Quick Facts
Biography
Kenichi Hagiwara (萩原健一; Hagiwara Ken'ichi, born 26 July 1950 in Omiya, Saitama, Japan), also known as Sho-Ken, was the lead singer of The Tempters, the "bad boys" of the Group Sounds Japan pop scene in the mid and late 1960s. A teen idol with a legion of loyal fans, Hagiwara was known for his good looks and arrogance, which appealed to both young male and female Japanese fans.
After The Tempters, he formed the band PYG along with Kenji Sawada, the first true Japanese supergroup, a unit which included members of The Tigers, The Tempters, and The Spiders.
He was in the Donjuan R&R Band with Hideki Ishima, formerly of The Spiders.
Current career
He is still popular as an actor in the early 2000s, and a "bad boy" even in his fifties, with minor (but highly publicized) brushes with law enforcement.
Television
- Taiyō ni Hoero!
Selected filmography
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | The Rendezvous | Burglar |
| 1980 | Kagemusha | Takeda Katsuyori |
| 1982 | To Trap a Kidnapper | Kazuo Furuya |
| 1985 | Capone Cries a Lot | Umiemon |
| Seburi monogatari | Hajime Kinoshita | |
| Love Letter | Shoichi Takehara | |
| 1992 | The Triple Cross | Kanzaki |
| 1994 | Ghost Pub | Sotaro |
| 2009 | Tajomaru | Ashikaga Yoshimasa |