Tak Sakaguchi
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese actor, director, fight choreorapher
, and stuntman
. He is best known for his lead role in Ryuhei Kitamura
's cult film
, Versus
. Sakaguchi is a talented martial artist
, and as such, stars in films featuring copious fight scenes and performs all of his own stunts. He is known to be skilled in Bājíquán
, Shaolin Kenpo
, boxing
, kick boxing, and mixed martial arts
. Sakaguchi is a Christian
.
who was well known for his skill in the martial arts. He was discovered by then-unknown director Ryuhei Kitamura
, who recruited Sakaguchi for a lead role in Versus. Since then, Sakaguchi has appeared in several films directed by Kitamura; in particular the Azumi
films, Kitamura's short in the Jam Films
titled The Messenger and minor roles in Aragami
and Alive
. He played a larger role in the quirky, yet successful Battlefield Baseball
(produced by Kitamura), but has yet to acquire the same success he did with Versus.
2006 saw Sakaguchi in more mainstream roles, such as Yashamaru in Shinobi: Heart Under Blade, and "Grave" in Death Trance
. He also guest-starred in the Japanese tokusatsu
show, Kamen Rider Kabuto
, as the villain Reiji Nogi/Cassisworm.
More recently, Sakaguchi made his directorial debut with Sakigake!! Otokojuku
(a.k.a. "Samurai School"), in which he also starred, wrote the screenplay, and choreographed the action sequences. He made a cameo appearance in Yoshihiro Nishimura
's 2008 exploitation film
, Tokyo Gore Police
, as well as directed/starred in Yoroi: Samurai Zombie, based on a story by Ryuhei Kitamura
.
Stage combat
Stage combat is a specialized technique in theatre designed to create the illusion of physical combat without causing harm to the performers. It is employed in live stage plays as well as operatic and ballet productions. The term is also used informally to describe fight choreography for other...
, and stuntman
Stuntman
A stuntman or stunt performer is someone who performs dangerous stunts.Stuntman may also refer to:*The Stunt Man, a 1980 film starring Peter O'Toole*Stuntman , a 2002 video game**Stuntman: Ignition, its sequel...
. He is best known for his lead role in Ryuhei Kitamura
Ryuhei Kitamura
-External links:*...
's cult film
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
, Versus
Versus (film)
is a 2000 Japanese action/horror film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura.-Synopsis:After escaping from police custody, Prisoner KSC2-303 and a fellow escapee join with a group of mobsters in a forest that is one of the 666 portals that act as a connection between this world and the next, called "The...
. Sakaguchi is a talented martial artist
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
, and as such, stars in films featuring copious fight scenes and performs all of his own stunts. He is known to be skilled in Bājíquán
Bajíquán
Bājíquán is a Chinese martial art that features explosive, short-range power and is famous for its elbow strikes. It originated in Hebei Province in Northern China, but is also well-known in other places today, especially Taiwan...
, Shaolin Kenpo
Shorinji Kempo
was established by as a system for self-improvement and training in Japan in 1947 based on Shaolin kungfu ....
, boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, kick boxing, and mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
. Sakaguchi is a Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
.
Biography
Before entering into the film industry, Sakaguchi was an underground street fighterStreet fighting
Street fighting is a colloquial term used to denote unsanctioned, illegal in some countries, hand-to-hand fighting in public places, between individuals or groups of people....
who was well known for his skill in the martial arts. He was discovered by then-unknown director Ryuhei Kitamura
Ryuhei Kitamura
-External links:*...
, who recruited Sakaguchi for a lead role in Versus. Since then, Sakaguchi has appeared in several films directed by Kitamura; in particular the Azumi
Azumi
is a Japanese manga series created by Yū Koyama in 1994. The manga was originally published by Shogakukan and serialized in Big Comic Superior, and was later adapted to two feature films starring Aya Ueto, a video game and a stage play. Azumi received an Excellence Prize at the 1997 Japan Media...
films, Kitamura's short in the Jam Films
Jam Films
Jam Films and its sequels are collections of short films, each by a different Japanese director.-Jam Films:Jam Films is a 2002 suite of 7 shorts produced by Sega/Amuse Jam Films and its sequels are collections of short films, each by a different Japanese director.-Jam Films:Jam Films is a 2002...
titled The Messenger and minor roles in Aragami
Aragami
Aragami is a 2003 Japanese action film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura. It was Kitamura's contribution to the Duel Project, a challenge issued by producer Shinya Kawai to him and fellow director Yukihiko Tsutsumi to film a feature length movie with only two actors, battling in one setting, in only the...
and Alive
Alive
Alive most commonly refers to Life. It may also refer to:-Publications:* Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors, a 1974 book by Piers Paul Read which documented the 1972 crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 in the Andes mountains...
. He played a larger role in the quirky, yet successful Battlefield Baseball
Battlefield Baseball
is a 2003 Japanese film directed by Yūdai Yamaguchi. The film is written by Gatarō Man, based on his manga series of the same name, and stars Tak Sakaguchi, Atsushi Itō, and Hideo Sakaki...
