Watanabe Quotes & Sayings

If the script is good, the cast and director good, I'll go anywhere. — Ken Watanabe

Watanabe would later admit that in the beginning of his life in exile, he had pondered the question of whether or not he had committed any crime. In the end, he laid the blame not on himself but on "sinful, absurd, insane war." He saw himself as a victim. — Laura Hillenbrand

About half the scripts sent to me feature characters I just can't identify with, particularly one-dimensional businessmen or, if it's a comedy, some absurd 10-year-old Japanese stereotype, some role related to IT or business ... There's no point in getting mad about it; it's just the way things are. — Ken Watanabe

With the advent of winter, her eyes seemed to take on a greater transparency, a transparency that lead nowhere. Occassionally, for no particular reason, Naoko would gaze into my eyes as if searching for something. Each time I was filled with odd sensations of lonliness and inadequecy. — Haruki Murakami

Don't you want to take a leap of faith? Or become an old man, filled with regret, waiting to die alone! — Ken Watanabe

Well, only Japanese may understand it, but I'm like a goat or something that likes high places. — Tamae Watanabe

I go to see the clothes [I designed] in the shops, and of course they're not perfect, and I see only the imperfections. But it doesn't mean it's a failure-you just think, I wish it could be better than this. Sometimes I cannot achieve what I really want to do in just one collection, so in the following collection I do it again. There are certain things I've been working on for three years. — Junya Watanabe

An artist should use freely whatever materials he pleases. — Shozaburo Watanabe

There's no end to the process of learning about the Toyota Way. I don't think I have a complete understanding even today, and I have worked for the company for 43 years. — Katsuaki Watanabe

Let me just tell you this, Watanabe," said Midori, pressing her cheek against my neck. "I'm a real, live girl, with real, live blood gushing through my veins. You're holding me in your arms and I'm telling you that I love you. I'm ready to do anything you tell me to do. I may be a little bit mad, but I'm a good girl, and honest, and I work hard, I'm kind of cute, I have nice boobs, I'm a good cook, and my father left me a trust fund. I mean, I'm a real bargain, don't you think? If you don't take me, I'll end up going somewhere else. — Haruki Murakami

As a Japanese actor, I really want to work with a lot of actors and actresses in the world and many directors who have many different kinds of talents. I feel like nationally doesn't matter at all. — Ken Watanabe

We as children went up the mountain to find feed for livestock, like goats, cows and horses, and because in the winter time we would light the fire in the house, we would climb the mountain to collect firewood as well. Because of that, I suppose I became used to climbing mountains. — Tamae Watanabe

Watanabe beat POWs every day, fracturing their windpipes, rupturing their eardrums, shattering their teeth, tearing one man's ear half off, leaving men unconscious. He made one officer sit in a shack, wearing only a fundoshi undergarment, for four days in winter. He tied a sixty-five-year-old POW to a tree and left him there for days. He ordered one man to report to him to be punched in the face every night for three weeks. He practiced judo on an appendectomy patient. When gripped in the ecstasy of an assault, he wailed and howled, drooling and frothing, sometimes sobbing, tears running down his cheeks. Men came to know when an outburst was imminent: Watanabe's right eyelid would sag a moment before he snapped. — Laura Hillenbrand

I love Mount Fuji and I think it is my love of the mountains in Japan that led me to seek other mountains around the world. — Tamae Watanabe

If children have an interest in nature, they will understand. I want them to become people who appreciate the consequences the next generation will suffer if we destroy our natural surroundings. So without a doubt, they need to learn that nature is vital to us by experiencing it. I want them to like nature and to climb mountains and so on. — Tamae Watanabe

I have climbed Everest from the Nepal route and the China route. The other routes are too hard for me. So I don't think I can climb Everest again. — Tamae Watanabe

Balzac, Dante, Joseph Conrad, Dickens," he answered without hesitation.
"Not Exactly fashionable."
"That's why I read them. If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking. That's the world of hicks and slobs. Real people would be ashamed of themselves doing that. Haven't you noticed, Watanabe? You and I are the only real ones in this dorm. The other guys are crap. — Haruki Murakami

Her cry was the saddest sound of orgasm that I had ever heard. — Haruki Murakami

Like Naokuo, I'm not really sure what it means to love another person. Though she meant it a little differently. I do want to try my best though. I have to, or else I won't know where to go. Like you said before, Naoko and I have to save each other. It's the only was for us to be saved! — Haruki Murakami

Whatever," said Nagasawa. "But Watanabe's practically the same as me. He may be a nice guy, but deep down in his heart he's incapable of loving anybody. There's always some part of him somewhere that's wide awake and detached. He just has that hunger that won't go away. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. — Haruki Murakami

The King struggles to work with other countries. It's a warrior's concern, and as current events [demonstrate], the challenges in working with international partners are very serious and far from comedic. — Ken Watanabe

Look at television and how comparatively few minorities are out there. — Gedde Watanabe

I want to direct. It's something that I know I'll be really good at. — Gedde Watanabe

I used to be a street singer in San Francisco. — Gedde Watanabe

Our faces were no more than ten inches apart but she was lightyears away from me. — Haruki Murakami

Now get this straight, Watanabe," said Midori, pointing at me. "I'm warning you, I've got a whole month's worth of misery crammed inside me and getting ready to blow. So watch what you say to me. Any more of that kind of stuff and I'll flood this place with tears. Once I get started, I'm good for the whole night. Are you ready for that? I'm an absolute animal when I start crying, it doesn't matter where I am! I'm not joking. — Haruki Murakami

Where Watanabe and I are alike is we don't give a damn if nobody understands us ... That's what makes us different from everybody else. They're all worried about whether the people around them understand them. But not me, and not Watanabe. We just don't give a damn. Self and others are separate. — Haruki Murakami

