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Toshishiro Obata
Obata_Toshishiro
BornObata Toshiji (小幡 利二)
(1948-10-20)October 20, 1948
Gunma Prefecture, Japan
Native name小幡 利城
NationalityJapanese
StyleShinkendō, Aikidō, Aikibujutsu, Toyama-ryū Battōdō, Bōjutsu, Ryūkyū Kobudō
Teacher(s)Shioda Gōzō, Yagyū Nobuharu, Uchida Tesshinsai, Inoue Motokatsu, Tanaka Shigeho [ja], Nawa Yumio [ja], Nakamura Taizaburō [ja]
Occupation
  • Martial artist
  • swordsman
  • actor
  • stunt coordinator
  • author
  • researcher
Spouse
Obata Michiyo
​
(m. 1976)​
Children
  • Obata Yukishiro
  • Obata Michishiro
  • Obata Yōko
Websitewww.shinkendo.com

Toshishiro Obata (小幡 利城, Obata Toshishiro; born Obata Toshiji, 小幡 利二; October 20, 1948) is a Japanese swordsman, martial artist, actor, stunt coordinator and fight choreographer, author, and researcher.[1] He is the founder and head instructor of the Japanese swordsmanship style Shinkendō and Japanese martial art Aikibujutsu.[1][2] Obata is recognized for his film and television roles in Japan and the United States, including Hollywood martial arts action films such as Showdown in Little Tokyo and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.[1][3]

Obata studied aikidō for seven years as a live-in disciple of Shioda Gōzō, a pre-war student of aikidō founder Ueshiba Morihei.[4] He trained in various modern and classical martial arts and styles of swordsmanship, including Yagyū Shinkage-ryū, Kashima Shinryū, Ryūkyū Kobudō, and Toyama-ryū, and earned a total of 75 dan (black belt) ranks, as well as shihan and menkyo kaiden licenses.[1][5] Obata is noted for winning seven tameshigiri (test-cutting) championships in Japan,[6] as well as introducing the now widespread use of rolled tatami-omote mats as a test-cutting medium.[7] Earning a livelihood as a professional martial artist, Obata worked in the Japanese film and television industry as a member of the stunt and martial artist troupe Wakakoma Pro [ja], where he trained actors, performed stunts, and acted in various on-screen roles in a number of films and programs, including the annual NHK taiga drama series.[1][2] His role as martial arts instructor to actors and fight choreographers led to the popularization of aikidō techniques in the Japanese film industry.[4][8]

After moving to the United States to pursue a career in Hollywood, Obata synthesized his martial arts research and founded the Shinkendō school of swordsmanship (眞劍道) and the Japanese martial art Aikibujutsu (合気武術).[1][6] He has collaborated with swordsmiths in Japan and the United States as a professional sword-tester,[9] and he holds the world record for kabutowari (兜割), a traditional test of cutting a samurai helmet with a sword.[2] Obata has published a number of books on the martial arts, as well as Modern Bushidō, a modern adaptation of samurai philosophy, and a translation of Heihō Okugisho, one of the earliest Japanese martial arts treatises, compiled by one of his samurai ancestors.[1][10] In parallel to his martial arts career, Obata has also found success in Hollywood, appearing in nearly twenty Hollywood films opposite actors such as Michael Douglas, Dolph Lundgren, and Brandon Lee, including his breakout role as Master Tatsu in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.[1][11]

Early life

[edit]
Shirasawa-jinja in Numata, Gunma

Obata was born on October 20, 1948 in Shirasawa-mura (present-day Numata) in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, the second son of Obata Kaneyoshi and Obata Tama.[2][12] Obata's father served in the Japanese military as a combat medic, turning to a career as a carpenter after discharge, and Obata’s mother was employed for a time at a munitions factory.[13]

