Personal Info
Birth date
1937-07-20 (87 Years)
Day of death
2008-10-05
Gender
Male
Known for
Acting
Place of birth
Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
Also known as
Кэн Огата
오가타 켄
绪形拳
Ken Ogata
Akinobu Ogata
Ken Ogata
Biography
Ken Ogata (緒形 拳 Ogata Ken, 20 July 1937-5 October 2008) was a Japanese actor. Ogata was born in Tokyo, Japan. Ogata is well known for his roles in Peter Greenaway's The Pillow Book, Paul Schrader's Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters and Shohei Imamura's The Ballad of Narayama. He won the award for best actor at the 26th Blue Ribbon Awards for Okinawan Boys. In television, his starring role as Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the 1965 NHK Taiga drama Taikōki catapulted him to fame. Ken went on to many prominent roles in subsequent programs. The following year, he portrayed Benkei in Minamoto no Yoshitsune. The network tapped him again for the role of Fujiwara no Sumitomo in the 1976 Kaze to Kumo to Niji to. He returned to playing Hideyoshi in the 1978 Ōgon no Hibi, and returned to the lead as Ōishi Kuranosuke in Tōge no Gunzō, the 1982 Chūshingura. Another featured appearance in a Taiga drama was in Taiheiki (1991, as Ashikaga Sadauji, father of Takauji). Mr. Ogata died on October 5, 2008, just days after finishing his role in the production of the Fuji TV drama "Kaze no Garden" (Garden of the Winds), filmed in the rural Furano area of northern Japan. In his final role, Ogata, himself 71 years of age, played a doctor involved in the end-of-life care of elderly patients. His sons Kanta and Naoto Ogata are actors. NHK selected Naoto for the starring role of Oda Nobunaga in the 1992 Taiga drama Nobunaga King of Zipangu; Kanta played Inaba Masakatsu in Aoi Tokugawa Sandai (2000). Description above from the Wikipedia article Ken Ogata, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Filmography
SMAP×SMAP
8.5
Overview:
SMAP×SMAP was an ongoing weekly Japanese variety show on Kansai TV and Fuji TV starring the members of SMAP. The show began on April 15, 1996 and it aired from 22:00 to 22:54 every Monday. The show's usual ratings were higher than 20%, which is considered high since most variety shows range from 10-20%. Each episode begins a variety of skits, comedic performances, and/or games. These are followed by Bistro SMAP, in which the SMAP members compete against each other to impress celebrity judges with their gourmet cooking. Last is a musical performance by SMAP which may include celebrity guests, as well.Taikouki
NYR
Overview:
Based on the life of Hideyoshi Toyotomi (February 2, 1537 – September 18, 1598) a Sengoku period daimyo who unified Japan.Minamoto no Yoshitsune
NYR
Overview:
The chronicles of the life of Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159 - May 17th, 1189). He was a late Heian and early Kamakura general of the Minamoto clan of Japan. Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo. His older brother Minamoto no Yoritomo founded the Kamakura shogunate.Professional Killers
7.3
Overview:
A shikakenin was an under-the-cover trade that undertook killing in Edo. Hanemon of Otowa, an agency that introduced laborers and maids, was also one of these. Katsugoro Iseya was a timber dealer who had come in as a client. His target was the constructions magistrate Hanno, and the Tatsumiya who sipped on the benefits. Hanemon who had a stong code towards killing, where he would only kill those who do no good to be in the world, accepts this request. Baian Fujieda, a needle doctor would carry out the killing. However, the professional killer Baian fails to bring down Tatsumiya. Hanemon then looks to another shikakenin, the ronin Sanai Nishimura for the role. Although Sanai's ability with the sword is good, he lives poorly in a tenement, and accepts this commission on the condition that it is kept a secret from his wife and child. Here, they close in on Hanno and Tatsumiya again...Ōgon no Hibi
