Asaoka Nobuo was born on December 15, 1899 as the eldest son of the Otemachi, Hiroshima based bakery “Musashiya”. He reportedly attended Taimei Elementary School, Gyosei Junior High School (now the Gyosei High School) and Hiroshima Ichinaka (now known as Hiroshima Kokutaiji High School). While a student in junior high, he was a part of the sumo club. He was also skilled in judo and kendo. While at Waseda University, he was a member of the sumo wrestling club and won the Japan Athletics Championships.
In 1920, he went to China and participated in the qualifiers for the Olympics in Antwerp to represent Hiroshima. That same year, he won the Far East Championship for javelin throwing.
After graduating from college in 1925, he began acting and appearing in 19 films. He also directed two movies in 1928. In 1930, he retired from the film business and went on to run a restaurant. He later became a politician in 1947. In 1950, he was involved in the establishment of Japan’s first women’s professional baseball team.
He died of a cerebral hemorrhage on November 12, 1968 at 68 years old.
