Takkō 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 due to heart failure. His career in the entertainment 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, highlighting his deep roots in performance.

Ishimori was a prolific actor whose career spanned over five decades, during which he became a familiar presence in anime, video games, and foreign film dubbing. He was particularly known for his deep, charismatic voice and for portraying older male characters such as grandfathers, mentors, and authority figures. His early anime work included roles in prominent series of the 1970s and 1980s, such as Doba Ajiba in Space Runaway Ideon (1980) and Roberto Streiff in The Super Dimension Century Orguss (1983). He also voiced Franklin Bidan in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (1985).

The 1990s saw Ishimori take on a wide variety of roles, showcasing his versatility. He voiced Chairman Harabote Muscle in Kinnikuman: Kinnikusei Ōi Sōdatsu-hen (1991), the elderly Matsugorō Tenjinbayashi in Kinkyū Hasshin Saver Kids (1991), and Chang Ang in Magic Knight Rayearth (1994). His filmography from this period also includes Sōichirō Funaoka in Manga Nihon Keizai Nyūmon and a role as a sea captain in Gunparade Orchestra. He was also active in the tokusatsu genre, appearing as Kugutsudayuu in Seijuu Sentai Gingaman (1998).

In the 2000s, Ishimori gained international recognition for several key roles. He is perhaps best known as the voice of Fleet Admiral Sengoku in the long-running series One Piece, a role he held from 2003 until his death. That same decade, he was cast as the Japanese voice of the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter film series, beginning with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. His other notable anime roles from this era include Yoshimune in Buzzer Beater, the principal in R.O.D the TV, and Jodu Entolasia in the OVA series Murder Princess.

Later in his career, Ishimori continued to work actively, voicing the King of Xerxes in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2010) and Matsui in Bunny Drop (2011). His extensive work in dubbing Hollywood films saw him provide Japanese voices for characters in A Beautiful Mind, Independence Day, and The Exorcist: Director's Cut, among many others. Following his passing in 2013, his notable role as Sengoku in One Piece was succeeded by voice actor Takashi Nagasako, while his role as the Sorting Hat was taken over by Naoki Tatsuta.