NYR
Overview:
Luzon Sukezaemon is a merchant who imports vases from the Philippines. The vases are highly valued as tea utensils and he makes a huge profit. This was the first taiga drama to concentrate on the lives of commoners and the reviled merchant class of the Tokugawa period. It documents the rise and fall of the merchant city of Sakai, as seen by its most famous resident, the semilegendary Luzon.Furuhata Ninzaburo
9
Overview:
Furuhata Ninzaburō is a Japanese television series that ran periodically on Fuji Television from 1994 until its final episodes in 2006. It was written by Japanese playwright Kōki Mitani and is often referred to as the Japanese version of Columbo. The series is a police detective drama starring actor Masakazu Tamura as Furuhata Ninzaburo and Masahiko Nishimura as his stereotypically bumbling sidekick, Shintaro Imaizumi. The program aired weekly and featured a guest villain each time, usually a famous talent in Japan. Pop-stars like SMAP, television hosts like Sanma Akashiya and even sports figures like Ichiro Suzuki have been featured on this program. It was one of the most popular television dramas in the history of Japanese television, having spawned several seasons and TV specials.Gift
6
Overview:
An unconscious young man is found inside the closet of a missing billionaire. Amnesiac, he is given the name Yukio and kept close to Naomi—the woman who was supposed to disappear alongside the billionaire, Shibata—in case he ever recovers his memories of the night he was rescued and the whereabouts of Shibata and his fortune.Garden of the Wind
NYR
Overview:
The lead, Dr. Sadami Shiratori worked in the operating room at a famous Tokyo hospital was around death on a daily basis. His own father, Teizo Shiratori is also a doctor, called Grandfather as he raised the estranged children of his wayward son, he practiced medicine in a small town on Hokkaido, Japan’s most northern island. His practice was limited only to terminal patients…in their own homes. He cared for them and helped both them and their families prepare for the ‘final journey’.Ashura no Gotoku
5
Overview:
Kuniko Mukōda's masterpiece, a poignant and subtle portrait of the jealousy and suspicion that secretly swirl behind seemingly peaceful family relationships.Prince Shotoku
6
Overview:
In the late 6th century the leaders of the Yamato Dynasty had no clear plan for the creation of a unified state. Battles still raged among various warrior clans. Shotoku Taishi, second son of Emperor Yomei, strived to create a new nation out of this chaos. NHK captures this great man from a time in history rarely depicted on screen, in a story of epic proportions. Shotoku Taishi is known mainly through legends and myths and has been viewed as more god than man. The elaborate and colorful costumes of the time and the beauty of ancient Japan enhance this fascinating historical drama.Ruri's Island
9
Overview:
Ruri, having been abandoned by her mother to a foster care facility, lives a life of reckless abandonment. When Nakama Yuzo, a kind man but for a trigger-happy temper, runs into Ruri he realizes that perhaps she's the child he's been looking for. Yuzo lives in Hatomijima, a small insland in Okinawa where the population is 49 and the average age group is 61. There are no children. The island has only one school - a primary school. If a child is not enrolled in the school, it will be closed. As a result, society will abandon the island and in a few years, it will cease to have any inhabitants. To save their island, the locals decide to bring in a foster child. Ruri is their candidate, and with her she brings the hope of the island's survival.Stewardess's Sweetheart
