Shigesato Itoi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Shigesato Itoi
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|---|---|
| 糸井 重里 | |
Itoi in 2015
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| Born | November 10, 1948 |
| Other names | Darling |
| Occupation |
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| Known for | Mother series Almost Daily Itoi Newspaper |
| Spouse(s) |
Kanako Higuchi
(m. 1993) |
Shigesato Itoi (糸井 重里, Itoi Shigesato, born November 10, 1948) is a famous Japanese writer, voice actor, and game designer. He is well-known for creating the popular Mother video game series for Nintendo. Outside of games, he runs his own website and company called Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun, which means "Almost Daily Itoi Newspaper".
Contents
Creative Work
Writing and Online Presence
In the 1980s, Shigesato Itoi became famous for writing catchy words for advertisements in Japan. He even wrote a book of short stories called Yume de Aimashou ("Let's meet in a dream") with author Haruki Murakami in 1981. Later, he started writing essays and song lyrics.
In 1998, Itoi launched his website, Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun. This website is a big part of his work today. It's updated every day with Itoi's essays about life, interviews, and articles. He also sells fun products there. He often shares stories about his pet dogs and interviews with different people, like artists and business owners. These talks often explore interesting ideas about how we live.
Voice Acting and Films
Shigesato Itoi has also worked as an actor. He voiced Tatsuo Kusakabe, the father, in the Japanese version of the famous 1988 Studio Ghibli movie My Neighbor Totoro. He has also appeared as a judge on Japanese TV shows like Iron Chef. In 2010, he acted in a live-action movie for the first time, playing a professor in the film Norwegian Wood.
| Year | Film title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Scrap: A Love Story | Detective | |
| 1987 | Guys Who Never Learn | ||
| 1987 | Shigesato Itoi's TV GAME MUSEUM | Host | TV Special |
| 1988 | My Neighbor Totoro | Tatsuo Kusakabe | Voice role |
| 1989 | Gaki no tsukai ya arahende!! | Self | Television |
| 1991 | My Soul is Slashed | Inohara | |
| 1992 | Super Folk Song: Piano Ga Aishita Onna | Self | Documentary |
| 1997 | Ishoku Manga-shi 33-nen no Kiseki ~ Garo no Jidai o Yomu | Self | TV documentary |
| 2002 | Tsuki ni shizumu | Doctor | TV movie |
| 2009 | Bokura no jidai | Self | Television |
| 2009 | Kyôiku terebi no gyakushû: Yomigaeru kyoshô no kotoba | Self | |
| 2010 | Norwegian Wood | Professor | |
| 2012 | Shin 13 no kao wo motsu otoko | Self | Documentary mini-series |
| 2012 | Tabi no chikara | Self | |
| 2015 | Yoru Tamori | Self | Mini-series |
| 2016 | Chimata no hanashi | Self |
Video Games
Shigesato Itoi is most famous for creating the Mother series of video games. These games are known for their unique stories and characters.
He started a company called Ape, Inc. to help make games for Nintendo. For the first Mother game on the Famicom, he was the main designer, writer, and director. For Mother 2 (which was called EarthBound in other countries) on the SNES, he was the producer, director, and writer.
Itoi also wrote the story for Mother 3 for the Game Boy Advance. He had big plans for Mother 3 to be a 3D game on the Nintendo 64DD, but that version didn't happen. He has said that he will not be involved in making a fourth Mother game. His games have inspired other popular games, like Undertale.
| Year | Game title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Mother | Director, game designer, writer |
| 1993 | Monopoly | Producer |
| 1994 | EarthBound | Director, producer, writer, Saturn font concept, sampling voice |
| 1995 | The Monopoly Game 2 | Supervisor |
| 1997 | Itoi Shigesato no Bass Tsuri No. 1 | Original concept, supervisor |
| 2006 | Mother 3 | Story, scenario, message |
| N/A | Cabbage | Designer |
Other Interests
Shigesato Itoi has many interests outside of games and writing. He worked with Nintendo to design special haramaki (a type of Japanese belly warmer) with video game themes.
He loves playing the board game Monopoly. He is even the President of the Japan Monopoly Association (日本モノポリー協会, Nihon Monopoly Kyōkai). He competed in the 1992 Monopoly World Championships and finished in eighth place. His game company, Ape, Inc., also made two Monopoly video games for the Super Famicom in Japan. These games were more like role-playing games.
Itoi also created a photo app called "Dokonoko" for pets. People call it "Instagram for pets." A famous dog named Corky, a Japanese Labrador Retriever, became well-known on Dokonoko because of her unusually long tongue.
Personal Life
Shigesato Itoi was born on November 10, 1948, in Maebashi, Gunma, Japan. He has been married to actress Kanako Higuchi since 1993.
Itoi has asthma, which sometimes makes it hard for him to sleep. He has said that he often played Mario games when he couldn't sleep. Because of this, he felt very thankful to Nintendo and wanted to work with them on the Mother game. The main character in the first Mother game, Ninten, also has asthma. This was one of the first ideas Itoi had for the character.
See also
In Spanish: Shigesato Itoi para niños
