Yōjirō Takita

滝田洋二郎　/　たきたようじろう

Japanese film director known for Departures

December 4, 1955 (age 70)　・　Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, Japan

From Toyama Prefecture
Film Director
Screenwriter

My Take

Here's a director who spent decades grinding through pink films and commercial comedies before quietly detonating at the Oscars — and I find that arc genuinely fascinating. Yōjirō Takita's "Departures" (2008) wasn't some flashy prestige production; it was a tender, slightly absurd story about a cellist-turned-funeral encoffiner, and it walked away with the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The film's whole thesis — that there's profound dignity in the rituals we build around death — hit audiences worldwide in a way that slick awards bait rarely does. Coming out of Toyama Prefecture, taking the slow road through genre work, then landing one of cinema's biggest prizes in his fifties: that's a career arc I have a lot of respect for. The Purple Ribbon Medal in 2014 felt like Japan finally catching up to what the rest of the world had already figured out.

Overview

Yōjirō Takita is a Japanese film director and screenwriter born on December 4, 1955, in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. He stands 175 cm tall and is best known internationally for directing the 2008 film Departures (Okuribito), which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He received the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Director in 1994, the Nikkan Sports Film Award for Best Director in 2008, and the Medal with Purple Ribbon (Shijuhosho) from the Japanese government in 2014.

1. Profile

Name (English): Yōjirō Takita
Name (Japanese): 滝田洋二郎
Reading: たきたようじろう
Born: December 4, 1955 (age 70)
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac: Sagittarius / Hitsuji (Goat)
Origin: Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, Japan
Blood type: Private
Height: 175cm
Agency: Private
Active years: Unknown
Occupation: Film Director / Screenwriter

2. Background

Elementary school: Private
Junior high: Private
High school: Private
University: Private
Debut: Unknown

Awards & achievements

2014 — Medal with Purple Ribbon (Shijuhosho)
2008 — Nikkan Sports Film Award for Best Director
1994 — Blue Ribbon Award for Best Director

3. Relationships

Spouse: Private
Children: Private
Parents: Private
Siblings: Private

4. Personality

Motto

Private

6. Links

Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%BB%9D%E7%94%B0%E6%B4%8B%E4%BA%8C%E9%83%8E