# Ken Takakura

Ken Takakura (Japanese: 高倉 健, Hepburn: Takakura Ken), born Goichi Oda (小田 剛一, Oda Gōichi, February 16, 1931 – November 10, 2014), was a Japanese actor and singer who appeared in over 200 films. Affectionately referred to as "Ken-san" by audiences, he was best known for his brooding style and the stoic presence he brought to his roles. He won the Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role four times, tied with Koji Yakusho for the most ever. Takakura additionally received the Japanese Medal of Honor with purple ribbon in 1998, the Person of Cultural Merit award in 2006, and the Order of Culture in 2013.

## Life and career

Takakura was born in Nakama, Fukuoka in 1931. He attended Tochiku High School in nearby Yahata City, where he was a member of the boxing team and English society. It was around this time that he gained his streetwise swagger and tough-guy persona watching yakuza movies. This subject was covered in one of his most famous movies, Showa Zankyo-den (Remnants of Chivalry in the Showa Era), in which he played an honorable old-school yakuza among the violent post-war gangs. After graduating from Meiji University in Tokyo, Takakura attended an audition on impulse in 1955 at the Toei Film Company while applying for a managerial position.
Toei found a natural in Takakura as he debuted with Denko Karate Uchi (Lightning Karate Blow) in 1956. In 1959 he married singer Chiemi Eri, but divorced in 1971. His breakout role would be in the 1965 film Abashiri Prison, and its sequel Abashiri Bangaichi: Bokyohen (Abashiri Prison: Longing for Home, also 1965), in which he played an ex-con antihero. By the time Takakura left Toei in 1976, he had appeared in over 180 films.
He gained international recognition after starring in the 1970 war film Too Late the Hero as the cunning Imperial Japanese Major Yamaguchi, the 1974 Sydney Pollack sleeper hit The Yakuza with Robert Mitchum, and is probably best known in the West for his role in Ridley Scott's Black Rain (1989), in which he surprises American cops played by Michael Douglas and Andy García with the line, "I do speak fucking English". He again appeared to Western audiences with the 1992 Fred Schepisi comedy Mr. Baseball starring Tom Selleck.
Takakura was one of the few Japanese actors who experienced popularity in China, due to his appearance in Junya Satō's 1976 crime drama Kimi yo Fundo no Kawa o Watare (known in some territories as Manhunt), the first foreign film shown after the Cultural Revolution. He also starred as the titular assassin in Junya Satō's Golgo 13 (1973), a Japanese–Iranian production and the first live-action adaptation of the Japanese manga series Golgo 13.
He appeared in three films since 2000: Hotaru (ホタル, The Firefly) in May 2001, Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, by Chinese director Zhang Yimou, in late December 2005, and Yasuo Furuhata's Anata e (Dearest) in late August 2012, after a six-year hiatus. He died of lymphoma on November 10, 2014. Shintaro Ishihara described him as "the last big star (in Japan)." A huge number of Chinese internet users expressed their sympathies and condolences, including many celebrities in the Chinese movie industry. The spokesman of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hong Lei said that Takakura made significant contributions to the cultural exchange between China and Japan.
