Asian names

Jcordell · #1 10-24-2011, 03:23 PM

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.

funkychinaman · #2 10-24-2011, 03:49 PM

My primary concern was the recent trend of Asian celebrities, including actors, who insist on going with the Asian way instead of the Western way. As I cited before, Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li. Sure, they're listed as Yun Fat Chow and Li Gong on IMDb, but when's the last time anyone actually referred to them as such? Or Li Gong's favorite director, Yimou Zhang? Or going down to the arena to see Houston Rockets star center Ming Yao? (before his retirement, that is.)

For the record, Chow Yun Fat is listed as "Chow Yun Fat" on IMFDB, contrary to IMDB.

MoviePropMaster2008 · #3 10-25-2011, 05:51 PM

Quote:

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.

well, that's called an error

the person who made the page was unaware that IMFDB veers from IMDB protocols. We fix those ya know

funkychinaman · #4 10-25-2011, 06:44 PM

Quote:

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.

MoviePropMaster2008 · #5 10-26-2011, 06:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by funkychinaman

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.

Ken is and always has been a shorthand for KENJI. I think there are other variants which also use the shortened "Ken", but Ken is a Japanese man's first name. Believe me. I'm in Japan A LOT.

Evil Tim · #6 10-26-2011, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoviePropMaster2008

Ken is and always has been a shorthand for KENJI. I think there are other variants which also use the shortened "Ken", but Ken is a Japanese man's first name. Believe me. I'm in Japan A LOT.

Kenichi is another, yes.