I intentionally shoot violence to make the audience feel real pain. I have never and I will never shoot violence as if it's some kind of action video….

I thought maybe I could become like the next Van Gogh. I bought a sunflower and painted it, and it looked like the work of a 6-year-old..

Eventually, this is how I would like to be remembered at the end of my career: He was never the best in anything he did - comedy, acting, filmmaking,….

My philosophy is that one shall not resort to violence unless one is resolved to become the subject of violence at any time..

I think I am more of a coward than anybody. It's a very weird feeling. The more I fear violence, the more I'm inclined to depict it in films..

I do all these various activities like painting and writing, comedy and films probably because not that I'm good at everything but because I'm not go….

In people's minds, I'm a comic, so it took a lot of time before I was recognized as a director. I had to be patient until the public accepted me. As ….

I paint for the sheer joy of painting. I have never sold any of my paintings. I'd rather give them to people for free..

I always come to conclusions very fast. Well, that is one way of thinking, and the other way would be that I lack the necessary perseverance to stick….

The film is ambiguous, an ambiguity that reflects on Japan today, and a world in which nothing is clear. Once I made the film [Takeshis'], I realized….

Comparing filmmaking to a plastic model, shooting is the process where you mold and color each piece, and editing is where you build a finished whole….

I believe you shouldn't force the audience's interpretation of a character or a story. The more you explain things, the less intriguing and imaginabl….

I don't really expect much from my life. So when I heard my films are premiering in film festival circuits I was glad of course but I thought it was ….

For me comedy and violence has a lot in common. Just as you expect, comedy always lurks behind the most unexpected of circumstances..

Being a TV comedian, actor, writer, columnist, and all that is quite helpful to me in acquiring wide varieties of knowledge, which is crucial for fil….

When people tell me I'm an artist, I say, 'What?' It's impossible for me to take the idea seriously..

The thing about art for me is that you can go on theorising your work forever, because it's open to interpretation..

Cinema is a composite art into which you can include all conceivable art or entertainment forms. In film, I can work with novelistic elements, comedy….

I think my way of showing violence is unique from that of other filmmakers, in that when I show it, it hurts. It happens unexpectedly and looks painf….

I hate seeing people getting hurt or hurting other people. I hate seeing blood. I am very intolerant of physical pain. I find violence horrifying, so….

My film directorial career has been nothing but repetition of one failure after another!.