is a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and professional mahjong player.

Biography Early life and education When Hagiwara was three years old, his parents divorced and he was taken in by his father. However, his father died when he was in the fourth grade, and was then raised by his paternal grandparents in Chigasaki until he was 15 years old. As a result, he spent most of his younger life without his mother.AERA February 8, 1999 issue, pp. 52-56, "Contemporary Portrait: Masato Hagiwara"

After graduating from Chigasaki Shiritsu Umeda Junior High School, Hagiwara moved to Tokyo. He enrolled in the part-time program at Tokyo Metropolitan Toyama High School, but dropped out after only one week. Later on, he went to the United States for a short period of time and was impressed by the movie audiences he saw in New York City, which led him to become interested in acting as a career. After returning to Japan, when he was helping out at his mother's bar in Shinjuku, he caught the eye of the casting staff for the TV drama Abunai Deka who had come in as customers, and was recruited. Then, in 1987, he made his debut as a young luggage thief in episode 32 of Abunai Deka. He continued to appear in many films as a minor role, but it was his role as Naojirō Matsuoka in the 1990 TV drama High School Rakugaki 2 that brought him to prominence.

In 1991, he formed the theater group "Early Timelies" with Shōgo Suzuki, Kō Watanabe and Tetsu Sakuma. They performed six shows over a period of seven years. He later established a fanclub in 1993, which disbanded three years later in July 1996.

Legal issues In 1993, one of the suspects in an assault case at Chūō-Rinkan Station on the Odakyu Line was accused of resembling Hagiwara. Hagiwara claimed to have an alibi, saying that he was meeting someone at the time of the crime, but refused to reveal the name of the person who could prove it, because it would be a nuisance to the person. This case damaged Hagiwara's public and private life, and for a while his appearances in dramas and other events were drastically reduced. Later, however, the case was dismissed on the grounds that the accuser's testimony contained many inconsistencies and it was just an accusation that Hagiwara resembled the killer.

Career Hagiwara co-starred in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Cure with Kōji Yakusho and appeared in Hou Hsiao-hsien's Café Lumière. He was supposed to perform in the play "Shinjō Afururu Keihakusa 2001" at Theatre Cocoon in January 2001, but was forced to cancel his performance in December 2000 due to a sensorineural hearing loss that left him temporarily deaf.

He also had a starring role as a vocalist and saxophonist in a jazz band in Junji Sakamoto's Out of This World. After having saxophone lessons with others, he practiced by himself in a karaoke box until his lips were swollen. The second prominent time as a vocalist was in 2007 for the cover of a song by The Blue Hearts, Mirai wa Bokura no Te no Naka, which was used as an opening theme for the anime TV series Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor.

In 2018, he became a Riichi Mahjong professional affiliated with the Japan Professional Mahjong League. In the same year he was drafted by the Team RAIDEN professional Mahjong team for the participation of the team Riichi Mahjong tournament M-League.

Personal life In November 1995, Hagiwara married actress Emi Wakui, with whom he co-starred in the TV drama Natsuko no Sake. They had a son in October 1999 and divorced in July 2003, with Wakui taking custody of the son.

