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.
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Filmography
all 189
Movies 183
TV Shows 6
self 5
Ken San (2016)
The World Heritage (2014)
Dearest (2012)
Black Rain: Making The Film (2006)
Professional: Shigoto no ryûgi (2006)
Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (2005)
The Firefly (2001)
Railroad Man (1999)
SMAP×SMAP (1996)
Keiji hebi ni yokogirareru (1995)
47 Ronin (1994)
Korekara: Umibe no Tabibitotachi (1993)
Mr. Baseball (1992)
An Elegy of Tyrole (1992)
Robert Mitchum: The Reluctant Star (1991)
Buddies (1989)
Black Rain (1989)
See You (1988)
Demon (1985)
A Portrait of the Author (1984)
Choji Snack Bar (1983)
Antarctica (1983)
The Longest Tunnel (1982)
Karate Cop (1982)
Station (1981)
A Distant Cry from Spring (1980)
The Revolt (1980)
Never Give Up (1978)
Winter's Flower (1978)
Older brother (1977)
The Yellow Handkerchief (1977)
Mount Hakkoda (1977)
Manhunt (1976)
Outlaw Cop (1976)
The International Gang of Kobe (1975)
The Bullet Train (1975)
Great Jailbreak (1975)
Path of Japanese Chivalry: Story of All-Out Attack (1975)
The Yakuza (1974)
The Homeless (1974)
Third Generation Boss (1974)
Golgo 13 (1973)
Yakuza of the Present (1973)
Japan's Top Gangster (1973)
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: The Traitor Shall Die (1972)
New Abashiri Prison Story: Honor and Humanity, Ammunition That Attracts the Storm (1972)
Lullaby for a Tough Guy (1972)
The Pledge (1972)
The Kanto Scarlet Cherry Gang (1972)
New Prison Walls of Abashiri: Snowbound Deserter (1971)
The Man (1971)
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: Forbidden Love (1971)
New Prison Walls of Abashiri: Stormy Cape (1971)
Patience Has An End (1971)
Dagger (1971)
Bloodiest Flower (1971)
The Path of the King (1971)
New Prison Walls of Abashiri: Stray Wolf in Snow (1970)
The Domain: Rising Dragon (1970)
The Last Kamikaze (1970)
Brutal Tales of Chivalry 7: Hell Is a Man's Destiny (1970)
New Prison Walls of Abashiri: High Stakes at Abashiri (1970)
Yukyo-retsuden (1970)
Too Late the Hero (1970)
The Japan Derby Race (1970)
A Hoodlum At The Risk Of His Life (1970)
House of Gamblers (1970)
Brave Red Flower of the North (1970)
New Prison Walls of Abashiri: The Vagrant Comes to a Port Town (1969)
Gambler's Legacy (1969)
Brutal Tales of Chivalry 6 (1969)
Memoir of Japanese Assassinations (1969)
The Biggest Gamble (1969)
New Prison Walls of Abashiri 2 (1969)
Samurai Geisha (1969)
The Domain: Flower and Dragon (1969)
Brothers Serving Time (1969)
Red Peony Gambler: Second Generation Ceremony (1969)
Brutal Tales of Chivalry 5: Man With The Karajishi Tattoo (1969)
Red Peony Gambler: Flower Cards Game (1969)
New Prison Walls of Abashiri (1968)
Gambler Biography (1968)
The Day the Sun Rose (1968)
Hishakaku and Kiratsune: A Tale of Two Yakuza (1968)
Rogue (1968)
Red Peony Gambler (1968)
Histories of the Chivalrous (1968)
The Drifting Avenger (1968)
Prison Boss (1968)
The Domain: Severed Relations (1968)
A Story from Abashiri Prison—Duel in Snow Storm (1967)
The Domain: Where The Blade Enters (1967)
Abashiri Prison: Challenge to the Evil (1967)
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry 4 (1967)
Classmates (1967)
The Chivalrous Life (1967)
Abashiri Prison: Duel in Hokkaido (1967)
The Domain: White Blade (1967)
Abashiri Prison: Duel in the Snow Country (1966)
Glorious Fights (1966)
