Ryuichi Ogata

Ryuichi Ogata
Ryuichi Ogata at 2014 MTV Video Music Awards Japan
Background information
Born	(1985-12-17) December 17, 1985 (age 31)
Origin	Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan
Genres	J-pop
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	2000-present
Labels	Vision Factory
Associated acts	w-inds., Radio Foundation

Ryuichi Ogata (緒方 龍一, Ogata Ryūichi^?, born December 17, 1985) is a member of a Japanese pop group w-inds. originating from Sapporo, Japan. He rose to fame as the group's back-up dancer, back-up vocalist, and rapper.

Ogata began taking dance classes at Sapporo, at the request of his older sister. It was there when he first crossed paths with Ryohei Chiba, a future bandmate.

In 2000, Ogata, along with Chiba, passed auditions held at their dance school to join Keita Tachibana and form the boy band w-inds. Although initially chosen to be a back-up dancer, in their later singles, Ogata contributes to their songs as a back-up vocal and rapper. During the Prime of Life Tour in 2004, Ogata rapped and sang his first and only solo song, Energy, penned by himself, although this song was never recorded on any album.

In addition to his activities in w-inds., Ogata was also a guitarist in the independent rock band Radio Foundation.