NYR
Overview:
This romantic tale involves a co-pilot who aspires to become the pilot of a new Boeing 747-400, and the stewardess he loves. Suddenly, the wife he had believed dead reappears.Hashū Hankachō
NYR
Overview:
Kanto Torishimari Shutsuyaku Sakon Oyamada and Shinbei Asano, called "Hashū-sama" by the people. Sakon, a family man, and Shinbei, a serious man, travel around the crime-ridden Kanto region and solve crimes...Mouri Motonari
NYR
Overview:
The 36th NHK Taiga Drama is Mori Motonari. This series chronicles the life of Mori Motonari, a warlord of the early 1500s who stood at the vanguard of the Warring States era. All Japanese school textbooks contain the Mitsuya no kyokun, Mori's famous lesson to his three sons that teaches that while one arrow is easily broken, three arrows together cannot be broken. In 1997, 500 years after his birth, NHK dramatizes Motonari's rise from a chief of the region of Aki (now Hiroshima) to a daimyo who rules over ten provinces of the Chugoku region. Motonari was 64 years old and already the patriarch of a powerful dynasty about the time Oda Nobunaga and Takeda Shingen appeared on the scene. And even after his death, the Mori family figured prominently in Japanese history. His grandson Terumoto became a loyal Toyotomi vassal. Defeated at the Battle of Sekigahara, Ieyasu confiscated most of his lands, leaving him only with Suwo and Nagato, later known as Choshu. But 260 years later, the Mori got their ultimate revenge, leading the imperial forces against the Tokugawa in the Meiji Restoration.Akai Arashi
NYR
Overview:
A romance drawn under the theme of "As long as human beings have love, as long as they live thoroughly for love, they will never be unhappy."Virus
6.344
Overview:
Scientists in Antarctica desperately try to find a cure to a military virus that was released in a plane crash and has wiped out the rest of the world.Ai wa Doda
NYR
Overview:
Although Shuichi has lost his wife, there is no lack of female influence in his life. He has three daughters who are eligible for marriage, and an assortment of women friends and lovers that has earned him the reputation of being a playboy. But the real love interest in his life is his female boss. How he and his daughters work out their romantic adventures provides both entertainment and enlightenment in the challenges of finding true love.Samurai Reincarnation
6
Overview:
After surviving the slaughter of many Christians 350 years ago, a samurai denounces God for ignoring the pleas of believers. He sells his soul to Satan and receives the power to resurrect the dead to join him in a murderous rampage.The Ballad of Narayama
7.509
Overview:
In a small village in a valley everyone who reaches the age of 70 must leave the village and go to a certain mountain top to die. If anyone should refuse they would disgrace their family. Old Orin is 69. This winter it is her turn to go to the mountain. But first she must make sure that her eldest son Tatsuhei finds a wife.Edo Porn
5.958
Overview:
The world-famous woodblock artist Hokusai (1760-1849), a widower in need of a steady income, lives with his daughter Oei in the house of his friend Bakin.Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
7.797
Overview:
A fictional account of the life of Japanese author Yukio Mishima, combining dramatizations of three of his novels and a depiction of the events of November 25th, 1970.Acting
2008Garden of the Wind (11 Episodes) as Teizo Shiratori
2008Bōshi as Shunpei Takayama
2008Kitaro and the Millennium Curse as Nurarihyon
2006Love and Honor as Magohachiro Kibe
