Asian names

[funkychinaman]

Originally Posted by Checkman

When I made the page for Japanese actor Ken Takakura I was a bit puzzled at first. In the credits for Too Late the Hero and The Yakuza (1975) he is listed as Takakura Ken. However in Black Rain and Mr. Baseball he is Ken Takakura. I did a little research, learned about the differences between Asian and western names and decided to stick with the imfdb rules. He is listed as Ken Takakura on imdb as well.

Is Ken his English name though? I saw that it's not his original name. Is Ken a Japanese name as well?

Update: I looked up Ken Watanabe, and it looks like Ken is a normal Japanese name, albeit a shortened one.