Ken Takakura, Japanese Film Actor, Dies at 83
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ken Takakura, who became a star playing outlaws and stoic heroes in scores of Japanese films, died on Nov. 10 in Tokyo. He was 83.

His office said he died at a hospital where he was being treated for lymphoma.

Mr. Takakura, who because of his quiet, brooding screen presence was often compared to Clint Eastwood, made his screen debut in 1956 and rose to fame in the 1960s in crime films like “Abashiri Prison” (1965). Much of his appeal stemmed from his image as a hero fighting authority figures on behalf of the poor and weak.

He won a best-actor award at the Montreal World Film Festival for his performance in the 1999 film “Railroad Man.” He also appeared in a number of American movies, notably as a police inspector in Ridley Scott’s "Black Rain” (1989), with Michael Douglas, and — in one of his rare comic roles — as a coach in “Mr. Baseball” (1992), with Tom Selleck. His first major American movie was “The Yakuza” (1974), directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Robert Mitchum.

Though he often played outlaws, Mr. Takakura said contemporary gangster movies did not interest him. "I like movies that pierce the human heart and linger with me,” he said in an interview that appeared on the media website Japan Subculture Research Center earlier this year.

Born Goichi Oda in Fukuoka, Japan, on Feb. 16, 1931, he did not set out to be an actor but was recruited by a major film production company while applying for a managerial position. In his last film, “Dearest” (2012), Mr. Takakura played a retired prison warden who embarks on a road trip to fulfill his dead wife’s last wish. His office said he was preparing for his next project while he was in the hospital.

Last year, when Mr. Takakura received one of Japan’s highest honors in the arts, the Order of Culture, at the Imperial Palace, he noted that he was best known for playing characters far removed from those exalted precincts.

“In movies, I’m most often an ex-convict,” he said. “I’m grateful for the award despite many of these roles I’ve played.”

日國寶級影帝高倉健 「人生謝幕」

日本國寶級影帝高倉健本月10日因惡性淋巴腫瘤於東京病逝，享壽83歲。媒體昨才公布此事，合作過的降旗康男、廣末涼子等名導與藝人也哀悼致意。

高倉健在明治大學畢業後被星探發掘加入演藝圈，1956年拍攝第一部電影「空手道電擊」開始演藝生涯，1960年代高倉健的表演事業更上層樓，「宮本武藏」系列裡的佐佐木小次郎與「日本俠客傳」、「昭和殘俠傳」系列的俠義角色，成為戰後日本超級大明星。

由於「黑幫份子」銀幕形象深入人心，所以在1974年首度接拍美國電影「高手」和勞勃米契對戲，扮的還是幫派人士。他稍後力求轉型，「幸福的黃手帕」演技獲肯定，和雪橇犬合作的「南極物語」更打破票房紀錄，十多年後才被宮崎駿「魔法公主」超越。

雖然堪稱日本最具代表性的巨星，高倉健事業最旺的1970、80年代，因台灣禁映日片，他的多部經典都未能來台放映。

在個人感情方面，高倉健曾和以演唱西洋歌曲紅極一時的女歌手江利智惠美結婚，可是雙方都因忙於工作，加上年輕氣盛，江利智惠美又不幸流產，導致12年的婚姻以離婚收場。

江利智惠美之後意外身亡，高倉健也始終未再婚。隱忍悲痛的高倉健將孤寂心情放入電影裡，尤其「鐵道員」中堅守工作崗位、忽略家庭抱憾終身的小站站長，更彷彿是他一生的寫照。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/movies/ken-takakura-japanese-film-actor-dies-at-83.html

紐約時報中文版翻譯：
http://cn.nytimes.com/obits/20141120/c20takakura/zh-hant/

2014-11-19．聯合報．C4．星Blog．記者項貽斐、蘇詠智、雷光涵