Article: Many faces of Takeshi

Many faces of Takeshi
September 3, 2004

Actor, film maker, lunatic? Deborah Cameron reports on a Japanese
chameleon.

Suicide blond or raven-haired. Hyperactive comic or serious actor.
Flim-flam television lunatic or master movie maker. Even in Japan,
his home, there is confusion about the real Takeshi.

It doesn't help that he goes by two names: Beat Takeshi for the daft
incarnation and Takeshi Kitano for the lofty other. As Beat, he was
one half of a television comedy duo. As Kitano, the director and
eponymous star of the samurai movie, Zatoichi, he was last year
awarded the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

Zatoichi is a samurai period drama involving two geisha with
murderous intent. The central character, Zatoichi, is a masseur,
master swordsman and so cold that the temperature shifts whenever the
camera catches him. As if being blind were not enough, his peroxided
hair and blood-red cane (concealing a long blade) ensure that he is
the most memorable player in the fight scenes.

"I get questions about influence from other films," Takeshi told
Midnight Eye, a Japanese magazine. "But I really don't watch enough
films to be influenced by them. I've been asked whether the tap-dance
scene was influenced by Bollywood movies, but I've never seen any
Bollywood films in my life." The tap dancing was more influenced by
the Japanese dance form in kabuki, in which dancers wear wooden
sandals, he said. And as for the violence, he claims the only ones
who ask about it are foreign media.

"When I show it (violence), it hurts," he told Midnight Eye. "I don't
want people to think it's just a game. If you compare my films to
something like Die Hard, the death toll in my films is pretty low.
But in a swordplay film, violence and deaths are unavoidable."

In the Japanese film industry, Takeshi is a major force and listed
alongside the legendary director Akira Kurosawa (whose daughter,
Kazuko, designed the costumes for Zatoichi). Some suggest that
Takeshi is Kurosawa's heir, citing a letter that Takeshi got from the
late Kurosawa the year before his death. "I leave the Japanese film
industry to you," Kurosawa wrote. Takeshi, now 58, had many escapades
as a younger man when drinking, strife with his wife and other women
and a near-fatal scooter crash in 1994 made him fodder for gossip
magazines.

The accident seems to have tamed him - though not enough to win
admirers at the Japan Film Academy, which, despite his skill and
fame, has never honoured him. Why?

The most likely explanation is that some cannot stomach his other
life as Beat Takeshi, the vulgarian. During this phase, especially in
the '80s, he was a TV bad boy. He swore, flashed his genitals, made
lewd jokes, was cruel, parodied the establishment, showed up to the
studio drunk and threw convention out like stale fish. His role
opposite David Bowie as the sadistic camp official, Hara, in the 1983
film Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence did not alter their opinion.

Zatoichi is now screening.


http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/03/1093939114369.html?
oneclick=true#

I love Takeshi Kitano's films-Sonatine, Hana-bi, and Brother are
especially good imo. His films often focus on the yakuza, but often
tell a pretty profound story in addition to the action.
The former two are Japanese, but Brother takes place largely in
America and features some American actors(Omar Epps etc).
Here are a couple of good related sites:

Kitanotakeshi.com
http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/biito/

Cort



--- In samuraihistory@yahoogroups.com, "Kitsuno" listowner@s...> wrote:

> Many faces of Takeshi
> September 3, 2004
>
> Actor, film maker, lunatic? Deborah Cameron reports on a Japanese
> chameleon.
>
> Suicide blond or raven-haired. Hyperactive comic or serious actor.
> Flim-flam television lunatic or master movie maker. Even in Japan,
> his home, there is confusion about the real Takeshi.
>
> It doesn't help that he goes by two names: Beat Takeshi for the

daft

> incarnation and Takeshi Kitano for the lofty other. As Beat, he was
> one half of a television comedy duo. As Kitano, the director and
> eponymous star of the samurai movie, Zatoichi, he was last year
> awarded the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
>
> Zatoichi is a samurai period drama involving two geisha with
> murderous intent. The central character, Zatoichi, is a masseur,
> master swordsman and so cold that the temperature shifts whenever

