Shin Koyamada

On June 11, 2000, Koyamada moved to the United States to further his studies. He enrolled in the ESL program at the University of California, Riverside.[8] Later that year, he studied at Los Angeles City College, and began taking acting lessons.[9]

Starting in 2000, Koyamada auditioned for many commercials and acted in student films and music videos. He also booked national commercials for Disneyland, Apple Computer and JC Penney.[10] In 2001, Koyamada choreographed and performed martial arts forms and stage combat in a production of Shakespeare's Coriolanus for the Knightsbridge Theater in Pasadena. Koyamada also made a brief guest appearance in Power Rangers Wild Force and co-starred in the award-winning American short comedy film A Ninja Pays Half My Rent.[11]

Koyamada's debut film role was in the hit film The Last Samurai (2003), co-starring as Nobutada, a son of Ken Watanabe's character Katsumoto and a young Samurai who befriends Algren, played by Tom Cruise. His character became known for the iconic lines "Jolly Good" and "No Mind".[12] The film grossed $456 million at the box office and was nominated for several Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and National Board of Review Awards.[13]

In 2006, Koyamada starred alongside Brenda Song in the Disney Channel's Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior, which become one of the highest rated original movies on the channel. The film also broke records in the United Kingdom and Europe.[14] From 2006 to 2008, Koyamada was a regular in the Disney Channel Games.[15]

In late 2005, Koyamada and his wife Nia Lyte formed production company Shinca Entertainment to develop and produce a television and live streaming talk show The Nia Lyte Show (2006). In Japan, Koyamada starred in and executive produced the Japanese documentary film Wine Road of the Samurai.[16]

In 2007, Koyamada starred in and produced the short film Good Soil.[17] Koyamada next appeared in the 20th Century Fox drama Constellation (2007).[18]

In 2009, Koyamada partnered with Travis Moore and Nia Lyte to form comics company Laizen Comics.[19][20][21][22] Koyamada, Moore and Lyte created The Dreamhoppers (2010), which was published and distributed by Laizen Comics to independent comic book stores throughout the United States .[23]

Koyamada continued to explore working in Japan and starred in the Japanese stage production Ai No Shizuku.[24] He also starred in and produced the film Heart of the Dragon (2013).[25] Koyamada also produced a multi-part television and web series comprising Spirit Fashion Show (2013), Spirit Art Show (2013), Spirit Music Show (2013), Spirit Love Show (2013) and Spirit Earth Show (2014), with Claudia Hallowell and Nia Lyte and distributed by Spirit Show Network.[26]

Koyamada has starred in and produced an American feature film The Yokai King. The film is expected to be released internationally in 2021.

Through Shinca Entertainment, Koyamada has developed and produced other comic book series and digital stickers for a mobile chatting system. He has also been developing numerous action films, Japanese-style animation and mobile games.[27][28]

Koyamada has been appointed as an U.S. Department of State Cultural Envoy and a Japan-America Society Southern California Special Ambassador.[30] Koyamada has been appointed to several goodwill ambassadorships in Japan, including Okayama Perfecture Tourism Ambassador in 2010, Kyoto Tourism Ambassador in 2012[31][32] and 2020 Tokyo Olympics Karate Ambassador.

Koyamada speaking at Seinan Gakuin University in Fukuoka, Japan

Koyamada has been invited by the U.S. Embassy Tokyo in 2011 to lecture to Japanese students in five different cities to promote international education.[33][34]

Since 2015, Koyamada has given lectures at both private and national universities in Japan, including Kansai University, Ritsumeikan University, Kindai University, Seinan Gakuin University, Okayama University, Okinawa International University and Miyazaki Municipal University.

In late 2019, Koyamada spoke at Mount Kenya University in Nairobi, Kenya.[35] In February 2020, Embassy of the United States, Moscow and its consulates invited Koyamada to be a keynote speaker.[36]

Since 2008, Koyamada has assisted homeless people in Los Angeles through KIF's program in providing foods and drinks. In response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Koyamada led fundraising efforts in California and donated to three affected Prefectures of Japan. Koyamada also shipped 20-foot containers filled with basic necessities directly to victims.[37] He has also assisted a number of natural disasters, including the 2018 Japan floods.

In July 2017, Koyamada became the first Japanese National Board of Directors of Sister Cities International (SCI).[38] He led global initiatives on engaging global youth. In 2019, he created the Japan-Texas Leaderships Symposium, a bilateral business and cultural event.[39][40]

By 16, Koyamada began to study Keishinkan Karate.[42] In 1998, he competed in a national Karate Championship in Nagano. In 1999, he fought again at the same championship, and was awarded to his first Degree Black Belt skipped directly from a White Belt.[43]

After relocating to Los Angeles in 2000, he gave private karate lessons for a few months. He began training in Northern Shaolin Kung Fu with the Harmonious Fist Chinese Athletic Association.[44][45] Koyamada specialized in the empty hand form Bot Bo (拔步) and double broadsword.[46] In 2001 and 2002, Koyamada competed in six U.S national martial arts competitions in several major cities, including San Diego, Las Vegas, San Francisco.[47] In 2004, Koyamada was featured on the cover of Black Belt Magazine.

In 2005, Koyamada earned san-dan (third degree) Black Belt in traditional Keishinkan Karate. He also begun studying Iaijutsu, a Japanese combative quick-draw sword technique, an art of drawing the Japanese sword, katana, and one of the Japanese koryū martial art disciplines in the education of the Samurai.

Koyamada also startrd training in Korean martial arts Tae Kwon Do. After a year of training, he earned a first degree black belt, and eventually a second degree black belt.[48] In 2007, Koyamada began studying in Korea's Royal Court Martial Arts, for which he was certified as a 1st Degree Black Belt in 2009.[49] In 2009, he performed traditional Japanese swordsmanship at the Martial Arts Tour held in Nettuno, Italy.[50]

In 2010 and 2011, he founded the United States Martial Arts Festival (USMAF), held in Redondo Beach, California.[51] At USMAF, world renowned martial arts masters and youth performed different styles such as Karate, Shaolin Kung Fu, Krav Maga, Capoera, MMA, Tae Kwon Do, Shorinji Kempo, American Kenpo, Boxing, Marine Corps Martial Arts Program and others.[52]

In 2016, Koyamada was appointed as Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics Karate Ambassador as part of an ongoing efforts to include Karate into the additional Olympics Games and to promote Karate internationally. In August 2016, the International Olympic Committee approved Karate as an Olympic sport for the first time in its history, beginning at the 2020 Summer Olympics. In 2017, he attended as a special guest for the first Emperor's Cup and Empress's Cup All Japan Karate Championship at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.

In 2005, Koyamada formed a production company Shinca Entertainment, based in Burbank, California.[53] The company has since produced content, including the comic book series The Dreamhoppers under various brands.[54]

In 2012, Koyamada established Shinca Enterprise, a consulting firm to bridge American startup companies in Japan and South America. In 2017, the company's clients include a wide range of businesses such as agriculture, technology, retail, energy, mining, sports, foods and entertainment industries.[55]