Obata’s family is of samurai lineage, which he traces back to the fifth century.[1][6]An offshoot of the Heike clan[14], the Obata clan included several prominent samurai who were vassals of the Takeda clan during the Warring States Period, among them Obata Nichijō [ja] (d. 1514), who served Takeda Nobutora and was later appointed Ashigaru Daishō [ja] (Infantry General).[15][16] Nichijō's son, Obata Toramori (1491-1561), was one of the Five Retainers of the Takeda [ja] as well as one of the Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen, serving both Takeda Nobutora and Takeda Shingen, and like his father was appointed Ashigaru Daishō.[NEED BETTER CITES HERE][17] Toramori eventually became lord of Kaizu Castle in Shinshū Province (present-day Nagano Prefecture).[5] Toramori's son, Obata Masamori (1534-1582), who also served as one of the Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen, fought in the Battle of Nagashino and succeeded his father as lord of Kaizu Castle.[18][19] Masamori's third son, Obata Kagenori (1572–1663), served Tokugawa Ieyasu, and between 1615 and 1632 compiled the Kōyō Gunkan, a highly influential military treatise recording Takeda clan exploits as well as military strategy and martial arts techniques promulgated under Takeda Shingen and Takeda Katsuyori.[15][20] The Kōyō Gunkan was read widely and became a fixture in early modern samurai education, even circulating among non-samurai,[21] and contains the first notable use of the term bushidō.[20][22] Its text also became the basis for Heihō Okugisho (兵法奥義書), one of Japan's earliest treatises on martial arts. [NEED CITE -- CHECK KOYO GUNKAN ENGLISH PAGE] Based upon his battlefield experience and the teachings of the Kōyō Gunkan, Kagenori founded the Kōshū-ryū [ja] school of military science (also called Takeda-ryū or Shingen-ryū), which became widely adopted and practiced under the Tokugawa shogunate, and was recorded in the early 18th-century Honchō Bugei Shōden [ja] as the foundation for all subsequent military science styles.[21][23]

From a young age, Obata was inspired to study martial arts and swordsmanship by the examples of his samurai forebears, as well as chanbara films he enjoyed watching as a child and radio dramas like Akadō Suzunosuke [ja].[24][25] He also cites the examples of Miyamoto Musashi and Yagyū Munenori as sources of inspiration for pursuing martial arts training and the study of samurai warfare and strategy[4], as well as Kamiizumi Nobutsuna and Nitta Yoshisada, who, like Obata, hailed from Gunma prefecture.[14][26] As a young child, Obata gained early exposure to swordsmanship through his father, who studied Maniwa Nen-ryū at the local dōjō in nearby Maniwa under the tutelage of the Higuchi family.[25][27] Obata decided to study jūdō or kendō at his elementary school, but school martial arts practice halted when the gymnasium burned down while he was in fifth or sixth grade.[13] His family lacking monetary means in post-war Japan, Obata recalls spending his childhood exploring the Akagi mountains around his village and "playing" martial arts with other children.[13][28] Obata credits his weapon proficiency in part to his use of tools and farming implements while doing field and farm work as he grew up.[28][29] He recalls cutting and fashioning tree branches to make practice swords, and trying out throwing and sweeping techniques he had learned from his father.[13] In addition to a strong interest in martial arts, as a youth he developed a love for films and, in part inspired by the popular Shōwa-era comedian Ōmiya Toshimitsu [ja], a desire to pursue acting.[24][10]

Career and education

[edit]

1966–1973: Yōshinkan Era

[edit]
Young Obata holding sword in the seigan-no-kamae (正眼の構え) posture
Above: Young Obata holding sword in the seigan-no-kamae (正眼の構え) posture
Obata seated with a sword in hand
Obata at age 21 wearing dōgi and geta at Meiji-jingū in Tōkyō

After graduating high school in 1966, Obata left Gunma prefecture to pursue martial arts training in Tōkyō at the age of eighteen.[6][10] Obata considered studying karate or Shōrin-ji kempō until his roommate showed him a book about aikidō, which piqued his curiosity.[13] He visited the instructors class at the Yōshinkan Honbu Dōjō in Yoyogi led by Shioda Gōzō, a top disciple of aikidō founder Ueshiba Morihei who trained with him before the war.[30] Obata was impressed by the rigor and technique, and joined immediately.[13] A few days after his enrollment, confident that he would pursue martial arts as a vocation, he applied for membership in the full-time instructors class as an uchi-deshi (live-in disciple) under Shioda, and was accepted.[13][31]

Obata spent seven years at the Yōshinkan as an uchi-deshi of Shioda.[2][6] The Yōshinkan style was renowned for its toughness and efficiency, and Obata has described the apprenticeship as “military-style training.”[9][10]

Six o'clock in the morning, like Army style – make breakfast and straight into training... after lunch, again training, then four o'clock training, six o'clock training, eight o'clock training – every day. Monday off – but even Monday sometimes some dōjō members would come, so... training![10]

