Shoken arrested

[Aaron Gerow]

The actor Hagiwara Ken'ichi, known to fans as "Shoken," was arrested on 
the 7th for allegedly trying to extort money from the producers of the 
film Toko no ki after he was dropped from the film. He has contracted 
to make the film for 15 million yen (with an extra 3 million to come 
from DVD sales), and was paid 7.5 million in advance. But after his 
behavior on the set led to his being dropped from the film, he 
reportedly called the producer and threatened to send mobsters after 
him if he was not paid the remaining amount contracted for. Hagiwara 
denies that he made such a threat.

Hagiwara is one of Japan's most famous actors. He started out as a 
singer in the Group Sounds  band The Tempters and quickly moved to film 
and TV. His TV shows like Taiyo ni hoeru and Kizu darake no tenshi are 
now legendary, and he has appeared in dozens of films, ranging from 
Saito Koichi's Yakusoku to Ichikawa Kon's Matatabi, from Kurosawa's 
Kagemusha to Fukasaku's Itsuka giragirasuru hi.

He has always had a rebellious reputation however, and this is actually 
the fourth time he has been arrested (including one for drug 
possession).

Aaron Gerow
Assistant Professor
Film Studies Program/East Asian Languages and Literatures
Director of Undergraduate Studies, Film Studies Program
Yale University
53 Wall Street, Room 316
PO Box 208363
New Haven, CT 06520-8363
USA
Phone: 1-203-432-7082
Fax: 1-203-432-6764
e-mail: aaron.gerow at yale.edu