A documentary based on Takakura's life entitled Ken San premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and was released in Japanese theaters on August 20, 2016. It was directed by photographer Yuichi Hibi and features interviews with filmmakers and actors such as Martin Scorsese, Paul Schrader, Michael Douglas, John Woo, and Yoji Yamada.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
| 1956 | Denkô ryûsei karate uchi | Yusaku Shinobu | Fujio Tsuda | |
| 1956 | Denkô karate uchi | Yusaku Shinobu | Fujio Tsuda | |
| 1956 | Choppu sensei | Unknown | Eiichi Koishi | |
| 1956 | Nippon G-men | Unknown | Eiichi Koishi | |
| 1956 | Yûhi to kenjû [jp] | Shintarô Yamaoka | Kiyoshi Saeki [jp] | |
| 1956 | Haha kikaku | Unknown | Masamitsu Igayama | |
| 1956 | Kenjû o suterû | Unknown | Eiichi Koishi | |
| 1957 | Daigaku no Ishimatsu | Unknown | Eiichi Koishi | |
| 1957 | Tajobushin | Unknown | Shigehiro Ozawa | |
| 1957 | Nisshin senso fuun hiwa: Kiri no machi | Unknown | Yasushi Sasaki | |
| 1957 | Aoi unabara | Kenji Hamada | Tsuneo Kobayashi | |
| 1957 | Jetto-ki shutsudo: Daihyakuichi kokukichi | Jirô Nakata | Tsuneo Kobayashi | |
| 1958 | Musume jûhachi goikenmuyô | Unknown | Kiyoshi Saeki | |
| 1958 | Tarao Bannai: Jusan no mao | Unknown | Sadatsugu Matsuda | |
| 1958 | Ren'ai jiyûgata | Unknown | Kiyoshi Saeki | |
| 1958 | Kisetsufu no kanatani | Unknown | Hideo Sekigawa | |
| 1958 | Hibari no hanagata tantei kassen | Unknown | Yasushi Sasaki | |
| 1958 | Kibô no otome | Unknown | Yasushi Sasaki | |
| 1958 | Mori to mizuumi no matsuri | Ichitaro Kazamori | Tomu Uchida | |
| 1958 | Musume no naka no musume | Unknown | Kiyoshi Saeki | |
| 1958 | Do no hâjiki wa jigokû dazê | Unknown | Sadatsugu Matsuda | |
| 1959 | Senpukazuku | Unknown | Eiichi Koishi | |
| 1959 | Muhô gai no yarô domo | Unknown | Shigehiro Ozawa | |
| 1959 | Kuroi yubi no otoko | Unknown | Masuichi Iizuka | |
| 1959 | Kôdo nanasen metoru: kyôfu no yojikan | Unknown | Tsuneo Kobayashi | |
| 1959 | Kêdamonô no torû michi | Unknown | Hideo Sekigawa | |
| 1959 | Jigokû no sokô made tsuki auzê | Unknown | Shigehiro Ozawa | |
| 1959 | Hyoryû shitaî | Unknown | Hideo Sekigawa | |
| 1960 | Zoku beran me-e geisha | Unknown | Eiichi Koishi | |
| 1960 | Ôinaru tabiji | Kozo's Second Son | Hideo Sekigawa | |
| 1960 | Zubekô tenshi | Unknown | Shigehiro Ozawa | |
| 1960 | Tenka no Kaidanji Tosshin Tarô | Tarô Tosshin | Tsuneo Kobayashi | |
| 1960 | Zoku zoku beran me-e geisha | Unknown | Eiichi Koishi | |
| 1960 | Otoko nara yattemiro | Unknown | Kiyoshi Saeki | |
| 1960 | Sabaku o wataru taiyo | Unknown | Kiyoshi Saeki | |
| 1960 | Ôzora no muhômono | Unknown | Shoichi Shimazu | |
| 1960 | Nippatsume wa jigoku-iki daze | Unknown | Shigehiro Ozawa | |
| 1961 | Tenka no Kaidanji Senpû Tarô | Tarô Senpû | Eijirô Wakabayashi | |
| 1961 | Hana to arashi to gyangu | Unknown | Teruo Ishii | |
| 1961 | Hibari minyo no tabi beran me e geisha Sado heiku | Unknown | Kunio Watanabe | |
| 1961 | Mannen Tarô to anego shain | Tarô Mannen | Tsuneo Kobayashi | |
| 1961 | Beranme Chunori-san | Unknown | Masamitsu Igayama | |
| 1961 | Akuma no temari-uta | Kindaichi Kōsuke | Kunio Watanabe | |
| 1961 | Saigo no kaoyaku | Unknown | Yasushi Sasaki | |
| 1961 | Kashi no onna Ishimatsu | Unknown | Eiichi Kudô | |
