Makoto Shinkai

新津誠　/　にいつまこと

Japanese anime film director, screenwriter, and novelist

February 9, 1973 (age 53)　・　Koumi, Minamisaku, Nagano, Japan

From Nagano
CoMix Wave Films
Anime film director
Your Name
Suzume
Weathering with You
Independent animation origins
Japan Academy Prize winner

My Take

Okay, I'll just say it: nobody paints a sky like this guy. Shinkai's whole thing is light, clouds, and the ache of two people who keep just missing each other, and honestly he was rendering background art at a borderline obsessive level long before Your Name made him a household name. What I love is that he never let the "next Miyazaki" label box him in; he scaled up from making Voices of a Distant Star basically solo in 2002 to weaving disaster, loss, and yearning into blockbusters, but the emotional core stayed his. His movies are the kind you walk out of and instinctively look up at the actual sky. That's a rare trick, and he pulls it off almost every single time.

Overview

Makoto Shinkai (born Makoto Niitsu on February 9, 1973, in Koumi, Minamisaku, Nagano) is a Japanese anime film director and screenwriter known for visually stunning works exploring themes of distance and longing. He drew widespread attention in 2002 with the nearly solo-produced short film Voices of a Distant Star, and rose to international prominence with Your Name (2016), which grossed over 25 billion yen domestically and broke records for Japanese animated films. His subsequent features Weathering with You (2019) and Suzume (2022) further cemented his status as one of Japan's leading animation directors.

1. Profile

Name (English): Makoto Shinkai
Name (Japanese): 新津誠
Reading: にいつまこと
Born: February 9, 1973 (age 53)
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac: Aquarius / Ox
Origin: Koumi, Minamisaku, Nagano, Japan
Blood type: O
Height: Private
Agency: CoMix Wave Films
Agency history: Nihon Falcom (1996–2001)
Active years: 1999–present
Occupation: Anime film director / Animator / Screenwriter / Novelist

2. Background

Elementary school: Private
Junior high: Private
High school: Nagano Prefectural Nozawa Kita High School (graduated 1991)
University: Chuo University, Faculty of Letters, Department of Japanese Literature (graduated 1996)
Debut: Released the self-produced short anime Her and Her Cat in 1999 while employed at Nihon Falcom; made his professional debut in 2002 with the short film Voices of a Distant Star, which he produced almost entirely alone.

Awards & achievements

2002 1st New Century Tokyo International Anime Fair Open Competition Excellence Award (Voices of a Distant Star)
2002 6th Agency for Cultural Affairs Media Arts Festival Digital Art Division Special Award (Voices of a Distant Star)
2005 59th Mainichi Film Award Animated Film Prize (The Place Promised in Our Early Days)
2008 Asia Pacific Screen Award Best Animated Feature Film (5 Centimeters per Second)
2013 37th Stuttgart International Animation Festival Grand Prix, Feature Animation (The Garden of Words)
2017 40th Japan Academy Prize Outstanding Director Award / Best Screenplay Award (Your Name)
2017 49th Sitges Film Festival Best Animated Feature Film (Your Name)
2017 42nd Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award Best Animated Film (Your Name)
2020 43rd Japan Academy Prize Best Animation of the Year (Weathering with You)
2023 81st Golden Globe Award Best Animated Feature Film Nomination (Suzume)

Timeline

1973Born in Koumi, Minamisaku, Nagano
1996Graduated from Chuo University and joined Nihon Falcom
1999Released self-produced short anime Her and Her Cat
2001Left Nihon Falcom to focus on animation production
2002Released short film Voices of a Distant Star (nearly solo); joined CoMix Wave
2004Released debut feature film The Place Promised in Our Early Days
2007Released 5 Centimeters per Second
2016Released Your Name, grossing over 25 billion yen domestically — a record for Japanese animated films
2019Released Weathering with You
2022Released Suzume, surpassing 10 million admissions

3. Relationships

Spouse: Chieko Misaka (actress; publicly disclosed)
Children: One daughter (Chise Niitsu, active as an actress)
Parents: Private (family business: Niitsu-gumi, a construction company)
Siblings: Private

4. Personality

Hobbies

Jogging
Reading

Specialties

Animation production
Screenwriting

Motto

Private

5. Works & records

Category	Title	Role	Year
Short film (animation)	Her and Her Cat	Director, Screenwriter, Producer	1999
Short film (animation)	Voices of a Distant Star	Director, Screenwriter, Producer (nearly solo)	2002
Film	The Place Promised in Our Early Days	Director, Screenwriter	2004
Film	5 Centimeters per Second	Director, Screenwriter	2007
Film	Children Who Chase Lost Voices	Director, Screenwriter	2011
Film	The Garden of Words	Director, Screenwriter	2013
Film	Your Name	Director, Screenwriter	2016
Film	Weathering with You	Director, Screenwriter	2019
Film	Suzume	Director, Screenwriter	2022

6. Links

Official sitehttps://www.shinkaiworks.com/
Xhttps://twitter.com/shinkaimakoto
Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%96%B0%E6%B5%B7%E8%AA%A0