Takeharu Kunimoto

Takeharu Kunimoto voiced the character Ochanoma Papa in the Japanese-language broadcast of One Piece. The appearance stood apart from his usual work, since he was primarily known as a traditional musician rather than an anime voice performer.

Takeharu Kunimoto built his reputation as a master of the shamisen, a three-stringed Japanese instrument. He was also a leading performer of rokyoku, a style of narrative singing accompanied by shamisen.

Rokyoku, also called naniwa-bushi, is a traditional Japanese style of narrative singing accompanied by shamisen. Takeharu Kunimoto was one of its leading performers, carrying the art form through decades of performances and recordings.

Takeharu Kunimoto died on December 24, 2015. He had been active as a shamisen and rokyoku performer from the 1960s until his death.

Takeharu Kunimoto performed professionally for decades, carrying traditional shamisen and rokyoku performance from the 1960s onward. That traditional music career ran alongside his single documented appearance in One Piece.