Ken Takakura

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

197

Gender

Male

Birthday

1931-02-16

Day of death

2014-11-10 (83 years old)

Place of Birth

Nakama, Fukuoka, Japan

Ken Takakura

Biography

Ken Takakura (高倉 健, Takakura Ken), born Gouichi Oda (February 16, 1931, in Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka, Japan), was a Japanese actor best known for his brooding style and the stoic presence he brings to his roles. Takakura gained his streetwise swagger and tough-guy persona watching yakuza turf battles over the lucrative black market and racketeering in postwar Fukuoka. 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 gurentai. A graduate of Meiji University in Tokyo Takakura happened by an audition in 1955 at the Toei Film Company, and decided to look in. Toei found a natural in Takakura as he debuted with Denko Karate Uchi (Lightning Karate Blow) in 1956. Japan experienced a boom in gangster films in the 1960s as the Japanese people struggled with the generational differences between those raised in pre-war and post-war Japan and these were Takakura's stock and trade. 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 would leave Toei in 1976, he had appeared in over 180 films. Takakura gained international recognition after starring in the 1970 war film Too Late the Hero as the cunning Imperial Japanese Major Yamaguchi, the 1975 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) where he surprises American cops played by Michael Douglas and Andy García with the line, "I do speak fucking English". He again proved himself bankable to Western audiences with the 1992 Fred Schepisi comedy Mr. Baseball starring Tom Selleck. While he has slowed down a bit in his older years, he is still active. His most recent film was the 2005 Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles by Chinese director Zhang Yimou. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ken Takakura, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

  • SMAP×SMAP

    SMAP×SMAP

  • Tokyo Untouchable

    Tokyo Untouchable

  • Umi e, See You

    Umi e, See You

  • Station

    Station

  • Abashiri Prison: Duel in Hokkaido

    Abashiri Prison: Duel in Hokkaido

  • Hell's Juggler

    Hell's Juggler

  • Black Rain

    Black Rain

  • Operation Diamond

    Operation Diamond

  • Prison Boss

    Prison Boss

  • Golgo 13

    Golgo 13

  • Jet Air Base 101

    Jet Air Base 101

  • Storm Party

    Storm Party

  • The Prickly Mouthed Geisha Part 2

    The Prickly Mouthed Geisha Part 2

  • Too Late the Hero

    Too Late the Hero

  • Red Peony Gambler

    Red Peony Gambler

  • The Day the Sun Rose

    The Day the Sun Rose

  • Railroad Man

    Railroad Man

  • The Bullet Train

    The Bullet Train

  • Hell's Kitchen

    Hell's Kitchen

  • Mr. Baseball

    Mr. Baseball

  • Antarctica

    Antarctica

  • 47 Ronin

    47 Ronin

  • Korekara: Umibe no Tabibitotachi

    Korekara: Umibe no Tabibitotachi

  • Mount Hakkoda

    Mount Hakkoda

  • The Yakuza

    The Yakuza

  • Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles

    Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles

  • Never Give Up

    Never Give Up

  • Older brother

    Older brother

  • The Yellow Handkerchief

    The Yellow Handkerchief

  • Manhunt

    Manhunt

  • Wolves, Pigs & Men

    Wolves, Pigs & Men

  • Choji Snack Bar

    Choji Snack Bar

  • The Revolt

    The Revolt

  • Prison Walls of Abashiri 4

    Prison Walls of Abashiri 4

  • Demon

    Demon

  • The Longest Tunnel

    The Longest Tunnel

  • The Kamikaze Guy

    The Kamikaze Guy

  • Winter's Flower

    Winter's Flower

  • Miyamoto Musashi IV: The Duel at Ichijo-ji Temple

    Miyamoto Musashi IV: The Duel at Ichijo-ji Temple

  • A Fugitive from the Past

    A Fugitive from the Past

  • A Distant Cry from Spring

    A Distant Cry from Spring

  • Miyamoto Musashi: Birth of Two Sword Style

    Miyamoto Musashi: Birth of Two Sword Style

  • Classmates

    Classmates

  • Eleven Gangsters

    Eleven Gangsters

  • Devil's Nursery Rhyme

    Devil's Nursery Rhyme

  • Buddies

    Buddies

  • The Firefly

    The Firefly

  • Defeat the Boss

    Defeat the Boss

  • Contemporary Tales of Chivalry 4

    Contemporary Tales of Chivalry 4

  • New Abashiri Prison Story: Honor and Humanity, Ammunition That Attracts the Storm

    New Abashiri Prison Story: Honor and Humanity, Ammunition That Attracts the Storm

