Kensaku Hara

Ken Hara (Hara Kensaku, April 23, 1905 – February 7, 2002) was a Japanese actor. His real name was Yoshio Matsubara. He was born in Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture. His stage name was originally Hara Kensaku until 1953. He mainly played supporting roles in jidaigeki (period dramas) and was active in both film and television for many years.

He was the youngest of three sons and three daughters. In 1923, he dropped out of the former Kure Port Middle School and graduated as the first class of the Shinminshu Theater School (later known as Dainihon Shinkokugeki). There, he became one of the leading actors alongside Denjiro Omogatari. In 1925, he made his film debut in the movie "Mida-ga-hara no Satsu" produced by the United Film Arts Association, playing the role of Tōjō Kuni. He left the Dainihon Shinkokugeki theater company in 1926.

He then transitioned to an acting career in film, joining Shinwa Kinema Kyoto in 1934, and subsequently expanded his activities in the film industry. His first film was "Chūji Uidetasu." During an era when jidaigeki movies were predominant, he appeared in works by Mansaku Itami and Kenji Mizoguchi. He also starred in children's films such as "Maboroshi-jō" (Phantom Castle) in 1940 and "Tenbē Dōji" in 1941, but mainly appeared as a supporting actor or in secondary roles alongside actors like Denjirō Omogatari, Tatsuji Bando, Chiezō Kataoka, and Kanjūrō Arashi.

He frequently played villains or mysterious monsters, and his performances received high praise. After World War II, he moved to Toei and was valued as a veteran actor, also providing acting guidance to newcomers. Kin’ya Kitaoji recalled receiving acting advice from Hara during their collaboration in "The Golden Demon Palace."

From the 1960s onward, he appeared in television movies and dramas, often playing supporting roles in jidaigeki. In productions like "Yagyu Ichizoku no Inbō" (The Yagyu Clan Conspiracy) and "Yagyu Abare Tabi," he played the gentle servant who served Yagyu Jubei, portrayed by Shinichi Chiba, or Yagyu Tōzaemon, played by Sō Yamada, functioning as a semi-regular guest star.

In his private life, he is the father of actress Chiaki Matsubara and grandfather of model Sumire Matsubara. His agencies included Dainihon Shinkokugeki, Chie Productions, and after its dissolution in 1942, Nikkatsu Uzumasa Studio, Daito Kyoto, Toei (from 1949), and finally Ryu Pro Productions.

He died in 2002 of natural causes at the age of 96.

His filmography includes numerous films such as "Mida-ga-hara no Satsu" (1925), "Nagasaki Ryūgakusei" (1935), "Chūji Uidetasu" (1934), "Maboroshi-jō" (1940), "Tenbē Dōji" (1941), "Yatsuhaka-mura" (1951), "Kiyomizu Kōen wa Oni yori Kowai" (1952), "Daibosatsu-tō Kōgen Ittō-ryū" (1953), "Akuma ga Kuri te Fue o Fuku" (1954), "Satomi Hakkenden" (1954), among others.