Humour is like violence. They both come to you unexpectedly, and the more unpredictable they both are, the better it gets.

- Takeshi Kitano

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 to one thing that really fits me. I don't know if it's a good thing or bad thing.

- Takeshi Kitano

Sword fighting in film is not about how good the fighter is, but how good the actor receiving the blows is.

- Takeshi Kitano

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.

- Takeshi Kitano

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 game.

- Takeshi Kitano

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

- Takeshi Kitano

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.

- Takeshi Kitano

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 good at any of these things.

- Takeshi Kitano

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

- Takeshi Kitano

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

- Takeshi Kitano

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

- Takeshi Kitano

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 lucky accident.

- Takeshi Kitano

One thing I hate in movies is when the camera starts circling around the characters. I find that totally fake.

- Takeshi Kitano