Takkou Ishimori was a Japanese voice actor born on January 11, 1932, in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. He passed away on June 5, 2013, at the age of 81. His career in the industry began in 1960, and at the time of his death, he was affiliated with the talent agency Arts Vision. Ishimori was also one of the founding members of the theatre company Theater Echo.

Ishimori's voice acting career spanned several decades, during which he portrayed a wide array of characters, often in supporting and elder roles. In the 1980s, he took on roles such as Doba Ajiba in Space Runaway Ideon and Roberto in The Super Dimension Century Orguss. The 1990s saw him as Chairman Harabote Muscle in Kinnikuman: Kinnikusei Ōi Sōdatsu-hen and as the grandfather in Madō King Granzort: Bōken-hen. He also voiced Kotarō Koizumi in The Dark Myth. In the following decade, his credits included Jodu Entolasia in Murder Princess, a sea captain in Gunparade Orchestra, and Principal Uchida in R.O.D the TV. Later in his career, he was known for roles like the King of Xerxes in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Matsui in Bunny Drop.

Ishimori was also highly active in dubbing foreign films and television series into Japanese. His extensive voice work in this field included providing the Japanese voice for the Sorting Hat in the early Harry Potter films and General William Grey in Independence Day. He also voiced characters in dubs of films such as A Beautiful Mind, The Exorcist: Director's Cut, and Bulletproof Monk.

Throughout his long and prolific career, Takkou Ishimori was a familiar presence in Japanese animation and voice-over, contributing his talents to countless productions. He continued working as an active voice actor until his death in 2013. Following his passing, some of his notable roles were taken over by other voice actors; for instance, his role as Sengoku in One Piece was succeeded by Takashi Nagasako, and his role as the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter series was succeeded by Naoki Tatsuta.