Legendary Japanese actor Ken Takakura dies at 83

Legendary Japanese actor Ken Takakura died on Nov. 10 from a malignant lymphoma, local media said Tuesday.

Takakura, who enjoyed a career starring in almost 150 films, spanning half a century, and has been a recipient of Japan's prestigious Person of Cultural Merit and Order of Culture awards, lost his battle against lymphoma in a Tokyo hospital, sources close to the actor said Tuesday. The renowned actor was 83 years- old when he died.

Takakura first won critical acclaim for his roles as a stern- faced, swagger-filled gangster and, thereafter, his portrayals of a diverse range of characters including heroic samurai and hard- nosed police detectives. He gained attention and praise from overseas audiences for his role as a no-nonsense police officer in Osaka in Ridley Scott's 1989 film "Black Rain," starring alongside Michael Douglas.

Other internationally-acclaimed works of the revered actor include starring in Sydney Pollack's "The Yakuza" alongside Robert Mitchum, and joining Tom Selleck in the film "Mr. Baseball."

Takakura, regarded as something of a national treasure here, was also praised for his role in Chinese director Zhang Yimou's hit drama "Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles."

Japanese audiences will perhaps best remember Takakura for the films he shot here in the 1960s and 70s, including "Brutal Tales of Chivalry" (Showa Zankyo-den), "Abashiri Prison (Abashiri Bangaichi) and "Too Late The Hero."

Takakura was born Goichi Oda in Fukuoka Prefecture and his exacting portrayals of streetwise, macho gangsters, came from his own observations of mafia turf wars when he was a youngster growing up in the area in post-war Japan, when yakuza-led black market trade and racketeering started to surface.

The Japanese maestro was also a graduate of Meiji University in Tokyo, one of the top private universities in the country.