| 1961 | Boku wa jigoku no tehinshi da | Unknown | Shigehiro Ozawa | |
| 1961 | Beran me-e geisha makari tôru | Unknown | Eiichi Koishi | |
| 1962 | Minami taiheiyô nami takashi | Unknown | Kunio Watanabe | |
| 1962 | Beran me-e geisha to Osaka musume | Unknown | Kunio Watanabe | |
| 1962 | Ni-nirokushiken Daisshutsu | Unknown | Tsuneo Kobayashi | |
| 1962 | Koi to Taiyo to Gang | Unknown | Teruo Ishii | |
| 1962 | Komon shacho manyuki | Unknown | Eiichi Koishi | |
| 1962 | Minyo no tabi: Sakurajima Otemoyan | Unknown | Kunio Watanabe | |
| 1962 | Sanbyakurokujugoya | Unknown | Kunio Watanabe | |
| 1962 | Ankoku-gai saigo no hi | Unknown | Umetsugu Inoue | |
| 1962 | Tôkyô antatchaburu | Yoshio Harada | Shinji Murayama | |
| 1962 | Yumin-gai no Judan | Unknown | Masuichi Iizuka | |
| 1962 | Uragiri mono wa jigoku daze | Unknown | Shigehiro Ozawa | |
| 1962 | Sen-hime to Hideyori | Naomori | Masahiro Makino | |
| 1963 | Ankokugai no kaoyaku: juichinin no gyangu | Sawagami | Teruo Ishii | |
| 1963 | Tokyo aantachibiru: dasso | Yoshio Harada | Hideo Sekigawa | |
| 1963 | Ankokugai saidai no kettô | Shimpei Matsuoka | Umetsugu Inoue | |
| 1963 | Miyamoto Musashi: Nitôryû kaigen | Sasaki Kojirō | Tomu Uchida | |
| 1963 | Gyangu Chûshingura | Unknown | Shigehiro Ozawa | |
| 1963 | Kyôkatsu | Unknown | Yûsuke Watanabe | |
| 1963 | Theater of Life: Hishakaku | Unknown | Tadashi Sawashima | |
| 1963 | Bôsu o tosê | Unknown | Teruo Ishii | |
| 1963 | Bôryoku gai | Unknown | Tsuneo Kobayashi | |
| 1964 | Tôkyô gyangu tai Honkon gyangu | Unknown | Teruo Ishii | |
| 1964 | Miyamoto Musashi: Ichijôji no kettô | Sasaki Kojirō | Tomu Uchida | |
| 1964 | Jakoman and Tetsu | Tetsu | Kinji Fukasaku | |
| 1964 | Narazumono | Minami | Teruo Ishii | |
| 1964 | Irezumi totsugekitai | Unknown | Teruo Ishii | |
| 1964 | Ankokugai Main Street | Tetsuya Shinobu | Umetsugu Inoue | |
| 1964 | Nihon kyôkaku-den | Chokichi | Masahiro Makino | |
| 1964 | Wolves, Pigs and Men | Jirō | Kinji Fukasaku | |
| 1965 | Kaoyaku | Kyôichi Hayami | Teruo Ishii | |
| 1965 | A Fugitive from the Past | Detective Ajimura | Tomu Uchida | |
| 1965 | Nihon Kyokaku-den: naniwa-hen | Unknown | Masahiro Makino | |
| 1965 | Abashiri Prison | Shinichi Tachibana | Teruo Ishii | |
| 1965 | Nihon Kyokaku-den: kanto-hen | Unknown | Masahiro Makino | |
| 1965 | Miyamoto Musashi: Ganryû-jima no kettô | Sasaki Kojirō | Tomu Uchida | |
| 1965 | Shôwa zankyô-den | Seiji Terajima | Kiyoshi Saeki | |
| 1965 | Abashiri bangaichi: Bôkyô hen | Shinichi Tachibana | Teruo Ishii | |
| 1965 | Abashiri bangaichi: Hokkai hen | Shinichi Tachibana | Teruo Ishii | |
| 1966 | Shôwa zankyô-den: Karajishi botan | Unknown | Kiyoshi Saeki | |
| 1966 | Nihon Kyokaku-den: Ketto Kanda-matsuri | Shinsan | Masahiro Makino | |
| 1966 | Kamikaze Man: Duel at Noon | Fumio Kuroki | Kinji Fukasaku | |
| 1966 | Otoko no shôbu | Unknown | Sadao Nakajima | |
| 1966 | Nihon Kyokaku-den: Kaminari-mon no Ketto | Unknown | Masahiro Makino | |
| 1966 | Jigoku no okite ni asu wa nai | Ichiro Takita | Yasuo Furuhata | |
| 1966 | Showa zankyo-den: Ippiki okami | Unknown | Kiyoshi Saeki | |
| 1966 | Abashiri Bangaichi: Nangoku no Taiketsu | Shinichi Tachibana | Teruo Ishii | |
| 1966 | Abashiri Bangaichi: Koya no taiketsu | Shinichi Tachibana | Teruo Ishii | |
