Akihiro Miwa, the iconic drag queen who voiced Moro in Princess Mononoke, has died at 91. His legacy spans cabaret, cinema, and Studio Ghibli magic.
Miwa Princess Mononoke voice has gone silent. Akihiro Miwa, the legendary Japanese drag queen, cabaret singer, and actor who brought Moro—the giant wolf goddess and adoptive mother of San—to life in Hayao Miyazaki’s 1997 masterpiece, died on June 20, 2026, at the age of 91. If you watched Princess Mononoke and felt something primal stir during Moro’s scenes, that was Miwa’s work. He didn’t just voice a wolf. He voiced motherhood, rage, and the dying breath of the natural world.
Miwa was born Shingo Terada in Nagasaki in 1935, moved to Tokyo at 15 to study music, and spent decades building a career that defied every category Japan tried to place him in. He was a female impersonator at a time when that was genuinely dangerous. He was a cabaret singer who sold millions of records. He acted in films for directors like Kinji Fukasaku and Takeshi Kitano. And in his later years, he became the voice of some of animation’s most memorable characters, including the Witch of the Waste in Howl’s Moving Castle and Arceus in Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life.
The Power of Miwa Princess Mononoke Performance
Miwa Princess Mononoke voice work remains his most internationally recognized contribution to cinema, and for good reason. Moro is not a cuddly Disney animal. She is a 300-year-old wolf goddess who raises a human child as her own, fights gods and demons, and dies with her fangs still buried in her enemy’s throat. Miwa’s vocal performance captured all of that—the tenderness, the ferocity, the ancient weariness. When Moro tells San that she is “ugly” and “beautiful” in the same breath, Miwa makes you believe both words equally.
What many Western viewers never knew was that Miwa was already a cultural icon in Japan long before Miyazaki cast him. He had starred in films, hosted television programs, and maintained a cabaret career that made him a household name. His casting as Moro was not stunt casting or novelty. It was Miyazaki recognizing that Miwa possessed a voice that could convey both maternal love and divine fury, a combination that very few performers can manage.
Miwa’s death closes a chapter of Japanese cinema history. He was one of the last living connections to the post-war entertainment world, to the era of cabaret and experimental theater that shaped modern Japanese pop culture. His work with Studio Ghibli introduced him to international audiences who might never have discovered his music or his films, and his performances in Princess Mononoke and Howl’s Moving Castle will continue to reach new viewers for generations.
The wolf goddess has returned to the forest. Rest in power, Miwa.
Rewatch Miwa Princess Mononoke performance in Princess Mononoke and Howl’s Moving Castle to celebrate a legend who gave voice to gods.
Also Read: Eggers Werwulf Trailer Looks Terrifying