the

> camera catches him. As if being blind were not enough, his

peroxided

> hair and blood-red cane (concealing a long blade) ensure that he is
> the most memorable player in the fight scenes.
>
> "I get questions about influence from other films," Takeshi told
> Midnight Eye, a Japanese magazine. "But I really don't watch enough
> films to be influenced by them. I've been asked whether the tap-

dance

> scene was influenced by Bollywood movies, but I've never seen any
> Bollywood films in my life." The tap dancing was more influenced by
> the Japanese dance form in kabuki, in which dancers wear wooden
> sandals, he said. And as for the violence, he claims the only ones
> who ask about it are foreign media.
>
> "When I show it (violence), it hurts," he told Midnight Eye. "I

don't

> want people to think it's just a game. If you compare my films to
> something like Die Hard, the death toll in my films is pretty low.
> But in a swordplay film, violence and deaths are unavoidable."
>
> In the Japanese film industry, Takeshi is a major force and listed
> alongside the legendary director Akira Kurosawa (whose daughter,
> Kazuko, designed the costumes for Zatoichi). Some suggest that
> Takeshi is Kurosawa's heir, citing a letter that Takeshi got from

the

> late Kurosawa the year before his death. "I leave the Japanese film
> industry to you," Kurosawa wrote. Takeshi, now 58, had many

escapades

> as a younger man when drinking, strife with his wife and other

women

> and a near-fatal scooter crash in 1994 made him fodder for gossip
> magazines.
>
> The accident seems to have tamed him - though not enough to win
> admirers at the Japan Film Academy, which, despite his skill and
> fame, has never honoured him. Why?
>
> The most likely explanation is that some cannot stomach his other
> life as Beat Takeshi, the vulgarian. During this phase, especially

in

> the '80s, he was a TV bad boy. He swore, flashed his genitals, made
> lewd jokes, was cruel, parodied the establishment, showed up to the
> studio drunk and threw convention out like stale fish. His role
> opposite David Bowie as the sadistic camp official, Hara, in the

1983

> film Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence did not alter their opinion.
>
> Zatoichi is now screening.
>
>
> http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/03/1093939114369.html?
> oneclick=true#

The more I know about him, the more I like him.
Carlo

-----Messaggio originale-----
Da: Cort Williams [mailto:umadise@...]
Inviato: domenica 5 settembre 2004 3.39
A: samuraihistory@yahoogroups.com
Oggetto: [samuraihistory] Re: Article: Many faces of Takeshi

I love Takeshi Kitano's films-Sonatine, Hana-bi, and Brother are
especially good imo. His films often focus on the yakuza, but often
tell a pretty profound story in addition to the action.
The former two are Japanese, but Brother takes place largely in
America and features some American actors(Omar Epps etc).
Here are a couple of good related sites:

Kitanotakeshi.com
http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/biito/

Cort

Hi Folks,

I'm in need of some advice on iaito sword suppliers. Until now I've been
getting mine for my group from a UK dealer, http://www.ninecircles.co.uk
who, recently found it necessary to switch his Japanese suppliers, which
has made getting custom fittings impossible.

So, I've been trolling my way across the web looking for alternative
suppliers, and I'd like to know people's opinions about any of the ones
that I've found so far, see below.

I'm not interested in the iaito blades themselves, just the fittings, as
for our purposes the blades of these weapons are too soft. I get custom
made steel ones manufactured here in the UK by local smiths using the
standard iaito blade as a pattern, they then mount the new blade with
the imported fittings. I'm looking for everything else: habaki, seppa,
tsuba, tsuka, fuchi-kashira, menuki, saya and sageo.

I'm also looking for anyone dealing in tanto, yari, tachi and even no-
dachi (if such exist), or someone who would be able to produce extra
long tsuka and saya for such big weapons, ideally with tachi style
fittings. Man this is a tall order:-)

Anyway, my list so far:

1 "Sword Store" http://www.swordstore.com

2 "Minosaka" http://www.jidai.jp

3 "Nishijin" http://japanesesword.net/eng/index.html

4 "Meirin" http://www.nipponto.co.jp/english/iai_e.htm

5 "Tozando" http://www.tozando.com

As I do not speak any Japanese, having a heads-up on the above, before I
go throwing other people's money at them would be really appreciated.