(produced by Kitamura), but has yet to acquire the same success he did with Versus.
2006 saw Sakaguchi in more mainstream roles, such as Yashamaru in Shinobi: Heart Under Blade, and "Grave" in Death Trance
Death Trance
Death Trance is a 2005 Japanese action/fantasy film directed by Yuji Shimomura, the action director for Versus and Devil May Cry 3. It stars Tak Sakaguchi of Versus fame as the anti-hero with co-stars Kentaro Seagal and Takamasa Suga.The film is the directorial debut of Shimomura, and similarities...
. He also guest-starred in the Japanese tokusatsu
Tokusatsu
is a Japanese term that applies to any live-action film or television drama that usually features superheroes and makes considerable use of special effects ....
show, Kamen Rider Kabuto
Kamen Rider Kabuto
is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. It is the sixteenth installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu programs. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei. The series was broadcast on TV Asahi. The first episode aired on January 29, 2006, and...
, as the villain Reiji Nogi/Cassisworm.
More recently, Sakaguchi made his directorial debut with Sakigake!! Otokojuku
Sakigake!! Otokojuku
by Akira Miyashita is a comedy martial arts manga that was originally serialized at the Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1985 to 1991. It is staged in a private boy's school that teaches ōendan to troubled teenagers. The students are trained to "revive the Spirit of Japan" and mainly engage in fighting or...
(a.k.a. "Samurai School"), in which he also starred, wrote the screenplay, and choreographed the action sequences. He made a cameo appearance in Yoshihiro Nishimura
Yoshihiro Nishimura
is a Japanese film director, special effects and makeup effects artist, and a screenwriter who has worked predominantly in the horror genre. Nishimura has been described as "a legendary director and effects artist" and "the Tom Savini of Japan" with "talent to burn"...
's 2008 exploitation film
Exploitation film
Exploitation film is a type of film that is promoted by "exploiting" often lurid subject matter. The term "exploitation" is common in film marketing, used for all types of films to mean promotion or advertising. These films then need something to exploit, such as a big star, special effects, sex,...
, Tokyo Gore Police
Tokyo Gore Police
is a 2008 Japanese gore film co-written, edited, and directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura and stars Eihi Shiina as Ruka, a vengeful police officer.Tokyo Gore Police was released to several film festivals in North America...
, as well as directed/starred in Yoroi: Samurai Zombie, based on a story by Ryuhei Kitamura
Ryuhei Kitamura
-External links:*...
.
Actor
- VersusVersus (film)is a 2000 Japanese action/horror film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura.-Synopsis:After escaping from police custody, Prisoner KSC2-303 and a fellow escapee join with a group of mobsters in a forest that is one of the 666 portals that act as a connection between this world and the next, called "The...
(2001) Prisoner KSC2-303 - AliveAlive (2002 film)Alive is a 2002 Japanese action film and the fourth film by director Ryuhei Kitamura. It is based on the manga ALIVE by Tsutomu Takahashi and stars Hideo Sakaki as the protagonist, Tenshu. Tenshu is imprisoned and sentenced to death for murdering the men who raped his girlfriend...
(2002) Zeros - Battlefield BaseballBattlefield Baseballis a 2003 Japanese film directed by Yūdai Yamaguchi. The film is written by Gatarō Man, based on his manga series of the same name, and stars Tak Sakaguchi, Atsushi Itō, and Hideo Sakaki...
(2003) Yakyû Jubei (a pun on "Yagyu Jubei." "Yakyû" means "baseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
.") - The Messenger (2003, Jam FilmsJam FilmsJam Films and its sequels are collections of short films, each by a different Japanese director.-Jam Films:Jam Films is a 2002 suite of 7 shorts produced by Sega/Amuse Jam Films and its sequels are collections of short films, each by a different Japanese director.-Jam Films:Jam Films is a 2002...
segment) Man - AragamiAragamiAragami is a 2003 Japanese action film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura. It was Kitamura's contribution to the Duel Project, a challenge issued by producer Shinya Kawai to him and fellow director Yukihiko Tsutsumi to film a feature length movie with only two actors, battling in one setting, in only the...
(2003) Future Challenger - AzumiAzumiis a Japanese manga series created by Yū Koyama in 1994. The manga was originally published by Shogakukan and serialized in Big Comic Superior, and was later adapted to two feature films starring Aya Ueto, a video game and a stage play. Azumi received an Excellence Prize at the 1997 Japan Media...
(2003) Sanzo Sajiki - Godzilla: Final WarsGodzilla: Final Warsis a 2004 Japanese science fiction-kaiju film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, written by Wataru Mimura and Isao Kiriyama and produced by Shogo Tomiyama. It is the twenty-eighth film in the Godzilla film series, and the sixth in terms of the series' Millennium era...
