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Ken Ogata
Ken Ogata
71 years (Jul 20, 1937 – Oct 5, 2008)
Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
54 Movies
9 TV Shows

Ken Ogata

Known for
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
Yukio Mishima
The Ballad of Narayama
Tatsuhei
Professional Killers – Assignment by Night
Baian Fujieda
Professional Killers – Assassin's Quarry
Baian Fujieda
Born in Tokyo in 1937, Ken Ogata began in a shingeki theater troupe and became one of the most powerful Japanese screen actors of his era. He starred in Shohei Imamura's Vengeance Is Mine (1979) as the real-life serial killer Iwao Enokizu and won the Japan Academy Prize for Best Actor for The Ballad of Narayama (1983), also for Imamura and a Palme d'Or winner. He then took the title role in Paul Schrader's Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985) and worked with Peter Greenaway on The Pillow Book (1996). He died in 2008, leaving one of the definitive bodies of work in postwar Japanese cinema.
Born in Tokyo in 1937, Ken Ogata began in a shingeki theater troupe and became one of the most powerful Japanese screen actors of his era. He starred in Shohei Imamura's Vengeance Is Mine (1979) as the real-life serial killer Iwao Enokizu and won the Japan Academy Prize for Best Actor for The Ballad of Narayama (1983), also for Imamura and a Palme d'Or winner. He then took the title role in Paul Schrader's Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985) and worked with Peter Greenaway on The Pillow Book (1996). He died in 2008, leaving one of the definitive bodies of work in postwar Japanese cinema.
Known for
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
Yukio Mishima
The Ballad of Narayama
Tatsuhei
Professional Killers – Assignment by Night
Baian Fujieda
Professional Killers – Assassin's Quarry
Baian Fujieda
Movies
TV Shows
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Love and Honor
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Love and Honor
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Full Filmography
Garden of the Wind
Teizo Shiratori · 11 episodes
2008–
TV
Kitaro and the Millennium Curse
Nurarihyon
★ 5.1
2008
Film
Ruri's Island
Yuzo Nakama · 10 episodes
★ 9.0
2005–2007
TV
Love and Honor
Magohachiro Kibe
★ 7.4
2006
Film
Granny Gabai
Tofu shop owner
★ 7.8
2006
Film
A Long Walk
Matsutaro Yasuda
★ 6.9
2006
Film
The Samurai I Loved
Maki Sukezaemon
★ 7.6
2005
Film
Miracle Banana
Takashi Yamamura
2005
Film
The Hidden Blade
Chief Retainer Hori
★ 7.4
2004
Film
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ken Ogata still alive?
Ken Ogata passed away on October 5, 2008 at age 71.
What are the most famous roles of Ken Ogata?
Ken Ogata is best known for roles in Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, The Ballad of Narayama, The Pillow Book.
How many movies has Ken Ogata been in?
Over a 44-year career (since 1964), Ken Ogata has appeared in 54 movies and 9 TV shows.
What was Ken Ogata's first movie?
The career of Ken Ogata began with 間諜 (1964).
What is Ken Ogata's most recent movie or series?
Ken Ogata's most recent release is Garden of the Wind, which premiered on October 9, 2008.
What TV shows has Ken Ogata appeared in?
On television, Ken Ogata has appeared in Furuhata Ninzaburo, Professional Killers, Ashura no Gotoku, SMAP×SMAP.
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Ken Ogata
Ken Ogata
1937-07-20 · Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan

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).Ken Ogata, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia​

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