producer

samurai sword soul founder/producer/actor

Yoshi was born in Osaka, and grew up in Nara, Japan. Yoshi now is an actor and an emcee for various events. While he was a student at Osaka City University, he studied acting, emceeing, and Japanese Classic Dance. He also worked as a radio personality on MBS Radio. Since arriving in New York in 1990, Yoshi has been entertaining New Yorkers not only as a Samurai and martial artist, but also as an actor, comedian, MC, and voice-over talent.

In 2003, Yoshi started his own Samurai Sword Fighting Class. He formed the sword fighting performance group, Samurai Sword Soul, with Yoshihisa Kuwayama to perform in New York, debuting in Cherry Blossom Festival 2003 at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. He also emceed for this event, and his popularity as an emcee and performer has grown every year. Also in 2003, Yoshi was booked as a main host for the cable TV series, Samurai Sportsman on OLN (Outdoor Life Network).

In 2004, Yoshi was invited as a guest on The Late Night with Conan O' Brien on NBC where he talked about samurai philosophy and demonstrated his unique swordsmanship. In 2005, he played the lead character Lone Wolf in Deadly She-wolf Assassin at Armageddon (Kozure Ookami) at the Japan Society. In 2006, he was cast as a main samurai for the Monday Night Football Promo on ESPN. Since 2008, he has starred as the host of the European TV game show, BIG IN JAPAN.

Yoshi also appeared in a Budweiser Commercial (Wasabi Version) which was selected as the best commercial of the year in 2000. www.YoshiAmao.com

Photo: Antonio M. Rosario

Photo: Kenji Mori

Photo: Matias Okawa