I’ve come to understand and know what to look for and pay attention too
about japanese culture at least a little.

there
are somethings that transcend time, space, race, economic tier, and
nationality. and those things get communicated in what i see through him
in the film

Thanks for the input. You’re right I should have called the list “The 12 Most ESSENTIAL (…)” instead of “The 12 BEST (…)”. I was actually going for a overview of his career and the most important roles Takakura played since this brillant actor is way too often called a simple copy of Clint Eastwood. (Especially, in the Western obituaries who apparently all copy-and-paste from each other).
I was even congratulated for my effort by a person close to Ken-San which made me very happy at the time.

Anyway, as a fan, I especially love “Wolves, Pigs and Man” (arguably his most interesting role) and “Riding Alone for Thousand Miles”. I am actually not all that fond of “Poppoya” and “Black Rain” which I included nonetheless because…
1, Poppoya initiated Ken-San’s collaboration with Furuhata which gave new impetus to his career and…
2. “Black Rain” is (sadly) better remembered than “The Yakuza” despite certainly being the weaker film.
But calling “The Yakuza” his best film? I think it’s a good film but doesn’t it ultimately suffer from the same misconceptions and clichees many Westerners still apply to the Japanese traditional code of honour? I think it’s fairly generic actually…
Regarding “Distant Cry (..). Personally, I was just more moved by this film than by “Yellow Handkerchief (…)”. However, since both are made by Yoji Yamada I hope we can agree that the director is responsible for Ken-San’s greatest tear-jerker regardless if it is the former or the latter…

Certainly these movies show that Ken had a varied career but The Yakuza was undoubtedly his best film. In fact, Red Cherry Blossom Family was incredibly weak (compared to the original Red Peony Gambler) and Black Rain, ultimately ridiculous both in terms of plot and Ken-san’s second or third fiddle role next to Douglas’ persona (and hair).

Many of the ninkyo genre films are masterful and while none have been legally translated into English, they are available. And in terms of tearjerkers – Yellow Handerkerchief 100 times over Distant Cry or the ultra-melancholic Popoya.