| 1966 | Abashiri bangaichi: Dai setsugen no taiktsu | Shinichi Tachibana | Teruo Ishii | |
| 1967 | Abashiri bangaichi: Kettô reika 30 do | Shinichi Tachibana | Teruo Ishii | |
| 1967 | Shôwa zankyô-den: Chizome no karajishi | Hidejirô Hanada | Masahiro Makino | |
| 1967 | Abashiri bangaichi: Fubuki no tôsô | Shinichi Tachibana | Teruo Ishii | |
| 1967 | Nihon Kyokaku-den: Shira-ha no Sakazuki | Unknown | Masahiro Makino | |
| 1967 | Nihon kyokaku-den: kirikomi | Unknown | Masahiro Makino | |
| 1967 | Kyokotsu ichidai | Unknown | Masahiro Makino | |
| 1967 | Kyokakû no okitê | Unknown | Motohiro Torii | |
| 1967 | Abashiri Bangaichi: Aku eno Chôsen | Shinichi Tachibana | Teruo Ishii | |
| 1967 | Âa dôki no sakura | First Lieutenant Kenmochi | Sadao Nakajima | |
| 1968 | Nihon Kyokaku-den: Zetsuenjô | Unknown | Masahiro Makino | |
| 1968 | The Drifting Avenger | Ken Kato | Junya Sato | |
| 1968 | The Valiant Red Peony | Shogo Hanaoka | Kōsaku Yamashita | |
| 1968 | Gorotsuki | Unknown | Masahiro Makino | |
| 1968 | Jinsei-gekijô: Hishakaku to kiratsune | Miyagawa | Tomu Uchida | |
| 1968 | Gion matsuri | Unknown | Daisuke Itô and Tetsuya Yamanouchi | |
| 1968 | Bakuto retsuden | Unknown | Shigehiro Ozawa | |
| 1968 | Shin Abashiri Bangaichi | Katsuji Suematsu | Yasuo Furuhata | |
| 1968 | Kyokaku Retsuden | Unknown | Masahiro Makino | |
| 1968 | Gokuchu no kaoyaku | Unknown | Yasuo Furuhata | |
| 1969 | Hibotan bakuto: Hanafuda shôbu | Shogo Hanaoka | Tai Katô | |
| 1969 | Shôwa zankyô-den: Karajishi jingi | Unknown | Masahiro Makino | |
| 1969 | Hibotan bakuto: Nidaime shûmei | Unknown | Shigehiro Ozawa | |
| 1969 | Nihon kyokaku-den: hana to ryu | Tamai Kingoro | Masahiro Makino | |
| 1969 | Nihon ansatsu hiroku | Unknown | Sadao Nakajima | |
| 1969 | Tosei-nin Retsuden | Unknown | Shigehiro Ozawa | |
| 1969 | Showa zankyo-den: Hito-kiri karajishi | Unknown | Kôsaku Yamashita | |
| 1969 | Shin Abashiri Bangaichi: Saihate no Nagare-mono | Shinichi Tachibana | Kiyoshi Saeki | |
| 1969 | Shin Abashiri Bangaichi: Runin-masaki no ketto | Shinichi Tachibana | Yasuo Furuhata | |
| 1969 | Sengo Saidai no Toba | Unknown | Kôsaku Yamashita | |
| 1969 | Nihon jokyo-den: kyokaku geisha | Unknown | Kôsaku Yamashita | |
| 1969 | Chôeki san kyôdai | Unknown | Kiyoshi Saeki | |
| 1969 | Bakuto mujô | Unknown | Buichi Saitô | |
| 1970 | Bakuto ikka | Unknown | Shigehiro Ozawa | |
| 1970 | Nippon dabi katsukyu | Unknown | Jun'ya Satô | |
| 1970 | Too Late the Hero | Major Yamaguchi | Robert Aldrich | Anglo-American film |
| 1970 | Shôwa zankyô-den: Shinde moraimasu | Unknown | Masahiro Makino | |
| 1970 | Saigo no tokkôtai | Unknown | Jun'ya Satô | |
| 1970 | Nihon kyokaku-den: Nobori Ryu | Unknown | Kôsaku Yamashita | |
| 1970 | Yukyo-retsuden | Unknown | | |
| 1970 | Sutemi no Narazu-mono | Unknown | Yasuo Furuhata | |
| 1970 | Shin Abashiri Bangaichi: Fubuki no Hagure Okami | Shinichi Tachibana | Yasuo Furuhata | |
| 1970 | Shin Abashiri Bangaichi: Dai Shinrin no Ketto | Shinichi Tachibana | Yasuo Furuhata | |
| 1970 | Nihon jokyo-den: makka na dokyo-bana | Unknown | Yasuo Furuhata | |
| 1971 | Nihon yakuza-den: Sôchiyô e no michi | Ryutaro Fudo | Masahiro Makino | |
| 1971 | Gorotsuki mushuku | Isamu Tekada | Yasuo Furuhata | |
| 1971 | The Man | Unknown | Kōsaku Yamashita | |
| 1971 | Shin Abashiri Bangaichi: Fubuki no Dai-Dassou | Shinichi Tachibana | Yasuo Furuhata | |