Yours

Dean

(Dean Wayland)

http://www.thefightschool.demon.co.uk

I think your post should be addressed here :

http://forums.swordforum.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=16

Plentiful of IaidoKa that could have better "first-hand" information
about
these items and the best way to obtain it at the lower cost.


-----Messaggio originale-----
Da: Dean Wayland [mailto:dean@...]
Inviato: giovedì 7 ottobre 2004 20.50
A: samuraihistory@yahoogroups.com
Oggetto: [samuraihistory] Sword Suppliers


Hi Folks,

I'm in need of some advice on iaito sword suppliers.

...Omissis...

Yours

Dean

(Dean Wayland)

http://www.thefightschool.demon.co.uk




---
Samurai Archives: http://www.samurai-archives.com
Samurai Archives store: http://www.cafeshops.com/samuraiarchives
---
Yahoo! Groups Links

Mr. Wayland,

Half a dozen of the members of my dojo (including myself) have dealt with
Tozando. Their quality and options are rather nice, especially since you
can get the fittings from the Nishijin Sword site (their sister company).
However, the language barrier does cause issues. Every one of us had a
problem with our final product. Some of us had the wrong tsuba. Some had
the wrong sam�. All minor things, for sure, but sill issues nonetheless. I
was the only one who was determined enough to get what I had ordered so I
had to mail the tsuka back to Japan for the proper menuki to be attached.
In general they are a good company. You just have to be prepared to deal
with minor problems and to not be surprised if you have to send something
back.


Peace,

Matt

_________________________________________________________________
Check out Election 2004 for up-to-date election news, plus voter tools and
more! http://special.msn.com/msn/election2004.armx

Hi Matt,

Cheers, that's really useful info. In terms of having to send stuff back
to Japan, I'm familiar with the situation, we ordered a wakizashi last
year, we got the wrong habaki and like you the wrong menuki, so back it
went. Its still got the wrong habaki, but the menuki got fixed! Oh well,
at least this is something we can correct further down the road.

With much thanks

Dean


In message <BAY9-F1000lfepHjon600005a1d@...>, M. R. Williams
<amacobra@...> writes

>
>Mr. Wayland,
>
> Half a dozen of the members of my dojo (including myself) have dealt with
>Tozando. Their quality and options are rather nice, especially since you
>can get the fittings from the Nishijin Sword site (their sister company).
>However, the language barrier does cause issues. Every one of us had a
>problem with our final product. Some of us had the wrong tsuba. Some had
>the wrong samé. All minor things, for sure, but sill issues nonetheless. I
>was the only one who was determined enough to get what I had ordered so I
>had to mail the tsuka back to Japan for the proper menuki to be attached.
> In general they are a good company. You just have to be prepared to deal
>with minor problems and to not be surprised if you have to send something
>back.
>
>
>Peace,
>
>Matt
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>Check out Election 2004 for up-to-date election news, plus voter tools and
>more! http://special.msn.com/msn/election2004.armx
>
>
>
>
>---
>Samurai Archives: http://www.samurai-archives.com
>Samurai Archives store: http://www.cafeshops.com/samuraiarchives
>---
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Dean Wayland
Head Of The Fight School
http://www.thefightschool.demon.co.uk

Hi Carlo,

Thanks, I'll try that.

Yours

Dean


In message Kuo2mTs3sKAAAAQAAAARTtE9PN0t0Gi4kABI8OEtAEAAAAA@...>, Carlo Tacchini
<TSUBAME1@...> writes

