About Keisuke Sagawa
Lived 1937 – 2017 (aged 80). Keisuke Sagawa was a Japanese actor and tarento.
was a Japanese actor and tarento.
He is notable for being the first actor of the Taisō no Onīsan in the Uta no Ehon program on the long-running television program Okaasan to Issho. His wife was actress, television personality, and voice actress Nobuyo Ōyama.
Biography Career While attending Seijo High School, he made appearances in numerous socialist films such as Ashizuri Misaki. After graduation he entered Eguchi Dance Institute and studied modern dance and the fundamentals of acting.
In 1961, he became the first actor to portray the Taisō no Onīsan in the Uta no Ehon program on Okaasan to Issho.
In February 1964, Sagawa married Nobuyo Ōyama after working with her on-stage in the play Son Goku. At the time they got married, she was a voice actor in the puppet show Boo-Foo-Woo on Okaasan to Issho, but since it was a different program from Sagawa's Uta no Ehon, they hardly ever got to meet behind the scenes.
Despite being married, they never had any children, as they lost their first child, a son, to stillbirth and their second child, a daughter named Erika, to lung and heart disease after only 3 months.
As a successor to Yukio Aoshima and Kokontei Shinba VIII in Ohiru no Wide Show, Sagawa served as a presenter in various fields. He appeared on the stage of Fuji Theater in 1985 and since then was active as an actor as well as in lecture activities.
In 1988, co-authored with Ōyama, the cookbook Keisuke-Nobuyo no Omoshiro Sōzai 170 was published by Shufunotomosha and became a best-seller, selling more than a million copies, and in 1991 they co-authored and released a follow-up entitled Keisuke-Nobuyo no Omoshiro Shukō.
In 2001, he published Kamisan ha Doraemon, a book about Ōyama's daily life as she suffered from cancer that year and the caregiving she received during that time.
In May 2009, he appeared in NHK Educational TV's 50th anniversary commemorative special program ETV50: Kodomo no Hi Special -Do Mitai Kyōiku TV Dai 2-dan- (Namahōsō) Okaasan to Issho as the first generation Taisō no Onīsan for the first time in about 40 years in costume and showed exercise gymnastics with the song "Genki ni Ichi, Ni".
Final years
In 2013, Sagawa announced that he had undergone surgery for early stage stomach cancer, but did not undergo chemotherapy.
On May 13, 2015, Sagawa publicly announced that his wife Ōyama was suffering from dementia and that he would be taking care of her, but a year later, while caring for Ōyama, Sagawa was diagnosed with kidney cancer so moved her to live at a facility to receive treatment for his illness.
In May 2017, Sagawa was hospitalized, and was readmitted the next month after suffering a cerebral infarction.
Death
Sagawa died from ureteral cancer on July 11, 2017, at the age of 80.
Following his hospitalization, Sagawa entrusted his affairs to he and his wife's manager Akiko Kobayashi. Ōyama continued to live at the facility while the management of their now-ownerless home was being handled by a tax accountant from Tokyo.
Years later following Sagawa's death, his wife Ōyama died of senility on September 29, 2024, at the age of 90.
Filmography Television Year Title Role Network Notes Ref. 1961–1969 Okaasan to Issho Taisō no Onīsan NHK First Taisō no Onīsan 1962–1963 Pilot: Star Present CX Moderator 1964 Tōshiba Michiyō Gekijō Otokodearitai TBS 1967 Idjiwaru Bāsan YTV 1969 Sign wa V TBS Episode 32 guest 1970 Osana Zuma TX Episode 8 guest (co-starred with Nobuyo Ōyama) 1972 Barom-1 Matsugoro Kido YTV Henshin Ninja: Arashi Tomekichi MBS Episode 5 "Kyōfu! Neko Mandala!!" Ashita no Hanayome Ohiru no Wide Show NTV 1986 Keisuke Sagawa: Ima! Asadesu TBS 1986 Hōigaku Kyōshitsu no Nagai Ichinichi NTV 1993 Hanshichitori Monochō Torakichi Produced by Union Movie; Episode 15 "Beranmē Ojōsama!" Īizumitsuketa 2009 ETV50: Kodomo no Hi Special -Do Mitai Kyōiku TV Dai 2-dan- NHK Dongurion Gakukai CBC Moderator 2015 Doraemon, Haha ni Naru ~Ōyama Nobuyo Monogatari~ NHK BS Premium Cooperation and interview coverage
Radio Title Network Keisuke Sagawa no Mimi Komi Lunchtime TBS Radio
Stage Title Production The Three Musketeers Fuji Theater The Wonderful Wizard of Oz The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Films Year Title Role Distributor 1969 Conte 55-gō: Ore wa Ninja no Mago no Mago Newscaster TohoConte 55-gō: Uchū Dai Bōken Commentator
Discography Song Otsu kai ari-san Ahiru no Gyōretsu Ore wa Tobu
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Important facts
Family & relationships
People in Keisuke Sagawa's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Keisuke Sagawa's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Keisuke Sagawa?
Japanese actor (1937–2017)
When was Keisuke Sagawa born?
Keisuke Sagawa was born on 12 February 1937 in Fukagawa-ku.
When did Keisuke Sagawa die?
Keisuke Sagawa died on 11 July 2017 in Minato.
What was Keisuke Sagawa's occupation?
Keisuke Sagawa was an actor and tarento.
What nationality was Keisuke Sagawa?
Keisuke Sagawa was Japanese.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Keisuke Sagawa. https://biography.guide/keisuke-sagawa/
MLA: "Keisuke Sagawa." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/keisuke-sagawa/.
Chicago: "Keisuke Sagawa." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/keisuke-sagawa/.
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