Takeshi Kitano facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Takeshi Kitano
北野武
Kitano in 2017
Born	(1947-01-18) 18 January 1947 (age 78) Adachi, Tokyo, Japan
Other names	Beat Takeshi (ビートたけし)
Occupation	Comedian actor filmmaker
Years active	1969–present
Notable work	Hana-bi (1997)
Height	168 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Spouse(s)	Mikiko Matsuda ​ ​ (m. 1980; div. 2019)​ Kiyoko Yokoi ​ (m. 2020)​
Children	Shōko Kitano Atsushi Kitano
Awards	Golden Lion (1997)
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Takeshi Kitano (born January 18, 1947), also known as Beat Takeshi in Japan, is a famous Japanese comedian, actor, and filmmaker. In Japan, he is mostly known as a comedian and TV host. However, outside of Japan, he is more famous for his movies and acting.

Kitano started his career as a comedian in Tokyo. In 1973, he formed a comedy group called Two Beat. He became very popular in the 1980s with TV shows like Oretachi Hyōkin-zoku and Takeshi's Castle. He also gained recognition as an actor in the film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983). In 1989, he directed his first movie, Violent Cop. He won a major award, the Golden Lion, at the Venice Film Festival for his film Hana-bi (1997). He was only the third Japanese director to win this award. Kitano finished his Outrage crime movie series in 2017 with Outrage Coda. He is also known worldwide for hosting the game show Takeshi's Castle and acting in the movie Battle Royale (2000).

Critics have praised his unique movie style. Some have even called him the "true successor" to the famous filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. Many of Kitano's films are dramas about tough groups or police. He often uses a very calm acting style and a camera that barely moves. His films often show a serious view of the world but also have humor and care for the characters.

Life and Career

Early Life

Takeshi Kitano was born in Adachi, Tokyo. He has two older brothers and an older sister. His father was a house painter and had a difficult life. His mother was strict and worked hard in a factory. In his neighborhood, kids looked up to baseball players and people involved in tough groups.

Kitano started studying engineering at Meiji University. But he left school when he was 19. In 1972, he went to the Asakusa area to become a comedian. He worked as an elevator operator and learned from a comedian named Senzaburo Fukami.

Comedy Success

In the 1970s, Takeshi Kitano formed a comedy duo with his friend Nirō Kaneko. They called themselves Beat Takeshi and Beat Kiyoshi, and their group was known as Two Beat (ツービート, Tsū Bīto). This type of comedy is called manzai in Japan. It involves fast back-and-forth jokes between two performers. Kiyoshi played the serious person (tsukkomi), and Takeshi was the funny one (boke).

In 1976, they appeared on TV for the first time and became very popular. Kitano's jokes were often sharp and sometimes made fun of sensitive topics. This led to some of his jokes being censored on TV.

Even though Two Beat was very successful, Kitano decided to work alone. He became one of Japan's "Big Three" TV comedians. You can see some parts of his comedy life in his 1996 film Kids Return. Beat Kiyoshi even had a small role in Kitano's 1999 film Kikujiro.

Kitano also became a popular TV host. Takeshi's Castle was a game show he hosted in the 1980s. It featured funny physical challenges. This show was later shown in the United States as Most Extreme Elimination Challenge.

Kitano often played tough characters, like gangsters, in his comedy acts. His first big movie role was in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983). He played a tough sergeant in a Prisoner-of-war camp during World War II. Kitano was happy with his acting in this serious role. But he was sad when the audience laughed when he appeared on screen. After that, he decided to stick to serious and dark characters in movies.

In 1986, Kitano helped design a Family Computer video game called Takeshi no Chōsenjō (Takeshi's Challenge). He was the first Japanese celebrity to help make a video game. The game was known for being very difficult and confusing.

In 1988, he wrote a book about his life called Asakusa Kid. He has also written other books. He helped start a company called Office Kitano.

In 1989, he was supposed to act in a film called Violent Cop. But the original director left the project. The movie company suggested Kitano direct it himself. He also rewrote much of the script. This was the start of Kitano's career as a filmmaker.

Film Recognition (1990–2000)

Kitano accepting the Golden Lion Award in 1997 for his film Hana-bi

Kitano's second movie as a director was Boiling Point (1990). This film showed his unique style. It had long scenes, very little camera movement, short conversations, and clever humor.

