Kenji Sahara (佐原 健二 ''Sahara Kenji'') (born 14 May 1932) is a Japanese actor. He was born in
Kawasaki City,
Kanagawa
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...
. His birth name is Masayoshi Kato (加藤 正好 ''Katō Masayoshi''). Initially he used the name Tadashi Ishihara before changing it when he secured the lead role in ''
Rodan'' (1956).
Selected filmography
Sahara did a lot of work for the
Toho Company, the studio that so far has produced 28
''Godzilla'' movies. He appeared in more of the ''Godzilla'' series than any other actor.
Also, he is the actor who was often relied on in most of the films by Directors Ishiro Honda and Eiji Tsuburaya.
He has appeared in many supporting roles.
Sahara is famous as a mainstay of Toho special-effects movies and the ''Ultraman'' series.
* ''
Farewell Rabaul'' (1954)
* ''
Godzilla
is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...
'' (1954) – as Young Lover on the Sound
* ''
Yuki No Koi'' (1955) – (credited as Tadashi Ishihara)
* ''
Seifuku No Otome Tachi'' (1955) – as Hideya Fujiwara (credited as Tadashi Ishihara)
* ''
Aoi Me'' (1956) – as Jirô Hayashi (credited as Tadashi Ishihara)
* ''
Street of Shame'' (1956)
* ''
Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
is a 1956 ''kaiju'' film directed by Terry O. Morse and Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. It is a heavily re-edited American localization, or "Americanization", of the 1954 Japanese film ''Godzilla (1954 film), Godzilla'' ...
'' (1956) – as Man on Boat
* ''
Norihei No Daigaku'' (1956) – (credited as Tadashi Ishihara)
* ''
People of Tokyo, Goodbye'' (1956) – (credited as Tadashi Ishihara)
* ''
Rodan'' (1956) – as Shigeru Kawamura (credited as Kenji Sawara)
* ''
Yoru no kamome'' (1957)
* ''
Meshiro Sanpei monogatari'' (1957) – as Otsuka
* ''
Zoku Sazae-san'' (1957)
* ''
Hikage no musume'' (1957)
* ''
Daigaku no samurai tachi'' (1957) – as Yamada
* ''
The Mysterians'' (1957) – as Joji Atsumi
* ''
Song for a Bride'' (1958)
* ''
The Badger Palace'' (1958)
* ''
Kiuchi yasuto'' (1958)
* ''
Anzukko'' (1958)
* ''
The H-Man'' (1958) – as Dr. Masada
* ''
The Young Beast'' (1958)
* ''
Zokuzoku salaryman shussetai koki'' (1958)
* ''
Josei S.O.S.'' (1958)
* ''
Otona niwa wakaranai: Seishun hakusho'' (1958)
* ''
Salaryman jikkai'' (1959)
* ''
Onna gokoro'' (1959)
* ''
Gokigen musume'' (1959)
*''
Mothra'' (1961) as Helicopter Pilot
*''
Gorath'' (1962) as Saiki, Vice Captain of Ôtori
*''
King Kong vs. Godzilla'' (1962) as Kazuo Fujita
*''
Matango'' (1963) as Senzō Koyama
*''
Atragon'' (1963) as Umino, Journalist/Mu Agent
*''
Mothra vs. Godzilla'' (1964) as Jiro Torahata, a corrupt business tycoon
*''
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster'' (1964)
*''
Frankenstein Conquers the World'' (1965) as a Soldier
*''
None but the Brave'' (1965) as Cpl. Fujimoto
*''
War of the Gargantuas'' (1966) as Dr. Yuzo Majida
*''
Son of Godzilla'' (1967) as Morio
*''
Destroy All Monsters'' (1968) as Nishikawa, Moon Base Commander
*''
All Monsters Attack'' (1969) as Kenichi Mitsuki
*''
Space Amoeba'' (1970) as Makoto Obata
*''
Kage Gari Hoero Taihō'' (1972)
*''
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla'' (1974) as Ship Captain
*''
Karafuto 1945 Summer Hyosetsu no mon'' (1974) as Toshikazu Okaya
*''
Terror of Mechagodzilla'' (1975) as General Segawa
*''
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'' (1991) as Minister Takayuki Segawa
*''
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II'' (1993) as Minister Takayuki Segawa
*''
Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla'' (1994) as Minister Takayuki Segawa
*''
Hitman
Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...
'' (1998) as Tsukamoto, a sleazy and notorious ex-yakuza boss who is assassinated by the King of Killers at the beginning of the film
*''
Godzilla: Final Wars'' (2004) as Hachiro Jinguji
Sahara was also the lead in the first of the ''Ultra'' series,
Ultra Q. He also appeared in a number of subsequent ''Ultra'' series, including:
*''
Ultra Q'' (1966)- as Jun Manjoume
*''
Ultra Seven'' (1967–1968) - as Takenaka Jinguji
*''
Return of Ultraman
is a List of Japanese television series, Japanese ''tokusatsu'' Science fiction on television, science fiction television series produced by Tsuburaya Productions. The third entry (fourth overall) in the Ultra series, the series aired on TBS Tel ...
'' (1971–1972) - as Takenaka Jinguji
*''
Ultraman 80'' (1980–1981) - as Dr. Jono
*''
Ultraman Nexus'' (2004–2005) - as Togo
*''
Ultraman Mebius
is a Japanese television series produced by Tsuburaya Productions and Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting. It is the 15th entry (21st overall) and 40th anniversary production in the Ultra Series, which first began in 1966. It premiered on the Tokyo Broad ...
'' (2006–2007) - as Takenaka Jinguji
His latest Ultraman appearance was in the 2008 Ultraman movie, ''
Superior Ultraman 8 Brothers''. He also made a cameo in episodes 47 and 48 of ''
Sonic X
is a Japanese anime television series based on Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game series. Produced by TMS Entertainment under partnership with Sega and Sonic Team, and directed by Hajime Kamegaki, ''Sonic X'' initially ran for 52 ep ...
'', being the voice of Dr. Atsumi.
References
External links
*
* Biondi, Robert. Satoko Yoshimaru & Takahiko Mamiya (trans.) Winter 1997
"An Interview with Kenji Sahara: 40 Years of Keeping Godzilla at Bay"
Originally published in ''Kaiju Fan''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sahara, Kenji
1932 births
Possibly living people
Japanese male film actors
People from Kawasaki, Kanagawa