Jirō Sakagami (坂上 二郎, Sakagami Jirō, 16 April 1934 – 10 March 2011) was a Japanese comedian, actor, and singer.
Career
Sakagami was born in
Kagoshima Prefecture but spent most of his childhood in
Manchukuo.[1] Winning an
NHK song contest at age 19, he headed to Tokyo to try to make a name in the entertainment business, eventually training as a comedian at the
Asakusa strip clubs.[1] It was there that he met
Kin'ichi Hagimoto and in 1966, the two formed the
owarai duo Konto 55-gō.[2] Konto 55-gō became nationally famous, starring in several top-rated shows on television. Sakagami continued to release songs and branched out into acting, appearing in television dramas as well as in films such as
Nagisa Ōshima's Taboo.[2]