of GeGeGe (2023) (Medama-oyaji) Me & Roboco (2025) (Roboco)

Video games Dragon Ball series (Son Goku, Son Gohan, Bardock, Son Goten, Turles, Vegetto, Gotenks, Gogeta, Goku Black) Digimon Park (Guilmon) Digimon Tamers Battle Evolution (Guilmon) Digimon Racing (Guilmon) Digimon Battle Chronicle (Guilmon) One Piece series (Dr. Kureha) Battle Stadium D.O.N (Son Goku, Son Gohan) Super Robot Wars series (Oreana, Ropet, Cyclaminos) Egg Monster Hero 4 (Four-Dimensional Empress) Final Fantasy Type-0 (Commissar, Eumgyeong) Kingdom Hearts series (Merryweather) League of Legends (Wukong) The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Old Woman) Majogami (Storyteller) PoPoRoGue (Gilda) J-Stars Victory VS (Son Goku) Jump Force (Son Goku)

Puppet shows Nobi Nobi Non-chan (1990–1996) (Tame-kun, Ana-chan's mother, Kitsune's granny) Zawa Zawa Mori no Ganko-chan (1996–) (Kero-chan)

Dubbing roles

Live-action Babe (2002 NTV edition) (Esmé Hoggett (Magda Szubanski)) Babe: Pig in the City (2004 NTV edition) (Esmé Hoggett (Magda Szubanski)) End of Days (2001 TV Asahi edition) (Mabel (Miriam Margolyes)) The Goonies (1988 TBS edition) (Clark, a.k.a., "Mouth" (Corey Feldman)) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Short Round (Ke Huy Quan)) Last Action Hero (1996 Fuji TV edition) (Danny Madigan (Austin O'Brien)) Little Fockers (Dina Byrnes (Blythe Danner)) Meet the Fockers (Dina Byrnes (Blythe Danner)) Meet the Parents (Dina Byrnes (Blythe Danner)) Ordinary People (Beth Jarrett (Mary Tyler Moore)) The Poseidon Adventure (Robin Shelby (Eric Shea)) Richie Rich (Richie (Macaulay Culkin)) Switch (Maggie Philbin (Sharon Gless)) To Kill a Mockingbird (1972 NET edition) (Jem Finch (Phillip Alford)) Vanishing on 7th Street (James Leary (Jacob Latimore))

Animation Sleeping Beauty (1995 Buena Vista edition) (Merryweather) Maya the Bee (2014) (Willy) Maya the Bee: The Honey Games (Willy) The Croods (Gran Crood) The Croods: A New Age (Gran Crood) Migration (Erin) Zootopia 2 (2025) (Judy's grandmother)

Live-action Akado Suzunosuke (1957) Anmitsu Hime (1958) Ambassador Magma (1967) (Gam's voice in episodes 41 and 42) Robot 110-Ban (1977) (Gan-chan's voice) Ultraman Story (1984) (young Ultraman Taro's voice) Super Voice World: Yume to Jiyū to Happening (2001, DVD) Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths (2007, TV) (Kitarō's voice) Blue Fire (2014, TV) (Tetsurō Hoshino's voice) Sono Koe no Anata e (2022, film) (Herself) Toki ni wa Mukashi no Hanashi o (2022, film) (Herself)

Audio Seishun Adventure: Fūshin Engi (NHK-FM) (Nataku) CD Theater: Dragon Quest (Merusera) Doraemon Ondō (King Records cover)

Others Law of Ueki commercial for Shōnen Sunday (????) (Kousuke Ueki) Naruhodo! The World (????) (narration) NHK Kyōiku: Kagaku Daisukishi you Jaku (????) (narration) Dream 9 Toriko & One Piece & Dragon Ball Z Super Collaboration Special!! (2013) (Son Goku, Son Gohan and Son Goten) Himitsu Kessha Taka no Tsume EX (2014, home video extra) (All eight characters) Wakasa Seikatsu commercial (????) (narration) The Wide Friday Ranking (????) (narration) 76th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen (2025) (as a judge)

Awards and accolades Year Award Category Result Ref 1980 1st Anime Grand Prix Best Female Voice Actor 1980 2nd Anime Grand Prix Best Female Voice Actor 1981 3rd Anime Grand Prix Best Female Voice Actor 1982 4th Anime Grand Prix Best Female Voice Actor 1983 5th Anime Grand Prix Best Female Voice Actor 1987 9th Anime Grand Prix Best Female Voice Actor 1988 10th Anime Grand Prix Best Female Voice Actor 1989 11th Anime Grand Prix Best Female Voice Actor 1990 12th Anime Grand Prix Best Female Voice Actor 1991 13th Anime Grand Prix Best Female Voice Actor 1992 14th Anime Grand Prix Best Voice Actor 1993 15th Anime Grand Prix Best Voice Actor 1994 16th Anime Grand Prix Best Voice Actor 1997 2nd Animation Kobe Awards Special Award 2012 8th Tokyo Anime Awards Merit Award 2013 7th Seiyu Awards Achievement Award 2016 Guinness World Records World Record (Longest video game voice acting career) 2018 Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Special Awards Child Welfare Culture Award 2021 24th Japan Media Arts Festival Distinguished Service Award 2022 45th Japan Academy Film Prize Distinguished Service Award 202371st Kikuchi Kan Prize 2025 66th Mainichi Art Award Special Award Person of Cultural Merit Honored