| 1971 | Showa zankyo-den: hoero karajishi | Unknown | Kiyoshi Saeki | |
| 1971 | Shin abashiri bangaichi: Arashi yobu shiretoko-misaki | Shinichi Tachibana | Yasuo Furuhata | |
| 1971 | Nihon kyokaku-den: Dosu | Unknown | Shigehiro Ozawa | |
| 1971 | Nihon jokyo-den: ketto midare-bana | Unknown | Kôsaku Yamashita | |
| 1972 | Junko intai kinen eiga: Kantô hizakura ikka | Kuramoto | Masahiro Makino | |
| 1972 | Shin abashiri bangaichi: arashi yobu danpu jingi | Shinichi Tachibana | Yasuo Furuhata | |
| 1972 | Showa zankyo-den: Yabure-gasa | Unknown | Kiyoshi Saeki | |
| 1972 | Bokyo Komori-uta | Unknown | Shigehiro Ozawa | |
| 1972 | Bakuchi-uchi Gaiden | Unknown | Kôsaku Yamashita | |
| 1973 | Gendai ninkyô-shi | Ryoichi Shimaya | Teruo Ishii | |
| 1973 | Golgo 13 | Golgo 13 | Junya Sato | |
| 1973 | Yamaguchi-gumi Sandaime | Kazuo Taoka | Kōichi Saitō | |
| 1974 | San-daime Shumei | Unknown | Shigehiro Ozawa | |
| 1974 | The Homeless | Joukichi | Kōichi Saitō | |
| 1974 | The Yakuza | Ken Tanaka | Sydney Pollack | American film |
| 1975 | Nihon ninkyo-do: gekitotsu-hen | Ichizo Ryuzaki | Kôsaku Yamashita | |
| 1975 | Daidatsugoku | Ichiro Kozue | Teruo Ishii | |
| 1975 | The Bullet Train | Tetsuo Okita | Junya Sato | |
| 1975 | Kobe Kokusai Gang | Masato Dan | Noboru Tanaka | |
| 1976 | Yasagure Keiji | Unknown | Yûsuke Watanabe | |
| 1976 | Manhunt | Unknown | Junya Sato | |
| 1977 | Mount Hakkoda | Captain Tokushima | Shirō Moritani | |
| 1977 | The Yellow Handkerchief | Yusaku Shima | Yoji Yamada | |
| 1978 | Fuyu no hana | Hidetsugu Kano | Yasuo Furuhata | |
| 1978 | Never Give Up | Takeshi Ajisawa | Junya Sato | |
| 1980 | Dōran | Keisuke Miyagi | Shirō Moritani | |
| 1980 | A Distant Cry from Spring | Kōsaku Tajima | Yoji Yamada | |
| 1981 | Station | Eiji Mikami | Yasuo Furuhata | |
| 1982 | Keiji monogatari | Detective Mikami | Yûsuke Watanabe | |
| 1982 | Kaikyô | Go Akutsu | Shirô Moritani | |
| 1983 | Antarctica | Akira Ushioda | Koreyoshi Kurahara | |
| 1983 | Izakaya Chōji | Chōji | Yasuo Furuhata | |
| 1985 | Yasha | Shūji | Yasuo Furuhata | |
| 1988 | Umi e, See You | Eiji Honma | Koreyoshi Kurahara | |
| 1989 | Black Rain | Assistant Inspector Masahiro "Mas" Matsumoto | Ridley Scott | American film |
| 1989 | Aun | Shūzō Kadokura | Yasuo Furuhata | |
| 1992 | Mr. Baseball | Uchiyama | Fred Schepisi | American film |
| 1994 | 47 Ronin | Ōishi Kuranosuke | Kon Ichikawa | |
| 1999 | Railroad Man | Otomatsu Satō | Yasuo Furuhata | |
| 2001 | The Firefly | Yamaoka Shûji | Yasuo Furuhata | |
| 2005 | Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles | Gou-Ichi Takata | Zhang Yimou | Chinese film |
| 2012 | Dearest | Eiji Kurashima | Yasuo Furuhata | His final film role |

## Honours

* Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
   * 1978 – as Yusaku Shima, in The Yellow Handkerchief
   * 1981 – as Kōsaku Tajima, in A Distant Cry from Spring
   * 1982 – as Eiji Mikami, in Station
   * 1999 – as Otomatsu Satō, in Poppoya
* Japan Academy Prize for Special Award of Honour from the Association
   * 2013
* Blue Ribbon Awards
   * 1977 – as Yusaku Shima, in The Yellow Handkerchief
   * 1999 – as Otomatsu Satō, in Poppoya
* Japanese Medal of Honor (Purple Ribbon) (1998)
* Person of Cultural Merit (2006)
* Order of Culture (2013)
* Junior Third Rank (2014; posthumous)