The Domain: Duel at Thunder Gate (1966)
Abashiri Prison: Duel in the South (1966)
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: The Lone Wolf (1966)
Showdown of Men (1966)
The Kamikaze Guy (1966)
The Bullet and the Horse (1966)
The Domain: Kanda Festival Showdown (1966)
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry 2 (1966)
Prison Walls of Abashiri 4 (1965)
Prison Walls of Abashiri 3 (1965)
Brutal Tales of Chivalry (1965)
Miyamoto Musashi V: Musashi vs Kojiro (1965)
The Domain: Kanto Legends of Chivalry (1965)
Prison Walls of Abashiri, Part 2 (1965)
Abashiri Prison (1965)
The Domain: The Naniwa Story (1965)
A Fugitive from the Past (1965)
The Boss (1965)
Storm Party (1964)
Wolves, Pigs & Men (1964)
The Domain (1964)
Main Street in the Underworld (1964)
An Outlaw (1964)
Jakoman and Tetsu (1964)
Tokyo Gang Vs. Hong Kong Gang (1964)
Miyamoto Musashi: The Duel at Ichijo Temple (1964)
Gang Loyalty and Vengeance (1963)
Kyôkatsu (1963)
Miyamoto Musashi: Birth of Two Sword Style (1963)
Duel of the Underworld (1963)
The Big Boss (1963)
Life of Hishakaku (1963)
Tokyo Untouchable: Escape (1963)
Eleven Gangsters (1963)
Uragirimono wa jigoku daze (1962)
Operation Diamond (1962)
Tokyo Untouchable (1962)
Hell's Kitchen (1962)
365 Nights (1962)
Tokyo's Business District (1962)
Song of Kagoshima (1962)
Tales of President Mito (1962)
Lady Sen and Hideyori (1962)
All Rascals (1962)
The Escape (1962)
The Prickly Mouthed Geisha and the Girl of Osaka (1962)
South Pacific Waves Are High (1962)
Devil's Nursery Rhyme (1961)
Feisty Edo Girl Nakanori-san (1961)
Mannen Taro and His Feminine Colleagues (1961)
The Prickly-Mouthed Geisha Goes to Sado (1961)
Flower, Storm and Gangster (1961)
A Fishwife's Tale (1961)
Tenka no Kaidanji Senpû Tarô (1961)
Hell's Juggler (1961)
The Prickly Mouthed Geisha, Part 4 (1961)
If You're Man Enough (1960)
The Sand City in Manchuria (1960)
The Prickly Mouthed Geisha, Part 3 (1960)
Man of the World 2 (1960)
Outlaw Under a Blue Canopy (1960)
Bad Angel (1960)
The Great Road (1960)
The Prickly Mouthed Geisha Part 2 (1960)
The Second Bullet is Marked (1960)
Man of the World (1960)
Four Hours of Terror (1959)
Hell's Companion (1959)
A Dead Drifter (1959)
Men in a Rough Town (1959)
The Happy Family (1959)
Sister with Sister (1958)
The Outsiders (1958)
With Songs in My Heart (1958)
Detective Duel (1958)
Beyond the Seasonal Wind (1958)
Romance Freestyle (1958)
Man of Thirteen Eyes (1958)
No Advice Taken (1958)
Jet Air Base 101 (1957)
Showdown in Blood (1957)
The Deep Blue Sea (1957)
Men Fighting Whales (1957)
Employee Full of Fight (1957)
Mother Peacock (1956)
Manchurian Sunset (1956)
G-men of Japan 4: Special Armed Unit Mobilization (1956)
The Chop Professor (1956)
Denko karate uchi (1956)
Ratings
Gallery
Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1931-02-16
Deathday2014-11-10 (83 years old)
Birth PlaceKitakyūshū, Japan
RelationshipsChiemi Eri (1959-01-01 - 1971-01-01)
RelativesRyōko Takakura
CitizenshipsJapan
Also Known AsGoichi Oda, 高倉健 , 高仓健, Кэн Такакура
AwardsGolden Arrow Award, Person of Cultural Merit, Kikuchi Kan Prize, Order of Culture, Kinema Junpo Awards for Best Actor, Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year, Mainichi Film Award for Best Actor, Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Actor, Medal with Purple Ribbon
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