Takeshi Kitano

Takeshi Kitano (?? ?, Kitano Takeshi, b. January 18,1947) is a Japanese comedian, actor, author, poet, painter, one time video game designer and film director who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. With the exception of his works as a film director, he is known almost exclusively by the name Beat Takeshi (??????, B?to Takeshi). Since April 2005 he is a professor at the Graduate School of Visual Arts, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.

Early life

Born in Adachi, Tokyo in 1947. After dropping out of Meiji University, where he studied engineering for four years, he found work as an elevator operator in a nightclub and learned a great deal about the business from the comedian Senzaburo Fukami. When one of the club's regular performers fell ill, Kitano took his place on stage, and a new career was born.

Related Topics:
Adachi, Tokyo - Meiji University - Comedian - Senzaburo Fukami

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In the 1970s he formed a comic duo with his friend Kiyoshi Kaneko. They took on the stage names Beat Takeshi and Beat Kiyoshi; together referring to themselves as Two Beat (sometimes romanized as The Two Beats). This sort of duo stand-up comedy, known as manzai in Japan, usually features a great deal of high-speed back-and-forth banter between the two performers. In 1976 they performed on television for the first time and became an instant success, propelling their act onto the national stage. The reason for their popularity had much to do with Kitano's material, which was much more risqué than traditional manzai. The targets of his jokes were often the socially vulnerable, including the elderly, the handicapped, the poor, children, women, the ugly and the stupid. Complaints to the broadcaster led to censorship of some of Kitano's jokes and the editing of offensive dialogue. Although Two Beat was one of the most successful acts of its kind during the late 70s and 80s, Kitano decided to go solo and the duo was dissolved. Some autobiographical elements relating to his manzai career can be found in his film Kids Return (1996).

Related Topics:
1970s - Kiyoshi Kaneko - Stand-up comedy - Manzai - 1976 - Kids Return

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Many of Kitano's routines involved him portraying a gangster or other harsh character, and his first major film role, Nagisa Oshima's Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (where he starred opposite Tom Conti, Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Bowie) featured him cast as a sadistic POW camp sergeant during WWII.

Related Topics:
Nagisa Oshima - Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence - Tom Conti - Ryuichi Sakamoto - David Bowie - WWII

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