(2004) X-Seijin - Azumi 2: Death or LoveAzumi 2: Death or Loveis the sequel to the Japanese film Azumi based on the manga series by Yū Koyama.- Plot :Azumi 2 continues shortly after the end of the previous film with Aya Ueto returning in the title role of a young assassin charged with keeping the nation from falling into a new civil war.Azumi and her only...
(2005) TsuchigumoTsuchigumoThe , also called , were a people of ancient Japan, believed to have lived in the Japanese Alps until at least the Asuka period. The name means "ground spider", likely due to perceived physical traits that were later exaggerated or embellished.... - Shinobi: Heart Under Blade (2005) Yashamaru
- Cromartie High - The MovieCromartie High - The Movieis a 2005 Japanese live-action film directed by Yūdai Yamaguchi and starring Takamasa Suga. The film is based on the manga Cromartie High School by Eiji Nonaka which had also been previously adapted as an anime series.-Plot synopsis:The film opens with a black-and-white documentary-like section...
(2005) Ichiro Yamamoto - Death TranceDeath TranceDeath Trance is a 2005 Japanese action/fantasy film directed by Yuji Shimomura, the action director for Versus and Devil May Cry 3. It stars Tak Sakaguchi of Versus fame as the anti-hero with co-stars Kentaro Seagal and Takamasa Suga.The film is the directorial debut of Shimomura, and similarities...
(2006) Grave - Yo-Yo Girl Cop (2006) Enola GayEnola GayEnola Gay is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, mother of the pilot, then-Colonel Paul Tibbets. On August 6, 1945, during the final stages of World War II, it became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb as a weapon of war...
gang member - The Red Army (2007, directed by Koji WakamatsuKoji Wakamatsuis a Japanese film director who directed such pinku eiga films as and . He also produced Nagisa Ōshima's controversial film In the Realm of the Senses...
) Takaya Shiomi - Sakigake!! Otokojuku (2008) Momotaro Tsurugi
- Tokyo Gore PoliceTokyo Gore Policeis a 2008 Japanese gore film co-written, edited, and directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura and stars Eihi Shiina as Ruka, a vengeful police officer.Tokyo Gore Police was released to several film festivals in North America...
(2008) (cameo) - Elite Yankee Saburo The Movie(2009) as hammerhead boss leader
- Mutant Girls SquadMutant Girls Squadis a Japanese film by Noboru Iguchi, Yoshihiro Nishimura and Tak Sakaguchi. The film is about Rin, a sixteen-year-old mutant girl who meets a gang of rebel mutants who aim to take revenge on humans for persecuting their race...
(2010) Kisaragi - DeadballDeadballis a 2011 Japanese splatter comedy film directed by Yudai Yamaguchi. The film stars Tak Sakaguchi as Jubeh Yakyu, a seventeen year old who accidentally kills his father with his extra powerful baseball arm. Years later, he is a juvenile delinquent and is sent to a reform school after killing over...
(2011) - Yakuza WeaponYakuza Weaponis a 2011 Japanese film directed and written by Tak Sakaguchi and Yūdai Yamaguchi. Based on the manga by Ken Ishikawa, the film is about Shozo Iwaki who works as a mercenary in South America. Iwaki is informed of the death of his gang boss dad and discovers his former Yakuza henchman is involved...
(2011)
Director
- Sakigake!! Otokojuku (2008)
- Yoroi: Samurai Zombie (2008)
- Mutant Girls SquadMutant Girls Squadis a Japanese film by Noboru Iguchi, Yoshihiro Nishimura and Tak Sakaguchi. The film is about Rin, a sixteen-year-old mutant girl who meets a gang of rebel mutants who aim to take revenge on humans for persecuting their race...
(First segment) (2010)
Fight choreographer
- Godzilla: Final WarsGodzilla: Final Warsis a 2004 Japanese science fiction-kaiju film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, written by Wataru Mimura and Isao Kiriyama and produced by Shogo Tomiyama. It is the twenty-eighth film in the Godzilla film series, and the sixth in terms of the series' Millennium era...
(2004) - Death TranceDeath TranceDeath Trance is a 2005 Japanese action/fantasy film directed by Yuji Shimomura, the action director for Versus and Devil May Cry 3. It stars Tak Sakaguchi of Versus fame as the anti-hero with co-stars Kentaro Seagal and Takamasa Suga.The film is the directorial debut of Shimomura, and similarities...
(2006) - Akihabara@DEEPAkihabara@DEEPis a 2004 novel by Ira Ishida which spawned a manga, television drama, and movie adaptation.The drama and manga versions have considerable differences from the original novel....
(2006) - Sakigake!! Otokojuku (2008)
TV drama
- Be-Bop High School Series (2005-2005) Toshimitsu Yamada (fight director)
- Kamen Rider KabutoKamen Rider Kabutois a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. It is the sixteenth installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu programs. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei. The series was broadcast on TV Asahi. The first episode aired on January 29, 2006, and...
(2006) Reiji Nogi/Cassisworm
External links
- Tak Sakaguchi in English - A fan-run blog dedicated to translating a variety of Tak-related resources found only in Japanese