His third film, A Scene at the Sea (1991), was more gentle and romantic. It was about a deaf garbage collector who learns to surf. This movie won many awards, including Best Film at the Blue Ribbon Awards. It also began his long work with the composer Joe Hisaishi.

In 1993, Kitano's film Sonatine was not very popular in Japan. But it received great reviews in Europe. In this film, Kitano plays a Tokyo gangster sent to Okinawa to help end a gang war.

In August 1994, Kitano had a motorscooter accident. He was injured and had some paralysis on the right side of his face. After he recovered, he made Kids Return in 1996.

His 1995 film Getting Any? was filmed before his accident. It showed Kitano returning to his comedy roots. The film made fun of popular Japanese culture, like Ultraman and Godzilla. That year, Kitano also acted in the movie Johnny Mnemonic.

After his accident, Kitano started painting. His paintings have been in books and art shows. They are also on the covers of many of his movie music albums. His paintings were very important in his highly praised film, Hana-bi (1997). This film made him known worldwide as one of Japan's top modern filmmakers. It won the Golden Lion award at the 1997 Venice Film Festival. Kitano said that after winning this award, he was finally seen as a serious director in Japan.

Some of his important acting roles include Captain Hijikata Toshizo in Taboo (1999). He also starred in Kikujiro (1999), a semi-comedy named after his father. In this film, Kitano plays a small-time criminal who helps a young boy find his mother.

He hosted several TV shows, including Koko ga Hen da yo Nihonjin (1998–2002). This was a talk show where foreigners living in Japan discussed Japanese society. He also hosts Unbelievable and Beat Takeshi's TV Tackle. On Sekai Marumie TV, he often wears strange costumes while showing interesting video clips from around the world.

2000–Present

Kitano at the Cannes Film Festival in 2000

Kitano played a character named Kitano in the popular Japanese film Battle Royale (2000). This movie is about teenagers who are forced to fight each other on an island.

His 2000 film Brother was made to be a hit outside Japan. It was filmed in Los Angeles and starred Kitano as a Japanese gangster who moves to Los Angeles. However, the film did not get a strong reaction internationally. Dolls (2002) was a romantic drama directed by Kitano, but he did not act in it.

After these films, Kitano received some less positive reviews from the press in the United States. However, his 2003 film Zatōichi changed many opinions. Kitano directed and starred in this new version of a classic Japanese character. Zatōichi was his biggest box office success in Japan. It also won many awards, including the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

From 2005 to 2008, Kitano taught at the Tokyo University of the Arts.

Kitano's film Takeshis' (2005) was the first in a series of surreal films about his own life. This was followed by Glory to the Filmmaker! (2007) and Achilles and the Tortoise (2008). In between these films, Kitano appeared in other TV and smaller projects.

In 2010, an art gallery in Paris showed his paintings and art installations.

Kitano's 2010 film Outrage was shown at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. He said he tried a different style for this film, with more talking and an ensemble cast. A sequel, Outrage Beyond (2012), was also shown at the 69th Venice International Film Festival. In 2013, Kitano won the Best Director award for Outrage Beyond at the 7th Asian Film Awards.

In 2015, Kitano lent his voice and appearance to a character in the video game Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. This was his first time working on a video game in 30 years.

Takeshi Kitano also acted in the live-action movie Ghost in the Shell (2017). This marked his return to American movies after almost twenty years.

In 2017, Kitano released Outrage Coda, the third and final film in the Outrage series.

He left Office Kitano in 2018 and joined a new company called T.N Gon.

Kitano's samurai film Kubi premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

Awards

Kitano won the Golden Lion award at the 54th Venice International Film Festival in 1997 for his film Hana-bi. In 2008, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 30th Moscow International Film Festival. In March 2010, France named Kitano a Commander of the Order of the Arts and Letters. In April 2022, he received the Golden Mulberry Lifetime Achievement Award in Italy.

Filmography

Film Director

As Actor

Kitano has acted in many films, including:

Television Roles

Kitano has appeared in many TV shows, including:

Video Games

• Takeshi no Chōsenjō (1986) - as designer
• Yakuza 6: The Song of Life (2016) - as actor