Kenji Sahara

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Kenji Sahara
Sahara (left) with actress Yumi Shirakawa (center) and director Ishirō Honda on set of Rodan.
Born	Masayoshi Kato (1932-05-14) 14 May 1932 (age 89) Kawasaki City, Kanagawa, Japan
Other names	Tadashi Ishihara, Jun Manjōme
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1953–present
Height	176 cm (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)

Kenji Sahara (佐原 健二 Sahara Kenji) (born 14 May 1932) is a Japanese actor. He was born in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa. His real 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 has so far has produced twenty-eight 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 (1954) – as Young Lover on the Sound
• (1955) – (credited as Tadashi Ishihara)
• (1955) – as Hideya Fujiwara (credited as Tadashi Ishihara)
• (1956) – as Jirô Hayashi (credited as Tadashi Ishihara)
• Street of Shame (1956)
• Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956) – as Man on Boat
• (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)
• (1957) – as Otsuka
• (1957)
• (1957)
• (1957) – as Yamada
• The Mysterians (1957) – as Joji Atsumi
• Song for a Bride (1958)
• The Badger Palace (1958)
• (1958)
• Anzukko (1958)
• The H-Man (1958) – as Dr. Masada
• (1958)
• (1958)
• (1958)
• (1958)
• (1959)
• (1959)
• (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 (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)
• Return of Ultraman (1971–1972)
• Ultraman 80 (1980–1981)
• Ultraman Nexus (2004–2005)
• Ultraman Mebius (2006–2007)

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, being the voice of Dr. Atsumi.

References[]

External links[]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Kenji Sahara

• Kenji Sahara at IMDb
• Biondi, Robert. Satoko Yoshimaru & Takahiko Mamiya (trans.) Winter 1997. "An Interview with Kenji Sahara: 40 Years of Keeping Godzilla at Bay", Kaiju Fan Online. Originally published in Kaiju Fan.