Godzilla Actor Kenpachiro Satsuma died at the age of 76

Japanese actor Kenpachiro Satsuma who played the role in the famous series Godzilla has died at the age of 76. According to a translated article from Matomeda, Kenpachiro died on Dec 16, 2023.

Kenpachiro is best known for his roles in portraying different monsters throughout Godzilla’s Heisei era. He was the lead monster himself. His family announced the news of his death at 10:20 a.m. According to family of the Kenpachiro Satsuma, the famous Godzilla actor died due to intestinal pneumonia.

ご家族から発表がありましたが、本日10時49分、鹿児島県出水市出身、平成ゴジラのスーツアクター"薩摩剣八郎"氏が間質性肺炎のため亡くなりました。

とても優しく、暖かく、力強い方でした。

ご冥福をお祈りします。 pic.twitter.com/p02fucWKjo
— スタジオアイディール【公式】 (@studioideal) December 16, 2023

Acting career of Kenpachiro Satsuma

Kenpachino was born on May 27, 1947. His original name is Yasauki Maeda. He began acting in the 1960s in supporting roles in films such as Incident at Blood Pass.

He made his monster movie debut in 1971 with Godzilla vs Hedorah in which he played the latter monster. Kenpachino went on to play Gigan’s suit in Godzilla vs Gigan in the following year. As well as Godzilla vs Megalon in 1973 and the tokusatsu series Zone Fighter.

Haruo Nakajima, Godzilla’s original actor, retired in 1972. Kenpachino took over the role of Godzilla in The Return of Godzilla in 1984 after a series of replacements over the next two years.

This film was both a sequel to the original 1954 picture and a remake that erased everything from the previous 30 years of sequels, known as the Shōwa era at the time.

*Kenpachiro Satsuma entertained people for decades by working in the Godzilla franchise*

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Return was a darker film on the same level as the original Godzilla. Kenpachino played the role of an enemy rather than a force for good who would protect people and combat other monsters.

Satsuma continued to appear in films such as Hong Kil-dong and Japanese Hell after leaving the Godzilla franchise. One of the most well-known is the 1985 North Korean kaiju film Pulgasari based on the lost 1962 film Bulgasari. It is thought to be the first Korean kaiju film.

According to IMDB, Kenpachino’s final roles were in 2001’s Blind Beast vs. Dwarf and 2002’s Kawana Mariko: Sakuragi no amai mizu. Netizens are mourning his death and paying tribute for entertaining them.