Kazuo Kitamura was a Japanese actor. His son is actor Yukiya Kitamura. Kitamura met Shōhei Imamura when he was a student of Waseda University and became a close friend so often worked with Imamura. Kitamura joined Bungakuza theatre company and started his acting career in 1950. In 1953, he made his film debut with An Inlet of Muddy Water directed by Tadashi Imai.