Fans of Ken Takakura mourned the renowned actor Tuesday on the first anniversary of his death, especially in Hokkaido where a number of his hit movies were filmed.
"A year has passed already. It was too early and I miss seeing the manly man I adored," said Teruhiko Murakami, a 78-year-old former coal mine worker who with his wife visited a facility in Yubari commemorating the 1977 film "Shiawase no Kiiroi Hankachi" ("The Yellow Handkerchief"), the Hokkaido road-trip movie that triggered Takakura's rise to stardom.
In a railway station in Minamifurano, where the 1999 movie "Poppoya" ("Railroad Man") was filmed, the actor's favorite meal during its shooting was offered to visiting fans.
Chiseko Maeda, a 46-year-old housewife, brought a photograph of Takakura and herself that was taken on location.
"I came here today because I wanted to be close to Ken-san," she said. "I asked for the picture at the time thinking it would be only natural for him to decline, but he agreed and I was elated."
Maeda later sent the picture to Takakura, who then wrote her a letter saying, "Thank you for coming (to see the shooting) despite the cold weather."
Takakura won the best actor prize at the Montreal World Film Festival in 1999 for his portrayal of a stationmaster in "Poppoya."
Fans also thronged a facility in Mashike, in western Hokkaido, where parts of the 1981 film "Eki" ("Station") were shot.
A a book of condolences was prepared on Oct. 28, and as of Monday around 390 people from across Japan had signed it.
Takakura, winner of multiple Japanese Academy Awards, died from malignant lymphoma on Nov. 10, 2014, at age 83.
He was known to Western audiences mainly for his role as a tough Japanese police officer alongside Michael Douglas in Ridley Scott's 1989 film "Black Rain."