Kanako Ogata ( Japanese: 緒方 かな子, Hepburn: Ogata Kanako, born 4 March 1973), previously known as Kanako Nakajō ( Japanese: 中條 かな子, Hepburn: Nakajō Kanako), is a Japanese singer and television personality from Naka-ku, Hiroshima. Originally part of the Sakurakko Club, she released a few solo singles and had a career as an actress, gravure idol, and radio personality, before retiring after her marriage to baseball player Koichi Ogata. Afterwards, she became a painter whose work was exhibited nationwide, and she returned as a local talent [ ja] in her native Hiroshima, being a part of NHK Hiroshima [ ja] radio's Kin'yō Yūgata; Dōkai no  [ ja] and Hiroshima Television's Terebiha  [ ja].

Biography

Kanako Ogata, a native of Naka-ku, Hiroshima, ^[1] was born on 4 March 1973. ^[2] She was educated at Horikoshi High School. ^[3]

Her career began when she was seven. ^[1] She was a member of the Sakurakko Club Sakura-gumi. ^[3] Debuting under the name Kanako Nakajō, ^[1] she sang the ending theme song of Sakurakko Club, "Tenshi no Tobira", and Pony Canyon released it as her debut single on 21 June 1991. ^[4] She sang the ending theme song of the TV Asahi drama Kyosen no Tsukenai Eigo  [ ja] (1992–1993), "Kotoba o Sagashite", and Pony Canyon released it as a single on 18 June 1993. ^[5]

Outside of music, she also worked as an actress, gravure idol, radio personality. ^{[3] [2]} She was also known as Queen of the School Festival (学園祭の女王, Gakuensai no Joō). ^[3] In 1993 or 1994, she took a minor career break when she contracted meningitis. ^[2]

In 1996, she married Koichi Ogata, at the time an outfielder for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp; ^[3] they had two daughters and a son, including singer and voice actress Yuna Ogata. ^{[6] [7]} She subsequently took a career hiatus, during which she took up Nihonga painting and oil painting. ^[2] By 2013, she had produced at least a hundred paintings. ^[2] In 1998, she made her first appearance at the Nika Art Exhibition [ ja]. ^[2] Her self-portrait, "Yoka no Tanoshimi" (余暇の楽しみ), was selected for the 88th Hakujitsu [ ja] Exhibition in 2012. ^[8] In December 2013, her first solo exhibition took place at Gallery Miyasaka in Ginza. ^[2] Another oil painting, "Natsuyasumi" (夏休み), was selected for the 93rd Hakujitsu Exhibition in 2017. ^[9]

Following her career hiatus, she later became a local talent [ ja] in her native Hiroshima. ^[2] By 2013, she was part of the NHK Hiroshima [ ja] radio programme Kin'yō Yūgata; Dōkai no  [ ja]. ^[2] In April 2017, she become a Tuesday commentator on Hiroshima Television's news programme Terebiha  [ ja]. ^[9] She appeared as Yumi in the eighth episode of the TBS drama 99.9 Criminal Lawyer  [ ja], broadcast on 11 March 2018; this was her first appearance on a television drama since 1995. ^[10]

In December 2013, Ogata confirmed in an interview with Zakzak that she had developed arrhythmia and therefore underwent cardiac catheterization. ^[2] In 2016, she got a pet French bulldog whom she named Yūshō (優勝). ^{[11] [12]}

Discography

Singles

Filmography

Television dramas

• Hanafubukion'na Three Sanshimai  [ ja] (1995) ^[10]
• 99.9 Criminal Lawyer  [ ja] (2018), Yumi ^[10]

References