Osamu Miyawaki, Founder of Kaiyodo, Dies at 96; Produced Figures of Ultraman, Evangelion Characters

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:21 JST, February 18, 2025

Osamu Miyawaki, the founder of the action figure manufacturer Kaiyodo, based in Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture, died of old age at a facility in the prefecture on Sunday. He was 96 years old. A farewell ceremony will be held at a later date.

Miyawaki was originally from Kochi Prefecture. He joined the South Manchuria Railway company at the age of 15 and returned to Japan at the age of 18. After working as a crew member on a tuna fishing boat, he opened Kaiyodo as a plastic model shop in 1964.

In 1984, Kaiyodo changed the direction of its business and began manufacturing action figures of popular anime characters, such as Ultraman and those from Neon Genesis Evangelion.