gackt_army | Veteran Actor of Stage and Screen OGATA KEN dies at age 71 (Reply)

Veteran actor Ogata Ken died on Sunday, Oct 5th. He was widely regarded as one of Japan's finest actors, whose dedication to his craft brought out the best in younger cast members.

Real name Ogata Akinobu, the Tokyo native joined the now defunct Shinkokugeki theater group in 1958 and studied under Tatsumi Ryutaro (1905-89). He later married fellow member Takakura Norie and their two sons, Kanta and Naoto, are both actors.

Ogata achieved fame on TV when he played the lead role of medieval warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the 1965 NHK taiga drama series "Taikouki." In 1972-73 he played the lead role of a ninja assassin in the TBS period drama series "Hissatsu Shikakenin," which led to many other "Hissatsu" spinoffs.

A unique and versatile actor, he appeared in countless TV series and more than 60 movies. The best known of Ogata's films include Nomura Yoshitaro's "Kichiku," Imamura Shohei's "Narayama Bushiko" (The Ballad of Narayama, 1983) and the 2006 Yamada Yoji samurai drama "Bushi no Ichibun" (Love and Honor).

Not only a star of Japanese cinema he also appeared in several overseas productions, including Paul Schrader's "Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters" (1985) and Peter Greenaway's "The Pillow Book" (1996).

Recent projects included the NHK drama FUURIN KAZAN (pictured above with co-star GACKT) Ogata had a life-long interest in calligraphy, holding his own exhibitions, and his work was featured on the cover of Gackt's DVD featuring his role as Uesugi Kenshin in the drama.

Ogata last role in the Fuji TV drama series "Kaze no Garden," will air from October 9.