Shigesato Itoi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Shigesato Itoi
糸井 重里
Itoi in 2015
Born	(1948-11-10) November 10, 1948 (age 76) Maebashi, Gunma, Japan
Other names	Darling
Occupation	Essayist voice actor copywriter lyricist game designer
Known for	Mother series Almost Daily Itoi Newspaper
Spouse(s)	Kanako Higuchi ​ (m. 1993)​

Shigesato Itoi (born November 10, 1948) is a famous Japanese writer, game designer, and actor. He is known for many things, like writing advertisements, essays, and song lyrics. He also designs video games!

Itoi is the head of his own website and company, Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun. This means "Almost Daily Itoi Newspaper". Outside of Japan, he is most famous for creating Nintendo's Mother series of games. He also made a popular bass fishing video game named after himself.

Writing and Online Work

Becoming a Top Copywriter

In the 1980s, Shigesato Itoi became very well-known for writing advertisements in Japan. He helped make "copywriting" a respected job. In 1981, he wrote a book of short stories called Yume de Aimashou ("Let's meet in a dream") with author Haruki Murakami.

Starting an Online Newspaper

Later, Itoi started writing essays and song lyrics. He also began designing video games. In 1997, he started using the internet and bought his first computer.

In 1998, he launched his website and company, Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun. This website is still a big part of his work today. It's updated every day with Itoi's essays about life, interviews, and articles. The website also sells different products.

Topics and Books

Itoi often writes about his pet dogs and shares interviews with artists, business people, and others. These talks often explore big ideas about life. He has also co-written books based on these interviews. For example, he had long talks with a brain expert, Yūji Ikegaya, about how to live as a human. You can also buy books that collect Itoi's past essays from his website.

Acting and Voice Work

Voice Acting in Movies

Shigesato Itoi has used his voice for characters in movies. He was the voice of Tatsuo Kusakabe, Satsuki's father, in the Japanese version of the 1988 Studio Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro.

TV Appearances and Live Acting

Itoi has also been a judge on Japanese TV shows like Iron Chef. In 2010, he acted in a live-action movie for the first time. He played a professor in the film Norwegian Wood, which was based on a book by Haruki Murakami.

Film and TV Roles

Video Games

Creating the Mother Series

Shigesato Itoi started a company called Ape, Inc. to help other game developers make games for Nintendo. He is the creator of the popular Mother game series.

For the first Mother game on the Famicom, he was the main designer, writer, and director. For Mother 2 (known as EarthBound in other countries) on the SNES, Itoi was the producer, director, and writer.

Challenges with Mother 3

Itoi first imagined Mother 3 as a very big game for the Nintendo 64DD. This version would have used 3D graphics and cool movie-like scenes. However, this version was never finished because the 64DD did not do well. Instead, Mother 3 was later made as a 2D game for the Game Boy Advance, similar to the first two games. Itoi is credited as the writer for the story of Mother 3.

Another game Itoi worked on for the 64DD was a pet simulation game called Cabbage. This game was also canceled after many years of development.

Inspiration for EarthBound

Itoi has shared that the final battle in EarthBound with the enemy Giygas was inspired by a scary scene from a movie he saw as a child.

Itoi has said that he will not be involved in making a fourth game in the Mother series. However, his games have influenced many other games and creative works, including Undertale.

Games Itoi Worked On

Other Projects

Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun packaging

Shigesato Itoi has also worked with Nintendo to design special clothing called haramaki that have video game themes.

Monopoly Enthusiast

Itoi loves playing Monopoly! He is even the President of the Japan Monopoly Association. He competed in the 1992 Monopoly World Championships and finished in eighth place. His video game company, Ape, Inc., developed two Monopoly games for the Super Famicom. These games were only released in Japan and had more role-playing game elements.

Dokonoko: An App for Pets

Itoi also created a photo app called "Dokonoko." It's made just for pets and has been called "Instagram for pets." Dokonoko became famous for a Japanese Labrador Retriever named Corky, who made news because of her unusually long tongue!

Personal Life

Shigesato Itoi was born on November 10, 1948, and grew up in Maebashi, Gunma, Japan. He stopped smoking in 2002. Since 1993, he has been married to actress Kanako Higuchi.

In an interview from 2019, Itoi shared that he has asthma. This condition sometimes makes him cough when he lies down. He often played Mario games when he couldn't sleep because of his asthma. He felt very thankful to Nintendo for this and specifically wanted to work with them on the Mother game series. Interestingly, Ninten, the main character of the first Mother game, also has asthma. This was one of the first ideas Itoi had for the character.

See also

In Spanish: Shigesato Itoi para niños