Famous People: Takeshi Kitano ('Beat' Takeshi):

A former strip club MC and one half of the long defunct comedy duo Two Beats, Takeshi has dominated the Japanese TV scene for over fifteen years. If you skip through Japanese TV channels you're bound to see him in at least one variety show, talk show or movie. Although his movie-acting debut was as far back as 1983's 'Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence', only in the late-80's and early 90's did he receive critical acclaim worldwide for both his acting and directing ability.

Takeshi appears to have two distinct careers. One in Japanese TV and one in movies. His directorial debut, Violent Cop (Sono Otoko, Kyobo ni Tsuki, 1989), a kind of ultra-violent Japanese Dirty Harry, set the tone for many of the films which followed. More a cult hit than one garnering mainstream success, foreign audiences first started to take notice of Takeshi in 1993, when Sonatine became a critical success in the UK.

Shortly after his appearance in the Keanu Reeves film Johnny Mnemonic, Takeshi was almost killed when he ran his scooter off the road in Tokyo in 1994 and left the right side of his face partially paralyzed. He returned to work after the setback and it was Kitano's 1997 film Fireworks (Hanabi) which helped him finally cross the line and be recognized at home as a world-class director (poster). The movie, which featured some of Takeshi's own paintings, took the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival.

In 2001, he released Brother, a movie about a Japanese yakuza in the US and his first made in Hollywood and featuring US actors, but was not well received on either side of the Pacific. Since then he's gone back to the discussion shows, science and art programs, and general variety shows which are the staple of Japanese televsion.

Superstitions: Whistling in the night

This is one of the better known superstitions in Japan and has it's roots in the Edo period 1603-1867). The superstition states that if you whistle at night, a snake will come to you. 'Yoru ni kuchibiru o fuku to hebi ga kuru'. In the Edo period whilstling was a sign used by burglars to communicate with or warn one another of danger. Whistling at night then became associated with inviting thieves/bad luck/misfortune into one's home and the snake, as one of the most famous symbols of evil and misfortune, came to be included in the taboo.

Next time: Things that are considered bad luck.......!

Japanese Customs: Drinking alcohol

There are a myriad of customs and do's and don'ts when it comes to eating and drinking in Japan. One important one to remember, especially if you go out to eat with colleagues from work, concerns drinking alcohol. When drinking beer or sake, it's considered good manners to pour the alcohol into each other's cups. This means that DO NOT pour any beer or sake into own glass, however much you might want to drink. It also means that you have to keep an eye on other people's glasses so that when their glass is empty, or nearly empty you can top it up again. It's often a good idea to slow your normal drinking rate down when you go out to restaurants with Japanese friends or colleagues, as having your glass topped up every couple of minutes will make you think you've drunk less than you actually have. This can have adverse consequences later on in the evening..............Luckily, another custom in Japan is to forgive any indiscretions carried out when you were drunk.

Previous

Next

Menu