Japanese actor Fujiwara Kisetsu (藤原季節) will step into the professional boxing ring for the first time on September 1, competing in a super bantamweight bout at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. The actor took up boxing seriously after playing a boxer in the 2025 Netflix series “Ashura-Like” (阿修羅のごとく), and has spent the past several years training toward this debut.
Fujiwara joined the Wajima Koichi Sports Gym in January 2023 after landing the role in “Ashura-Like,” learning boxing fundamentals under trainer Isotani Kazuhiro. As filming began that August, he continued conditioning alongside boxing supervisor Matsuura Shinichiro, and the production shot fight scenes at Korakuen Hall in November before wrapping in December. Rather than stopping once filming ended, Fujiwara kept training and passed the official professional boxing test on September 17, 2024.
After a brief pause, he resumed training in April 2026 with the goal of stepping into an actual match, following Isotani to Shakujii Sports Boxing Gym. Since June, he has been sparring one to two times a week in preparation for the September bout.
Fujiwara said he spent considerable time discussing the decision with his talent agency before committing to the fight. “I’ve left a lot of things half-finished in my life,” he reflected, pointing to dropping out of university and walking away from part-time jobs, and describing acting as the one path he managed to stick with. He said continuing boxing led him to many new encounters, and that quitting now would leave those experiences unfinished too. “If I can say I saw boxing through to the end, I feel like I can finally have the resolve to face life,” he said, adding that he hopes to live “without fear, and looking forward” as a result.
Who is Fujiwara Kisetsu?
Born on January 18, 1993, in Hokkaido, Fujiwara was selected from about 500 applicants at a 2013 workshop audition and joined the talent agency Office Sakku. His film credits include “Ken to Kazu,” “Tomerareruka, Oretachi wo,” “His,” “Sasaki, in My Main,” “Kurenazume,” “Nosari no Shima,” “Kuhaku,” “Watashitachi wa Otona,” “Tatsumi” and “Aruiwa, Utopia.” In 2026, he drew attention for the drama “Chiruran: Shinsengumi Chinkonka” and the NHK morning drama serial “Kaze, Kaoru.” He currently appears in the film “Sinsin and the Mouse,” and is set to lead the film “Akatsuchi ni Nemuru,” due out in March 2027.
With his professional debut now set for September 1, Fujiwara will be looking to translate years of on-and-off-screen training into a real result inside the ring.