2006Granny Gabai as Tofu shop owner
2006A Long Walk as Matsutaro Yasuda
2005A Hardest Night!! as Unknown
2005The Samurai I Loved as Maki Sukezaemon
2005Miracle Banana as Takashi Yamamura
2005Ruri's Island (10 Episodes) as Yuzo Nakama
2005Journey Along the Silk Road as Unknown
2004The Hidden Blade as Chief Retainer Hori
2004Last Quarter as Doujima
2004Izo as Swordsman
2003The Man Who Wipes Mirrors as Unknown
2003Time Limit as Unknown
200211’09”01—September 11 as Villager (segment "Japan")
2001Prince Shotoku (2 Episodes) as Soga no Umako
2001Man Walking on Snow as Nobuo Honma
2000Film Noir as Client
1999Autumn Blossoms as Unknown
1998The Central Quicksand as Unknown
1997Gift (1 Episode) as Yujiro Kishiwada（岸和田 裕二郎）
1997Mouri Motonari (50 Episodes) as Unknown
1996橋の雨 (1 Episode) as Unknown
1996Hachigatsu no Love Song (11 Episodes) as Unknown
1996Gonin 2 as Toyama Masamichi
1996SMAP×SMAP (1, 1 Episode) as Skit guest, Skit Guest
1996The Way of Osaka Financing 1 as Unknown
1996ナニワ金融道 (6 Episodes) as 金子 高利
1995Goodbye Japan as Unknown
1995The Pillow Book as The Father
1994Furuhata Ninzaburo (1 Episode) as Unknown
1994Stewardess's Sweetheart (12 Episodes) as Unknown
1994動く壁 (1 Episode) as Unknown
1993Kokkai e ikô! as Unknown
1992Soyokaze Toki ni wa Tsumujikaze as Unknown
1992Succession as Daisaku Kadota
1992The Dream of Russia as Koudayu Daikokuya - captain
1992Ai wa Doda (11 Episodes) as Unknown
1991My Soul Is Slashed as Shutaro Ishikawa
1991Goodbye Mama as Unknown
1991Heat Wave as Police
1991Rainbow Kids as Inspector Daigoro Igari
1990Shingo's Ten Duels as The narrator
1989Company Executives as Unknown
1989Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally as Unknown
1989Shogun's Shadow as Igo Gyobu
1988The Peacock King as Jiku Ajari
1988A Chaos of Flowers as Kan Yosano
1988Oración as Senzo Wataumi
1988Tokugawa Ieyasu – TBS Warlord Special as Unknown
1988Memories of You as Unknown
1988Totteoki no Seishun as Unknown
1987Tokyo Bordello as Unknown
1987Zegen as Iheiji Muraoka
1986House on Fire as Kazuo Katsura
1985Tracked as Tokichi Sakane
1985Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters as Yukio Mishima (segment "November 25, 1970")
1985Oar as Iwago Tomita
1984Jugyo Sankan no Onna as Kyohei Tasaka
1984Ana as Toru Mori
1983The Catch as Fusajiro Kohama
1983The Geisha as Katsuzo
1983Okinawan Boys as Unknown
1983The Ballad of Narayama as Tatsuhei
1982The Dropout as Seiji Ohtaki
1982Toge no Gunzo (50 Episodes) as Yoshio Oishi
1981Edo Porn as Hokusai
1981Samurai Reincarnation as Musashi Miyamoto
1981The Phantom Thief Nezumi Kozo and the Tattooed Judge as Toyama no Kin-san
1981Scars of the Sun as Shuhei's Father
1981Why Not? as Furukawa
1980The Wicked as Unknown
1980Virus as Prof. Tsuchiya
1980Shadow Warriors: Hattori Hanzo as Koga Shiro Samurai
1979Akai Arashi (1 Episode) as Unknown
1979Vengeance Is Mine as Iwao Enokizu
1979Ashura no Gotoku (3 Episodes) as Unknown
1978The Demon as Sokichi Takeshita
1978Ōgon no Hibi (51 Episodes) as Toyotomi Hideyoshi
1977Mount Hakkoda as Corporal Murayama
1975必殺必中仕事屋稼業 (1 Episode) as Unknown
1974The Castle of Sand as Kenichi Miki
1974The Last Samurai as Nakamura Hanjiro
1974Hashū Hankachō (13 Episodes) as Unknown
1974Professional Killers – Assignment by Night as Baian Fujieda
1973Professional Killers – Assassin's Quarry as Baian Fujieda
1972必殺仕掛人（ＴＶシリーズ） (1 Episode) as Unknown
1972Professional Killers (33 Episodes) as Baian Fujieda
1971A Woman Called En as Unknown
1969Lady with Seven Faces as Scholar
1969Samurai Banners as Hatanaka Buhei
1969Farewell, My Beloved as Unknown
1968The House of Wooden Blocks as Unknown
1968The Sex Check as Unknown
1966Minamoto no Yoshitsune (52 Episodes) as Musashibo Benkei
1965Taikouki (52 Episodes) as Toyotomi no Hideyoshi
1964間諜 as Unknown