Lee was born on December 19, 1941 in Osaka, Japan. On his birth certificate, Lee's Japanese name was Akihiro Tsukiyama (月山 明䶈 Tsukiyama Akihiro?, 쓰키야마 아키히로, つきやま あきひろ). [1] His father, Lee Cheung-woo (이충우), was employed as a farm hand on a cattle ranch in Japan. His mother, Chae Tae-won (채태원) was a housewife .