, better known by his stage name , was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 50 movies and 25 television series. For his merits and contribution to arts in 2000 received Japan's Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon. Among many movie awards and nominations, he received three times

Japan Academy Film Prize The , often called the Japan Academy Prize, the Japan Academy Awards, and the Japanese Academy Awards, is a series of awards given annually since 1978 by the Japan Academy Film Prize Association (日本アカデミー賞協会, ''Nippon Akademii- ...

award for Best Actor for '' The Demon'' (1978), '' The Ballad of Narayama'' (1983) and '' House on Fire'' (1986), and in addition Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor for '' The Catch'' and '' Okinawan Boys'' (1983). Other notable roles were in Shohei Imamura's '' Vengeance Is Mine'' (1979),

Paul Schrader Paul Joseph Schrader (; born July 22, 1946) is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He first became known for writing the screenplay of Martin Scorsese's ''Taxi Driver'' (1976). He later continued his collaboration with Scor ...

's '' Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters'' (1985),

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a British film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Mannerist painting in particular. Common traits in his films a ...

's ''

The Pillow Book is a book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shōnagon during her time as court lady to Fujiwara no Teishi, Empress Consort Teishi during the 990s and early 1000s in Heian-period Japan. The book was completed in the year 1002. The wor ...

'' (1996).

Life

Ogata was born on July 20, 1937 in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. He started his acting career in 1958 as part of the Shinkokugeki theater troupe. His movie debut was 1960s '' Tooi Hitotsu No Michi'', but his starring role as

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

in the 1965

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

Taiga drama is the name NHK gives to the annual year-long historical drama television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white ''Hana no Shōgai'', starring kabuki actor Onoe Shoroku II and Awashima Chikage, the network regul ...

'' 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 was a commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian period, Heian and early Kamakura period, Kamakura periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles that toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan, helping his half-br ...

''. 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 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, a train station in Nada-ku, Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japa ...

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 ...

.'' Another featured appearance in a Taiga drama was in ''

Taiheiki The (Chronicle of Great Peace) is a medieval Japanese historical epic (see '' gunki monogatari'') written in the late 14th century and covers the period from 1319 to 1367. It deals primarily with the Nanboku-chō, the period of war between the ...

'' (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, produced by ABC Television and Shochiku. '' Hissatsu Shikakenin'' is based on Shōtarō Ikenami's novel ''Shikakenin Fujieda Baian'', but its sequels ...

Hissatsu Shikakenin, he reprised the character twice in the film series later. His last lead role was in '' A Long Walk'' (2006). 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). Ogata was a talented

calligrapher Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an exp ...

and held a public exhibition in 1991. His sons Kanta and Naoto are actors as well.

Filmography

Film

Television

Japanese dub

*'' The Golden Compass'' – Iorek Byrnison (2008)

Honours

* Medal with Purple Ribbon (2000) * Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2008)

References

External links

* *
Ken Ogata
at

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

Ken Ogata's Blog, hara8bunme (in Japanese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogata, Ken Male actors from Tokyo Deaths from liver 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 Japanese male film actors Japanese male television actors 20th-century Japanese male actors 21st-century Japanese male actors