On a chilly December evening, when most adults are getting ready to call it a day, little Seishiro Kato is on location and hard at work. Crowned and wearing a king’s costume, he stands amid a cluster of staff … and his mother.

Having thrown off his royal robes –- his attire for his latest TV appearance — he’s full of confidence and sharp to respond in English, “My name is Seishiro Kato. Nice to meet you!” It’s with this candor that he has lit up the world of Japanese television.

Just nine years old, Kato has fast become one of the most recognizable faces in Japan. He was widely recognized in the 2009 NHK drama series “Tenchi Jin” in which he played the childhood role of the main character Kanetsugu Naoe.