As an uchi-deshi, Obata trained from early morning until late at night, routinely performing thousands of ukemi (falls) a day.[5][30] Obata recollects that although Shioda was small in stature and only reached up to Obata's shoulder, he was in his physical prime as a teacher, and that the age difference between him and Shioda was the same as the age difference between Shioda and Ueshiba, which he suggests was likely conducive to their fruitful student-teacher relationship.[32] Due to his aptitude, Obata soon became a Yōshinkan instructor, and he earned a small stipend and was able to support himself, though this left little for spending money during this period.[24] Obata also assisted with the editing of Shioda's books on aikidō, and appears in technical demonstration photographs in Shioda's Dynamic Aikidō.[33][34]

As part of his teaching duties, Obata was selected to train police officers during annual training sessions at the Yōshinkan.[6][35]　The officers all had prior training in martial arts, having been awarded at least third dan in jūdō or kendō, and as a result the training was brisk and intensive; Obata recalls that out of a group of twelve officers, as many as ten would be vomiting by the end of a lesson.[13] Upon reaching shodan level, Obata was loaned out regularly by Shioda as an instructor to the Tōkyō Metropolitan Police, the Riot Police, and the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF).[13][36] Obata's contact with law enforcement proved helpful when he sometimes had a few too many to drink and ended up sparring with fellow uchi-deshi in town.[1] Obata was also sent out to teach students at Nippon University and Obirin University.[5][28]

Despite his full-time commitment to training and teaching aikidō at the Yōshinkan, Obata's interest in swordsmanship and classical martial arts grew during this period.[13] Obata practiced sword techniques with a bokken (wooden sword) as part of aikidō training, and he would closely observe other sword schools performing techniques when he participated in martial arts demonstrations at the Nippon Budōkan.[13] Shioda encouraged Obata to gain exposure to and study other martial arts, including Yagyū Shinkage-ryū.[5][28] At the time, the Yagyūkai was renting space at the Yōshinkan Dōjō for their practice sessions,[37] and Obata was encouraged to join, thereafter training for several years under headmaster Yagyū Nobuharu.[2][5] Obata also studied Zen Buddhism with the Shiyūkai [ja], which rented space from the Yōshinkan at this time as well.[10][38]

While performing aikidō at a martial arts demonstration, Obata witnessed a sword demonstration by Nakamura Taizaburō [ja], a former sword instructor to the Japanese army[39] and an instructor of Toyama-ryū and Nakamura-ryū swordsmanship.[30][7] Although Nakamura was already in his fifties at the time, the power and focus of his cuts impressed Obata.[7] At demonstrations, Obata observed that whereas some schools only cut thin reeds of bamboo, Toyama-ryū practitioners would regularly cut thick bundles of straw wrapped around a heavy piece of bamboo, intended to simulate flesh and bone.[13][40] Obata volunteered to assist Nakamura, who had been setting up and cleaning up cutting targets by himself, and decided that he would like to study with him if he had the chance.[7] This encounter with Nakamura and his experience training in Yagyū Shinkage-ryū solidified Obata's resolve to further his study of swordsmanship.[30] However, as a full-time uchi-deshi, Obata was not able to pursue other martial arts seriously, so he made the decision to conclude his seven-year apprenticeship at the Yōshinkan in 1973.[28][41]

1973-1980: Wakakoma Era

[edit]
Obata in an episode of Drift Daibakushō [ja]
Theatrical poster for Lady Snowblood (1973)

Although licensed by Shioda to open his own aikidō school and teach independently, Obata chose to broaden his martial arts training and focus on swordsmanship, as well as begin to pursue his ambition of acting in film and television.[24] In 1973, Obata joined Wakakoma Pro [ja], a troupe of martial artists specializing in stunts and martial arts training for Japanese film and television, led by action coordinator Hayashi Kunishirō.[2][4] At the time, the Wakakoma was enjoying prominence due to its ongoing work for the prestigious annual NHK taiga dramas and its recent involvement in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, much of which was filmed in Japan using Wakakoma martial artists.[13]

