'Machineman' Star Osamu Sakuta Passes Away at Age 62

Osamu Sakuta in May 2017. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Word has been circulating on Japanese social media that actor Osamu Sakuta has recently passed away at the age of 62. No further details are available at this time.

Osamu Sakuta was born on July 9, 1958, in Kagoshima, Kagoshima Prefecture, and began his professional acting career in 1971 after his family moved to Tokyo while he was in elementary school. He is best known for starring as Ken Takase, the titular character in Nebula Mask Machineman (1984), for Toei Studios. Prior to that, he could be seen in guest appearances on a variety of television tokusatsu programs as a child actor, such as episodes 38 and 39 of Spectreman (1971-72), episodes 31 and 48 of Kamen Rider (1971-73), episode 24 of Barom-1 (1972), and episode 7 of Kikaider (1972-73). He also appears as Lieutenant Oe in the Toho war epic The Imperial Navy (1981) and as Okada in the Ken Takakura drama Kaikyo (1982), directed by Shiro Moritani. In the 1990s, he became a voice actor for both TV anime shows as well as Japanese releases of American movies and TV programs.

I met Sakuta-san at an event held in May 2017. He was very friendly and approachable, and since we were connected on Facebook, I’d hoped that our paths would meet again someday. It’s a shame it was not to be.

Rest in peace, Sakuta-san.

UPDATE (12/8): Osamu Sakuta died of pancreatic cancer on December 4 at 11:59 p.m. 

HEROES COVERGE IN JIMBOCHO! Toei Alumni Discuss Their Heroic Pasts!

Actor Osamu Sakuta and actress Hiroko Saito discuss working on superhero television productions during the 1970s and '80s. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today, I made my way to Jimbocho to attend a special event with two TV stars from the '70s and '80s. The guests were Hiroko Saito and Osamu Sakuta.

Actress Hiroko Saito. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I've blogged about Hiroko Saito before. She's appeared in Kamen Rider (1971-73), Kamen Rider V3 (1973-74), Kikaider (1972-73), Barom-1 (1972), Inazuman (1973-74), Kamen Rider X (1974), Star Wolf (1978), Toei's Spider-Man (1978-79), and Ultraman 80 (1980-81). However, in the West, she would be best known for her role on Tsuburaya Productions' Time of the Apes (1974-75) as Yurika. 

Actor Osamu Sakuta. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Osamu Sakuta starred as the titular character in Nebula Mask Machineman (1984) from Toei Studios. Prior to that, he could be seen in guest appearances on Spectreman (1971-72), the original Kamen Rider, Barom-1, and Kikaider. He also appears in the Toho war epic The Imperial Navy (1981) and the Ken Takakura film Kaikyo (1982).

It was very nice to see Saito-san again just a week after last seeing her. As always, she was very kind and friendly.

It was quite fun to meet Sakuta-san for the first time. We had a brief chat, and he seemed interested in getting to know me. I look forward to seeing him again.