The Most Famous
SKIERS from Japan
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Japanese Skiers of all time. This list of famous Japanese Skiers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Japanese Skiers.
1. Noriaki Kasai (b. 1972)
With an HPI of 52.72, Noriaki Kasai is the most famous Japanese Skier. His biography has been translated into 35 different languages on wikipedia.
Noriaki Kasai (葛西 紀明, Kasai Noriaki, born 6 June 1972) is a Japanese ski jumper. His career achievements include a gold medal at the 1992 Ski Flying World Championships, winning the 1999 Nordic Tournament, individual silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics, and two individual bronze medals at the 2003 Ski Jumping World Championships. During his career, Kasai has broken numerous ski jumping records. In 2016, he was honoured with two Guinness World Records certificates for the most individual World Cup starts, not only in ski jumping, but in all World Cup disciplines organized by the International Ski Federation. At World Cup level, Kasai competed for a total of 33 seasons between 1988–89 and 2023–24.
2. Yukio Kasaya (1943 - 2024)
With an HPI of 51.21, Yukio Kasaya is the 2nd most famous Japanese Skier. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Yukio Kasaya (笠谷 幸生, Kasaya Yukio, August 17, 1943 – April 23, 2024) was a Japanese ski jumper. At the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo he became the first Japanese athlete to win a gold medal and the second Japanese (after Chiharu Igaya) to win any medal at the Winter olympics. Previously he placed second at the 1970 World Championships and won the first three jumping events at the 1971/72 Four Hills Tournament. He also took part in the 1964, 1968, and 1976 Olympics and served as the Olympic flag bearer for Japan in 1976 and 1998. Kasaya took up ski jumping at the Taketsuru facility in his native Yoichi, which was built by the founder of Nikka Whisky Distilling Masataka Taketsuru. The facility was renamed after Kasaya in 1972. Kasaya was a long-term employee of the Nikka distillery, eventually becoming its section head. Kasaya died of heart failure in Sapporo on April 23, 2024, at the age of 80.
3. Chiharu Igaya (b. 1931)
With an HPI of 45.97, Chiharu Igaya is the 3rd most famous Japanese Skier. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Chiharu Igaya, (猪谷 千春, Igaya Chiharu, born May 20, 1931) is a former Olympic alpine ski racer and silver medalist from Japan. He competed in three Winter Olympics (1952, 1956, 1960).
4. Kazuyoshi Funaki (b. 1975)
With an HPI of 44.19, Kazuyoshi Funaki is the 4th most famous Japanese Skier. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.
Kazuyoshi Funaki (船木 和喜, Funaki Kazuyoshi) (born 27 April 1975) is a Japanese former ski jumper. He ranked among the most successful sportsmen of its discipline, particularly in the 1990s. Funaki is known for his special variant of the V-style, in which the body lies flatter between the skis than usual.
5. Masahiko Harada (b. 1968)
With an HPI of 43.23, Masahiko Harada is the 5th most famous Japanese Skier. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Masahiko Harada (原田 雅彦, Harada Masahiko) (born 9 May 1968) is a Japanese former ski jumper. He is best remembered for a meltdown at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, which cost the Japanese national team a victory, and his subsequent redemption at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano; the latter of which led to him being affectionately called "Happy Harada".
6. Seiji Aochi (1942 - 2008)
With an HPI of 42.80, Seiji Aochi is the 6th most famous Japanese Skier. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Seiji Aochi (青地 清二, Aochi Seiji) (June 21, 1942 – August 14, 2008) was a Japanese ski jumper who competed in the early 1970s. His best finish was a bronze medal in the Individual normal hill event at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. Aochi attended Meiji University and then joined Snow Brand Milk Products Company. He joined the company's ski club and later stayed as a mentor to younger skiers. Aochi died of gastric cancer.
7. Takanobu Okabe (b. 1970)
With an HPI of 41.06, Takanobu Okabe is the 7th most famous Japanese Skier. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Takanobu Okabe (岡部 孝信, Okabe Takanobu) (born 26 October 1970) is a Japanese former ski jumper.
8. Ryoyu Kobayashi (b. 1996)
With an HPI of 40.63, Ryoyu Kobayashi is the 8th most famous Japanese Skier. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.
Ryōyū Kobayashi (小林 陵侑, Kobayashi Ryōyū, born 8 November 1996) is a Japanese ski jumper. As a ski jumper, he has won 31 World Cup individual competitions, the World Cup overall title twice, Four Hills Tournament three times, and individual olympics gold medalist. During his victorious 2018–19 World Cup season, Kobayashi scored 13 individual wins and won all six possible titles in a single season: the World Cup overall title, the Ski Flying World Cup overall, the Four Hills Tournament, the Raw Air tournament, the Planica7 tournament, and Willingen Five tournament. He is the third ski jumper in history to win the 'Grand Slam' of all four events in the 4Hills Tournament, the gold medal at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing on the normal hill and the silver on the large hill. With 252 metres (827 ft), the third longest jump in history, he is the current Japanese record holder. In a nonofficial event near Akureyri on Iceland, in April 2024 he achieved a distance of 291 m after being around 10 seconds in the air and landing smoothly. It was an unofficial world record. However, it is not being counted as an ski flying world record by FIS.
9. Akito Watabe (b. 1988)
With an HPI of 36.49, Akito Watabe is the 9th most famous Japanese Skier. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Akito Watabe (渡部 暁斗, Watabe Akito, born 26 May 1988) is a Japanese nordic combined skier who has been competing since 2005. He won a gold medal in the 4 × 5 km team event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec.
10. Hirokazu Yagi (b. 1959)
With an HPI of 36.23, Hirokazu Yagi is the 10th most famous Japanese Skier. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Hirokazu Yagi (八木 弘和, Yagi Hirokazu) (born 26 December 1959) is a Japanese former ski jumper.
People
Pantheon has 18 people classified as Japanese skiers born between 1931 and 1996. Of these 18, 16 (88.89%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Japanese skiers include Noriaki Kasai, Chiharu Igaya, and Kazuyoshi Funaki. The most famous deceased Japanese skiers include Yukio Kasaya, and Seiji Aochi. As of April 2024, 2 new Japanese skiers have been added to Pantheon including Seiji Aochi, and Hirokazu Yagi.
Living Japanese Skiers
Go to all Rankings
Noriaki Kasai
1972 - Present
HPI: 52.72
Chiharu Igaya
1931 - Present
HPI: 45.97
Kazuyoshi Funaki
1975 - Present
HPI: 44.19
Masahiko Harada
1968 - Present
HPI: 43.23
Takanobu Okabe
1970 - Present
HPI: 41.06
Ryoyu Kobayashi
1996 - Present
HPI: 40.63
Akito Watabe
1988 - Present
HPI: 36.49
Hirokazu Yagi
1959 - Present
HPI: 36.23
Hiroya Saitō
1970 - Present
HPI: 35.63
Taku Takeuchi
1987 - Present
HPI: 34.85
Daiki Ito
1985 - Present
HPI: 34.78
Sara Takanashi
1996 - Present
HPI: 34.58