Filmography

Film Year Title RoleNotes1987Bu SuStudent1992The River with No BridgeSadao Shimura1993A Class to RememberKazuAll Under the MoonOffice worker1994Tropical Paradise ClubHayashi Toda1995MarksHiroyuki MizusawaLead roleShiratori Reiko de Gozaimasu!Tetsuya Akimoto1997CureKunihiko MamiyaSharan Q no enka no hanamichiAD Kita2000ChaosGorō KurodaLead role2001OnmyojiPrince Sawara ShinnoGoPolicemanRain of LightMitsuya Anami2004Out of This WorldKentarō HirookaLead roleCafé LumièreSeijiAkihabara@DeepNaoki Tousaka2005RikidōzanYuzuru Yoshimachi2007BatteryMakoto Tomura2008ChameleonSatoshi KashiwaraPersonaKōichirō Kiba2009Sanpei the Fisher BoyPei MihiraListen to My HeartDaisuke Goto2010BOX: The Hakamada CaseNorimichi KumamotoLead roleSoup OperaMizutani2013Platinum DataShōgo Kagura2014Kamen TeacherNobuhiko Midō2015The Lion Standing in the WindKatsuhiko Aoki2017Miracles of the Namiya General StoreTakayuki Namiya2018And Your Bird Can SingShimadaA Banana? At This Time of Night?Daisuke Takamura2019Happy IslandSilent RainJapanese Doll of TerrorAnd Live Goes OnMasayuki Sakamoto2020Fukushima 50Utahime Obaka MiikoHaru Namidame2021Unlock Your HeartTakashi NishimuraWe Couldn't Become AdultsHideaki Miyoshi2022Even If This Love Disappears From the World TonightYukihiko KamiyaShimamoriAkira ShimadaLead roleAmnesiac LoveKunio2023Eternal New MorningsFrom Spice with LoveInsomniacs After SchoolGanta's father2024Cross My MindLead roleSilence of the SeaHell Is Other People2025Nagasaki: In the Shadow of the FlashHello, My FriendBy 6 A.M.One Last ThrowShuta Tanaka2026The Last Song You Left BehindMasafumi Okuda2126, Looking for the Sea's StarTsuki no InuLead rolePeriodHoshi no Kyoshitsu2027San Juan no KiYasuo KazukiLead role

Television Year Title RoleNotes1989High School Rakugaki 2Naojirō Matsuoka1994Natsuko no SakeWataru KusakabeWakamono no SubeteTetsuo HarashimaLead role1997Sore ga Kotae da!Kunio Ikeda2007GōIshida MitsunariTaiga drama2008Full SwingIkkyū Abe2011Diplomat Kosaku KurodaKeiichi YūkiThe Reason I Can't Find My LoveTakumi Shiraishi2015ShingariTakimoto2016Kyoaku wa NemurasenaiTetsuo IgarashiTelevision film2017Miotsukushi RyōrichōMatajiIshitsubuteMasayuki Azumata2018When a Tree FallsMichihiro AdachiTelevision film2019And Life Goes OnMasayuki SakamotoTelevision filmTrace: Kasōken no OtokoNaofumi HayakawaEps. 6-112022Tokyo ViceDukeAmerican television series2023The Child of God MurmursTelevision film2024Golden Kamuy: The Hunt of Prisoners in HokkaidoKazuo HenmiEpisode 22026Water MarginWang Lun

Animated television series Year Title Role Notes 2004Kappa no KaikataWatashi2005AkagiShigeru Akagi2007Kaiji: Ultimate SurvivorKaiji Itō2008ExamuraiATSUSHILupin III: Sweet Lost NightAdamOne OutsTōa Tokuchi2009Winter SonataLee Min-hyung / Kang Joon-sang2011WolverineKikyō MikageKaiji: Against All RulesKaiji ItōBladeKikyō Mikage2018Mr. Tonegawa: Middle Management BluesKaiji Itō, Watanabe

Animated films Year Title Role Notes 2004The Place Promised in Our Early DaysTakuya Shirakawa2016Garo: Divine FlameDario Montoya

Dubbing Live-action Year Title Role Voice dub for Notes 2003Winter SonataLee Min-hyung / Kang Joon-sangBae Yong-joonUntold ScandalJo-wonBae Yong-joon2005First LoveSung Chan-wooBae Yong-joonApril SnowIn-suBae Yong-joon2006Charlie Jade01 BoxerMichael Filipowich2008The LegendDamdeok / HwanungBae Yong-joon2011Dream HighJung Ha-myungBae Yong-joon2018BurningBenSteven YeunNHK edition

Animation Year Title Role Notes 1999G-SaviourMark Curran

Music videos Year Song Artist Notes 2005SakuraKetsumeishi

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work(s) Result 19936th Nikkan Sports Film AwardsBest NewcomerA Class to Remember and Many Happy Returns199418th Elan d'or AwardsNewcomer of the YearHimself15th Yokohama Film FestivalBest Supporting ActorA Class to Remember, Many Happy Returns and All Under the Moon17th Japan Academy Film PrizeNewcomer of the Year199638th Blue Ribbon AwardsBest Supporting ActorMarks19th Japan Academy Film PrizeBest Supporting Actor199821st Japan Academy Film PrizeBest Supporting ActorCure

References

External links Alpha Agency profile (Japanese) NHK Talent Records profile (Japanese)