•
Ume Aoki, manga artist •
Mana Ashida, child actress from
Nishinomiya •
Koichi Domoto, singer of
KinKi Kids •
Heath, musician, singer-songwriter and bassist of
X Japan is from
Amagasaki. •
Hiro Fujiwara, manga artist •
Miracle Hikaru, comedian and impersonator is from
Toyooka. •
Kanō Jigorō, founder of the martial art judo •
Jun, musician, singer-songwriter and guitarist of
Phantasmagoria is from
Kobe. •
Shinji Kagawa, footballer from
Kobe •
Tomoya Kanki, drummer of
One Ok Rock •
Takumi Kawanishi (J-pop idol singer and dancer, member of
JO1) •
Tomomi Ogawa, bassist of
Scandal •
Itzuki Yamazaki, professional wrestler from
Ieshima •
Kaoru, guitarist of
Dir En Grey •
Ayaka Kimura, actress, former singer of
Coconuts Musume is from Kobe. •
Keiko Kitagawa, actress from
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon and
Buzzer Beat was born in Kobe. •
Miho Komatsu, singer and songwriter from
Kobe •
Yūji Kuroiwa, politician from
Kobe, current governor of
Kanagawa Prefecture •
Kamui Kobayashi, former
Sauber and
Toyota Racing driver from
Amagasaki •
Chisa Maekawa, singer of
Girl Next Door •
Kiyomatsu Matsubara, ichthyologist, herpetologist and marine biologist •
Hitoshi Matsumoto, comedian, from Amagasaki •
Aya Matsuura, singer is from
Himeji. •
Ryuto Kazuhara, vocalist of
Generations from Exile Tribe is from
Amagasaki. •
Mina Myoui – American-born Japanese singer of South Korean group
Twice. Raised in
Nishinomiya •
Hiro Matsushita – Businessman, former driver in
Champ Car series. Chairman of
Swift Engineering &
Swift Xi •
Miyavi, musician, although born in
Konohana-ku, Osaka grew up in
Kawanishi •
Minako Nishiyama, contemporary artist •
Rena Nōnen known professionally as , actress, singer, fashion model from
Kamikawa •
Kaori Sakamoto, Figure Skater •
Masamune Shirow,
manga artist was born in Kobe. •
Yoko Shimomura, video game composer •
So Taguchi, outfielder for the
Chicago Cubs •
Masahiro Tanaka, pitcher for the
New York Yankees •
Nagaru Tanigawa, creator of the
Haruhi Suzumiya series was born in
Kinki. •
Tsuneko Taniuchi, contemporary performance artist •
Fumito Ueda, video game creator of
Ico,
Shadow of the Colossus, and
The Last Guardian •
Juri Ueno,
Japanese Academy Award-winning actress best known for her performances in
Swing Girls and the live-action adaptation of
Nodame Cantabile, is from
Kakogawa. •
Shota Yasuda, guitarist of
Kanjani Eight is from Amagasaki. •
Ryo Utsunomiya, wildlife photographer •
Piko, musician,
Vocaloid singer born in Kobe, Hyōgo ==Sister regions==