, better known by his stage name , was a Japanese actor.
Life
Ogata was born in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. Ogata is well known for his roles in
Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a Welsh film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular. Common traits in his films are th ...
's ''
The Pillow Book
is a book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shōnagon during her time as court lady to Empress Consort Teishi during the 990s and early 1000s in Heian-period Japan. The book was completed in the year 1002.
The work is a collection o ...
'',
Paul Schrader
Paul Joseph Schrader (; born July 22, 1946) is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He first received widespread recognition through his screenplay for Martin Scorsese's ''Taxi Driver'' (1976). He later continued his collabo ...
'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
The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by movie critics and writers in Tokyo, Japan.
The awards were established in 1950 by which is composed of film correspondents from seven Tokyo-based sports newspapers. In 1961, the six major Japanes ...
for ''
Okinawan Boys
is a 1983 Japanese film directed by Taku Shinjō based on a novel by Mineo Higashi.
Awards and nominations
26th Blue Ribbon Awards
* Won: Best Actor - Ken Ogata
, better known by his stage name , was a Japanese actor.
Life
Ogata was born in ...
''.
In television, his starring role as
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...
in the 1965
NHK
, also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee.
NHK operates two terrestr ...
Taiga drama ''
Taikōki
The is a biography of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who rose to the office of '' taikō'' during the Azuchi–Momoyama period of Japanese history. The Confucian scholar (1564–1640) published the work in 1626 during the rule of the third Tokugawa shōgu ...
'' catapulted him to fame. Ken went on to many prominent roles in subsequent programs. The following year, he portrayed
Benkei
, popularly known as simply Benkei, was a Japanese warrior monk (''sōhei'') who lived in the latter years of the Heian Period (794–1185) .html" ;"title="/sup>">/sup>. Benkei led a varied life, first becoming a monk, then a mountain ascetic, ...
in ''
Minamoto no Yoshitsune
was a military commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles which toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan, helping his half-brother Yoritomo conso ...
''. The network tapped him again for the role of
Fujiwara no Sumitomo
was a Japanese Heian era court noble and warrior. From 939 to 941 he aided the Taira clan in a series of revolts.
Sumitomo built his power base in Northern Kyushu. After making a secret agreement with Taira no Masakado, who was leading a revo ...
in the 1976 ''
Kaze to Kumo to Niji to
is a 1976 Japanese historical television series. It is the 14th NHK taiga drama. Kaze to kumo to Niji to deals with the Heian period in Japan. Based on Chōgorō Kaionji's novels ''Taira no Masakado'' and ''Umi to Kaze to Niji to''. The drama was ...
''. He returned to playing Hideyoshi in the 1978 ''Ōgon no Hibi'', and returned to the lead as
Ōishi Kuranosuke Oishi may refer to:
* Ōishi (surname), a Japanese surname
* Oishi (Philippine brand), a snack company from the Philippines
* Oishi Group, a Thai food-and-drink company
* Ōishi Station
is a railway station on the Hanshin Electric Railway Mai ...
in ''Tōge no Gunzō,'' the 1982 ''
Chūshingura is the title given to fictionalized accounts in Japanese literature, theater, and film that relate to the historical incident involving the forty-seven ''rōnin'' and their mission to avenge the death of their master, Asano Naganori. Including th ...
.'' Another featured appearance in a Taiga drama was in ''
Taiheiki
The (Chronicle of Great Peace) is a Japanese historical epic (see '' gunki monogatari'') written in the late 14th century and covers the period from 1319 to 1367. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Taiheiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', pp. 923 ...
'' (1991, as
Ashikaga Sadauji, father of
Takauji). His final appearance in the taiga drama was
Fūrin Kazan in 2007. Besides the taiga drama series, Ogata portrayed Fujieda Baian in the
Hissatsu series
The is a long-running prime-time popular television Jidaigeki series about assassins in Japan. ''Hissatsu Shikakenin'' is based on Shōtarō Ikenami's novel ''Shiokinin Fujieda Baian'', but its sequels are only inspired by it. The series still c ...
Hissatsu Shikakenin
is a Japanese television ''jidaigeki'' or period drama that was broadcast in 1972–1973. It was the first in the Hissatsu series and is based on Shōtarō Ikenami's novel ''Shiokinin Fujieda Baian''. Ken Ogata played Fujieda Baian.
Episode 1 ...
, he reprised the character twice in the film series later.
Mr. Ogata died of liver cancer 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 are actors.
Filmography
Film
Television
Japanese dub
*''
The Golden Compass
''Northern Lights'' (titled ''The Golden Compass'' in North America and some other countries) is a young-adult fantasy novel by Philip Pullman, published in 1995 by Scholastic UK. Set in a parallel universe, it follows the journey of Lyra Be ...
'' – Iorek Byrnison (2008)
Honours
*
Medal with Purple Ribbon
are medals awarded by the Government of Japan. They are awarded to individuals who have done meritorious deeds and also to those who have achieved excellence in their field of work. The Medals of Honor were established on December 7, 1881, and we ...
(2000)
*
Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2008)
References
External links
*
*
Ken Ogata's Blog, hara8bunme (in Japanese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogata, Ken
Japanese male actors
People from Tokyo
Deaths from liver cancer
Deaths from cancer in Japan
1937 births
2008 deaths
Taiga drama lead actors
Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon
Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class