Takeshi Kitano was born in Tokyo in 1947 and started studying as an engineer but was expelled for his bad behaviour in classes. After learning comedy from his mentor, famed comedian Senzaburo Fukami, Kitano entered show business in 1972 using the name "Beat" Takeshi as part of the risqué comedic duo "The Two Beats" (the other "beat" being Kyoshi Kaneko).
As "Beat Takeshi", Kitano was one of the leading figures in bringing the manzai (stand-up comic duo or "cross talk") boom in the late 1970s. Kitano made his first feature film debut in Ikuo Sekimoto's "Danpu Wataridori" where he played a comedic policeman. Unfortunately, the movie was not a success.
Kitano moved on and won international attention for his role in Nagisa Oshima's "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" (1983) which co-starred Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Bowie in a harrowing drama about a Japanese POW camp.
Kitano made his first directorial debut with 1989's yakuza thriller "Violent Cop". It marked the beginning of the Takeshi film-making style - the use of long, tranquil, and static shots and explosive violence that jumps out from the tranquility.
The success of his seventh film, "Hana-bi," confirmed Kitano as a leading figure of international cinema. Among its numerous awards, "Hana-bi" won the Golden Lion at the 1997 Venice Film Festival and was named Best Non-European Film at the 1997 European Film Academy Awards. "Hana-bi" was cited on numerous "Best Films of the Year" lists, often in the premiere position.
To balance the violence and action of his yakuza related films (which included 1990's "Boiling Point" and 1993's "Sonatine"), Kitano also produced films with comedy or tenderness in films like "A Scene at the Sea" (1991), "Getting Any?" (1995), "Kids Return" (1996), and "Kikujiro" (1999).
In 1994, just after he finished filming "Getting Any?", Kitano was involved in a crash with his moped that very nearly killed him. Apparently, he had been riding the moped after a night of heavy drinking, fell asleep, and crashed. Kitano spent almost four months in the hospital recovering from skull fractures, broken jaw, and nerve damage that made the right side of his face temporarily paralyzed. The traumatic experience led Kitano to focus more time on his painting and music. It also led to a new wave of film-making for the diretor who focused more on esthetics in his films from that point forward.
Kitano has also appeared as an actor in films by other directors. He recently starred in Oshima's "Gohatto" ("Taboo"), presented in Cannes. His credits in films directed by other filmmakers include Robert Longo's "Johnny Mnemonic" (1995) starring Keanu Reeves, and Toshihiro Tenma's "Many Happy Returns" (1993).
The upcoming film "Brother" will be Kitano's first directorial feature to be produced outside of Japan and is being released by Sony Classics.
One of the foremost media personalities in Japan, Kitano has written a number of novels, short stories, and poetry and essay collections. An accomplished painter, Kitano at times uses his artwork in his own films to startling and symbolic effect. He sponsors an amateur baseball team for which he sometimes plays, has released several records, and manages a group of comedians and actors.
Note (2002/09/16): This wu originally appeared under Beat Takeshi but has been moved here now. Enjoy.