Sakagami was born in Kagoshima Prefecture but spent most of his childhood in Manchukuo.
[1] Winning an NHK song contest at age 19, he headed to Tokyo to try to make a name in the entertainment business, eventually training as a comedian at the Asakusa strip clubs.
[1] It was there that he met Kin'ichi Hagimoto and in 1966, the two formed the owarai duo Konto 55-gō.
[2] Konto 55-gō became nationally famous, starring in several top-rated shows on television.
Sakagami continued to release songs and branched out into acting, appearing in television dramas as well as in films such as Nagisa Ōshima's Taboo.