> I think your post should be addressed here :
>
> http://forums.swordforum.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=16
>
> Plentiful of IaidoKa that could have better "first-hand"
> information
> about
> these items and the best way to obtain it at the lower cost.  
>
>
> -----Messaggio originale-----
> Da: Dean Wayland [mailto:dean@...]
> Inviato: giovedì 7 ottobre 2004 20.50
> A: samuraihistory@yahoogroups.com
> Oggetto: [samuraihistory] Sword Suppliers
>
>
> Hi Folks,
>
> I'm in need of some advice on iaito sword suppliers.
>
> ...Omissis...
>
> Yours
>
> Dean
>
> (Dean Wayland)
>
> http://www.thefightschool.demon.co.uk
>
>
>
>
> ---
> Samurai Archives: http://www.samurai-archives.com
> Samurai Archives store: http://www.cafeshops.com/samuraiarchives
> ---
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---
> Samurai Archives: http://www.samurai-archives.com
> Samurai Archives store: http://www.cafeshops.com/samuraiarchives
> ---
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT
> click here
> http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/l?M=295196.4901138.6071305.3001176/D=groups/S=:HM/A=2128215/rand=919873069
> Yahoo! Groups Links
> * To visit your group on the web, go to:
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>  
> * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
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>  
> * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the
> Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>

Dean Wayland
Head Of The Fight School
http://www.thefightschool.demon.co.uk

Hi Carlo,

Thanks again for the advice, I went and had a look at the site you
suggested but sadly, my computer can't handle the forum format. My
eyesight being very (very) poor, means that I use some special text
enlargement and speech-out packages, which read everything on the page,
which as I recently told someone else, means absolutely "everything",
which is a bit of a problem, hence I tend to stick with email format
groups like this one.

Thanks again to everyone who chipped in to answer my query.

Yours

Dean

***

In message Kuo2mTs3sKAAAAQAAAARTtE9PN0t0Gi4kABI8OEtAEAAAAA@...>, Carlo Tacchini
<TSUBAME1@...> writes

> I think your post should be addressed here :
>
> http://forums.swordforum.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=16
>
> Plentiful of IaidoKa that could have better "first-hand"
> information
> about
> these items and the best way to obtain it at the lower cost.  
>
>
> -----Messaggio originale-----
> Da: Dean Wayland [mailto:dean@...]
> Inviato: giovedì 7 ottobre 2004 20.50
> A: samuraihistory@yahoogroups.com
> Oggetto: [samuraihistory] Sword Suppliers
>
>
> Hi Folks,
>
> I'm in need of some advice on iaito sword suppliers.
>
> ...Omissis...
>
> Yours
>
> Dean
>
> (Dean Wayland)
>
> http://www.thefightschool.demon.co.uk
>
>
>
>
> ---
> Samurai Archives: http://www.samurai-archives.com
> Samurai Archives store: http://www.cafeshops.com/samuraiarchives
> ---
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---
> Samurai Archives: http://www.samurai-archives.com
> Samurai Archives store: http://www.cafeshops.com/samuraiarchives
> ---
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT
> click here
> http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/l?M=295196.4901138.6071305.3001176/D=groups/S=:HM/A=2128215/rand=919873069
> Yahoo! Groups Links
> * To visit your group on the web, go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/samuraihistory/
>  
> * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> samuraihistory-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>  
> * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the
> Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>

***
(Dean Wayland)

http://www.thefightschool.demon.co.uk

That Forum is a part of another, huge Forum, Swordforum International.

I quote from their introduction :

"At the heart of SFI is a volunteer effort, a labor of love. We
originally funded SFI's operational expenses out of our own incomes from
the technology sector outside of our volunteer work with SFI."

Many of them have as main job the World Wide Web and its applications.
I belive an E-mail to the administrator ( sfiadmin@... )
could give you the solution. Might be a little, may feeware, application
could solve the matter.
Is one of the hugest and better frequented Forum about swords you can
find.

This is the link to the main page :

http://swordforum.com/

Again the link to the administrator, that you should contact to try to
find a solution :

sfiadmin@...

Hope to be of some help.
Take care,

Carlo

----Messaggio originale-----
Da: Dean Wayland [mailto:dean@...]
Inviato: sabato 9 ottobre 2004 17.41
A: samuraihistory@yahoogroups.com
Oggetto: [samuraihistory] Sword Suppliers


Hi Carlo,

Thanks again for the advice, I went and had a look at the site you
suggested but sadly, my computer can't handle the forum format. My
eyesight being very (very) poor, means that I use some special text
enlargement and speech-out packages, which read everything on the page,
which as I recently told someone else, means absolutely "everything",
which is a bit of a problem, hence I tend to stick with email format
groups like this one.

Thanks again to everyone who chipped in to answer my query.

Yours

Dean