  • Brutal Tales of Chivalry 5: Man With The Karajishi Tattoo

    Brutal Tales of Chivalry 5: Man With The Karajishi Tattoo

  • New Prison Walls of Abashiri: The Vagrant Comes to a Port Town

    New Prison Walls of Abashiri: The Vagrant Comes to a Port Town

  • Red Peony Gambler: Flower Cards Game

    Red Peony Gambler: Flower Cards Game

  • Duel of the Underworld

    Duel of the Underworld

  • The Bullet and the Horse

    The Bullet and the Horse

  • The Sand City in Manchuria

    The Sand City in Manchuria

  • The World's Most Noble Guy: Taro's Eternity

    The World's Most Noble Guy: Taro's Eternity

  • Memoir of Japanese Assassinations

    Memoir of Japanese Assassinations

  • Abashiri Prison

    Abashiri Prison

  • Dearest

    Dearest

  • Ken San

    Ken San

  • Third Generation Boss

    Third Generation Boss

  • An Outlaw

    An Outlaw

  • Brave Red Flower of the North

    Brave Red Flower of the North

  • House of Gamblers

    House of Gamblers

  • The Kanto Scarlet Cherry Gang

    The Kanto Scarlet Cherry Gang

  • Prison Walls of Abashiri, Part 2

    Prison Walls of Abashiri, Part 2

  • The Japan Derby Race

    The Japan Derby Race

  • The Domain: The Naniwa Story

    The Domain: The Naniwa Story

  • Miyamoto Musashi V: Musashi vs Kojiro

    Miyamoto Musashi V: Musashi vs Kojiro

  • South Pacific Waves Are High

    South Pacific Waves Are High

  • With Songs in My Heart

    With Songs in My Heart

  • Uragirimono wa jigoku daze

    Uragirimono wa jigoku daze

  • The Chivalrous Life

    The Chivalrous Life

  • The Second Bullet is Marked

    The Second Bullet is Marked

  • Life of Hishakaku

    Life of Hishakaku

  • Detective Duel

    Detective Duel

  • The Boss

    The Boss

  • New Prison Walls of Abashiri

    New Prison Walls of Abashiri

  • The Homeless

    The Homeless

  • The Escape

    The Escape

  • The Prickly-Mouthed Geisha Goes to Sado

    The Prickly-Mouthed Geisha Goes to Sado

  • The International Gang of Kobe

    The International Gang of Kobe

  • Patience Has An End

    Patience Has An End

  • Abashiri Prison: Duel in the Snow Country

    Abashiri Prison: Duel in the Snow Country

  • Rogue

    Rogue

  • Gang Loyalty and Vengeance

    Gang Loyalty and Vengeance

  • If You're Man Enough

    If You're Man Enough

  • The Domain: Where The Blade Enters

    The Domain: Where The Blade Enters

  • The Happy Family

    The Happy Family

  • Brutal Tales of Chivalry

    Brutal Tales of Chivalry

  • The Domain: White Blade

    The Domain: White Blade

  • The Domain: Kanto Legends of Chivalry

    The Domain: Kanto Legends of Chivalry

  • Karate Cop

    Karate Cop

  • Japan's Top Gangster

    Japan's Top Gangster

  • Yakuza of the Present

    Yakuza of the Present

  • Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: Forbidden Love

    Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: Forbidden Love

  • The Domain: Kanda Festival Showdown

    The Domain: Kanda Festival Showdown

  • Monsoon Son Pt.2

    Monsoon Son Pt.2

  • All Rascals

    All Rascals

  • The Deep Blue Sea

    The Deep Blue Sea

  • New Prison Walls of Abashiri 2

    New Prison Walls of Abashiri 2

  • The Great Road

    The Great Road

  • Dagger

    Dagger

  • Abashiri Prison: Duel in the South

    Abashiri Prison: Duel in the South

  • Red Peony Gambler: Second Generation Ceremony

    Red Peony Gambler: Second Generation Ceremony

  • Lullaby for a Tough Guy

    Lullaby for a Tough Guy

  • An Elegy of Tyrole

    An Elegy of Tyrole

  • The World's Most Noble Guy: Taro's Whirlwind

    The World's Most Noble Guy: Taro's Whirlwind

  • A Hoodlum At The Risk Of His Life

    A Hoodlum At The Risk Of His Life

  • Blackmail

    Blackmail

  • Romance Freestyle

    Romance Freestyle

  • Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: The Lone Wolf

    Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: The Lone Wolf

  • The Man

    The Man

  • Monsoon Son

    Monsoon Son

  • Hell's Companion

    Hell's Companion

  • The Domain: Flower and Dragon

    The Domain: Flower and Dragon

  • Showdown of Men

    Showdown of Men

  • Feisty Edo Girl Nakanori-san

    Feisty Edo Girl Nakanori-san

  • Song of Kagoshima

    Song of Kagoshima

  • Showdown in Blood

    Showdown in Blood

  • Brothers Serving Time

    Brothers Serving Time

  • Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: The Traitor Shall Die

    Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: The Traitor Shall Die

  • Man of Thirteen Eyes