So I made up my mind I was going to find someone who would love me unconditionally three hundred and sixty-five days a year.
Watanabe: Wow, and did your search pay off?
M: That's the hard part. I guess I've been waiting so long I'm looking for perfection. That makes it tough. — Haruki Murakami

I'll just be the first to say that Ken [Watanabe] should be a national treasure in Japan, because he is an unbelievably talented actor. You couldn't find more of a gentleman. He's sweet, he's kind and he's extremely thoughtful in the work that he does. — Leonardo DiCaprio

I could do just about anything if somebody made me. But I don't have an image of the one thing I really want to do. That's my problem now. I can't find the image ... I'm standing still, and I can't find the image.
- Toru — Haruki Murakami

Do what is right because it is right. — Ken Watanabe

Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. I'm working class. Revolution or not, the working class will just keep on scraping a living in the same old shitholes. And what is a revolution? It sure as
hell isn't just changing the name on city hall. But those guys don't know that - those guys with their big words. Tell me, Watanabe, have you ever seen a taxman? — Haruki Murakami

The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one and it would not be a wasted life. — Ken Watanabe

With 'Letters from Iwo Jima,' then 'Memories of Tomorrow,' I reached a sort of turning point in my acting. I had poured so much of myself into those movies that I really had no idea where to go from there. — Ken Watanabe

What a terrible thing it is to wound someone you really care for and to do it so unconsciously. — Haruki Murakami

We have a basic notion that unless we find a solution for environmental problems, we will not achieve sustainable growth in the coming years — Hiroyuki Watanabe

At the suggestion of Professor Itaru Watanabe, and with his help, I left Japan at the age of twenty-three to pursue graduate study at the University of California at San Diego. — Susumu Tonegawa

I'm not a big star in Japan. I'm an actor. I have a very normal life. Four days a week, I cook at home. A star doesn't do that. — Ken Watanabe

It's the most extraordinary and saddest thing, the amount of talent out there not being seen. — Gedde Watanabe

Sei: The Kudzu snacks were so good I had two and a half bowls but seeing you eat 16 and a half bowls was disgusting. I sriously considered killing you.
Okita: You're horrible! Besides then I'd bleed Kudzu snacks!
Sei: NOO! STOP!!! I CAN SEE IT!! I'LL HAVE NIGHTMARES!! — Taeko Watanabe

Each director is different. Clint Eastwood and Chris Nolan are completely different, and I need to adjust to the story and character and the director and just my duty as an actor. — Ken Watanabe

I've been just like any other working actor, out there looking for stuff. — Gedde Watanabe

There are always many sides to the truth. — Ken Watanabe

In 1977, I climbed a fairly difficult mountain for the first time, which was Mount McKinley, in Alaska. I climbed the so-called 'American Direct Route,' which was a route straight up to the top. I really enjoyed it. Through such experiences, I learned that mountaineering wasn't just about height. I found that different routes have different charms. — Tamae Watanabe

Being satisfied with the status quo means you are not making progress — Katsuaki Watanabe

I've got a big mole on my butt. It's true. — Gedde Watanabe

I have no sense of myself as a sex symbol at all. But the meaning of sex symbol might be a little different in Japan to elsewhere. The Japanese version seems to come with a stronger emphasis on a sort of grownup or mature male charm. And if that's the case, then I guess I'm happy to hear it. — Ken Watanabe

I started to listen to Japanese jazz musicians when I went to high school. Some people I listened to were Yosuke Yamashita, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Sadao Watanabe. — Hiromi

Back in the 60s, San Francisco artists lived in communes. — Gedde Watanabe

There's something in the moment when you can make them laugh or cry and show and incredibly compassionate side of life. I find that a really exemplary way to live. — Gedde Watanabe

I still feel like there are a lot of things in me that people haven't seen. My soul hasn't been bared yet. — Gedde Watanabe

I don't want our relationship to end like this. You're one of the very few friends I have, and it hurts not being able to see you. When am I going to be able to talk to you? I want you to tell me that much, at least. — Haruki Murakami

From the moment that Watanabe locked eyes with Louie Zamperini, an officer, a famous Olympian, and a man for whom defiance was second nature, no man obsessed him more. — Laura Hillenbrand

I decided to pursue graduate study in molecular biology and was accepted by Professor Itaru Watanabe's laboratory at the Institute for Virus Research at the University of Kyoto, one of a few laboratories in Japan where U.S.-trained molecular biologists were actively engaged in research. — Susumu Tonegawa

Tonight I'll be interviewing Ken Watanabe, Keisha Castle Hughes, Benecio Del Toro and Djimon Honsou - and yes, those are actors, not caterers. — Joan Rivers

Yeah, I went to ACT for a while. It was great. — Gedde Watanabe

I knew I should be doing some serious thinking, but I had no idea how to go about it. And, to tell the truth, thinking was the last thing I wanted to do. The time would come soon enough when I had no choice in the matter, and when that time came I would take a good long time to think things over. Not now, though. Not now. — Toru Watanabe

The words "I should have done this back then" are a curse. Whenever they come up, they tangle around your heart and keep you from moving. They bring up all the baggage you carry and dull your emotions. From this point on is a domain where your emotions can't be dull... "I want to get faster", "I want to beat him", "This is fun"... "I want to move forward". You need to have only pure feelings like that, if you want to reach that domain! — Wataru Watanabe

I did a film a long time ago with a shaved head and I had the ugliest looking head in the world. — Gedde Watanabe

I'm going bald. I'm having a major problem with it. — Gedde Watanabe

The reason for not getting married was that I just didn't have a partner to get married to. Climbing mountains was more attractive to me than marriage, or other fun things like that. — Tamae Watanabe