    Man of Thirteen Eyes

  • Great Jailbreak

    Great Jailbreak

  • The World's Most Noble Guy: Taro's Rush

    The World's Most Noble Guy: Taro's Rush

  • Midair Circus

    Midair Circus

  • The Pledge

    The Pledge

  • Samurai Geisha

    Samurai Geisha

  • Tokyo Gang vs. Hong Kong Gang

    Tokyo Gang vs. Hong Kong Gang

  • G-men of Japan 4: Special Armed Unit Mobilization

    G-men of Japan 4: Special Armed Unit Mobilization

  • Black Rain: Making The Film

    Black Rain: Making The Film

  • Sister with Sister

    Sister with Sister

  • Tales of President Mito

    Tales of President Mito

  • New Prison Walls of Abashiri: Stormy Cape

    New Prison Walls of Abashiri: Stormy Cape

  • Manchurian Sunset

    Manchurian Sunset

  • A Fishwife's Tale

    A Fishwife's Tale

  • The Domain: Severed Relations

    The Domain: Severed Relations

  • Tokyo Untouchable: Escape

    Tokyo Untouchable: Escape

  • Brutal Tales of Chivalry 6

    Brutal Tales of Chivalry 6

  • New Prison Walls of Abashiri: Stray Wolf in Snow

    New Prison Walls of Abashiri: Stray Wolf in Snow

  • Bloodiest Flower

    Bloodiest Flower

  • Flower, Storm and Gangster

    Flower, Storm and Gangster

  • The Prickly Mouthed Geisha and the Girl of Osaka

    The Prickly Mouthed Geisha and the Girl of Osaka

  • The Domain

    The Domain

  • The Drifting Avenger

    The Drifting Avenger

  • Mother Peacock

    Mother Peacock

  • Brutal Tales of Chivalry 7: Hell Is a Man's Destiny

    Brutal Tales of Chivalry 7: Hell Is a Man's Destiny

  • A Story from Abashiri Prison—Duel in Snow Storm

    A Story from Abashiri Prison—Duel in Snow Storm

  • Employee Full of Fight

    Employee Full of Fight

  • The Domain: Rising Dragon

    The Domain: Rising Dragon

  • The Prickly Mouthed Geisha, Part 3

    The Prickly Mouthed Geisha, Part 3

  • The Outsiders

    The Outsiders

  • The Last Kamikaze

    The Last Kamikaze

  • Prison Walls of Abashiri 3

    Prison Walls of Abashiri 3

  • His Pistol is Hell

    His Pistol is Hell

  • The Domain: Duel at Thunder Gate

    The Domain: Duel at Thunder Gate

  • Meteor Karate Strike

    Meteor Karate Strike

  • Gambler Biography

    Gambler Biography

  • The detective whose path was crossed by a snake

    The detective whose path was crossed by a snake

  • Four Hours of Terror

    Four Hours of Terror

  • The Bastards of Lawless Town

    The Bastards of Lawless Town

  • The Biggest Gamble

    The Biggest Gamble

  • Delinquent Angel

    Delinquent Angel

  • Contemporary Tales of Chivalry 2

    Contemporary Tales of Chivalry 2

  • The Prickly Mouthed Geisha, Part 4

    The Prickly Mouthed Geisha, Part 4

  • Yukyo-retsuden

    Yukyo-retsuden

  • Histories of the Chivalrous

    Histories of the Chivalrous

  • New Prison Walls of Abashiri: Snowbound Deserter

    New Prison Walls of Abashiri: Snowbound Deserter

  • Glorious Fights

    Glorious Fights

  • Outlaw Under a Blue Canopy

    Outlaw Under a Blue Canopy

  • Jakoman and Tetsu

    Jakoman and Tetsu

  • New Prison Walls of Abashiri: High Stakes at Abashiri

    New Prison Walls of Abashiri: High Stakes at Abashiri

  • A Portrait of the Author

    A Portrait of the Author

  • Mannen Taro and His Feminine Colleagues

    Mannen Taro and His Feminine Colleagues

  • Abashiri Prison: Challenge to the Evil

    Abashiri Prison: Challenge to the Evil

  • No Advice Taken

    No Advice Taken

  • 侠客の掟

    侠客の掟

  • Lightning Karate Blow

    Lightning Karate Blow

  • The Counterfeiters

    The Counterfeiters

  • Main Street in the Underworld

    Main Street in the Underworld

  • Beyond the Seasonal Wind

    Beyond the Seasonal Wind

  • The Path of the King

    The Path of the King

  • Men Fighting Whales

    Men Fighting Whales

  • Tokyo's Business District

    Tokyo's Business District

  • The Chop Professor

    The Chop Professor

  • A Dead Drifter

    A Dead Drifter

  • The Big Boss

    The Big Boss

  • 365 Nights

    365 Nights

  • Hishakaku and Kiratsune: A Tale of Two Yakuza

    Hishakaku and Kiratsune: A Tale of Two Yakuza

  • Path of Japanese Chivalry: Story of All-Out Attack

    Path of Japanese Chivalry: Story of All-Out Attack

  • Lady Sen and Hideyori

    Lady Sen and Hideyori

  • 恐怖の空中殺人

    恐怖の空中殺人

  • 続べらんめぇ芸者

    続べらんめぇ芸者

  • A Man's Dark Finger

    A Man's Dark Finger

  • Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star

    Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star

  • Gambler's Legacy

    Gambler's Legacy