Obata was introduced to Hayashi through Nakamura, and the two quickly formed a good rapport, with Hayashi soliciting Obata's advice on martial arts matters.[7] Hayashi eventually invited Obata to join him at the Wakakoma as bujutsu shihan (武術師範; Chief Instructor of Martial Arts), specializing in aikidō.[5][7] Obata accepted, and became Hayashi's pupil at his Tate Dōjō, where he studied action coordination and Japanese film swordplay [ja].[24][4] Obata recalls that Hayashi's goal was to ensure that Japanese martial arts techniques were accurately and realistically represented in his film projects for the NHK, which aligned with Obata's desire to research and study classical Japanese martial arts.[7][42] Obata continued to enjoy a good rapport with Hayashi throughout his apprenticeship, and recalls leveraging that rapport on one occasion to convince Hayashi to quit smoking, threatening to quit if he refused. To Obata's surprise, Hayashi agreed, and quit smoking immediately.[7]

After three years of training under Hayashi, Obata advanced to the role of assistant tateshi (action coordinator), and occasionally led training sessions by himself.[43] Obata trained in and later taught historically accurate methods for wearing armor and traditional dress, as well as mounted archery and battlefield techniques of the spear and naginata (glaive).[5][10] Obata recalls that portrayal of a samurai in keeping with the NHK's exacting standards necessitated exhaustive research and immersive knowledge of samurai life in great detail, to the effect that one became "in every respect a samurai persona."[11] Wakakoma members were expected to be well-versed in samurai etiquette, and be able to handle all manner of weapons skillfully while wearing full armor and on horseback.[13] Stunt work involved falling from horseback safely and performing acrobatics while fully armed.[43] Obata was required to develop action coordination expertise by studying historical records of samurai warfare and treatises on battlefield strategy such that clashes between armies and small-scale skirmishes and ambushes could be reproduced faithfully on screen.[30][44] Drawing on his Yōshinkan background, Obata also taught and disseminated aikidō techniques among the Wakakoma members and NHK actors.[4] Whereas jūdō techniques had heretofore been a staple in hand-to-hand combat scenes, Obata introduced aikidō to the film industry, and is credited with popularizing aikidō techniques in Japanese film and television.[14][8]

Obata worked for the Wakakoma and trained under Hayashi for seven years.[1][45] During this time, Obata was involved in eight annual NHK taiga dramas (11th-18th), in which he performed stunts, choreographed fight scenes, trained actors in martial arts and samurai deportment, and acted in various on-screen roles.[36][46] Actors he trained included Takita Sakae [ja], Fujioka Hiroshi, Ishizaka Kōji, Ogata Ken, Katō Tsuyoshi, Yamaguchi Takashi, Hamahata Kenkichi [ja], Sekiguchi Hiroshi, Katsuno Hiroshi, Nishida Toshiyuki, Tanaka Ken, and Nagashima Toshiyuki.[47] Obata worked on other NHK productions as well, such as Meiji no Gunzō: Umi ni Hi Wa wo [ja] and On'yado Kawasemi.[46] In addition to historical dramas and NHK productions, Obata coordinated action and played roles in popular variety shows, such as Hachiji da yo! Zen'in Shūgō [ja], as well as contemporary police and detective dramas, including Taiyō ni Hoero! and Oretachi wa Tenshi da!.[46] Obata also worked on Lady Snowblood (1973) and its sequel, Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance (1974),[46] the former of which served as a major inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films (2003–2004).[48][49]

See § Filmography for films.

Martial arts training and research

[edit]

Despite his ascendance as a film industry professional, martial arts remained Obata's primary focus.[43] Obata's tenure at the Wakakoma allowed him, like other professional martial artists, the opportunity to earn a livelihood working for film and television production companies while advancing his martial arts training.[13][5] Hayashi sent him to research and learn authentic martial arts techniques from the foremost experts practicing at the time so that Japanese martial arts would be portrayed accurately on screen.[4] This afforded Obata the opportunity to train with many prominent martial artists, and he states that during this time he "lived and breathed the martial arts."[11] Obata researched and learned martial arts techniques from kendō, jūdō, karate, and various sword styles, such as Jigen-ryū, and incorporated these techniques into his film work.[14][50]

Obata entered into formal training relationships with several noted martial arts instructors during this time.[2][43] In furtherance of his pursuit of sword instruction, he enrolled at the Shiseikan Dōjō (至誠館) at Meiji Shrine to study Kashima Shinryū under Tanaka Shigeho [ja].[30][51] Obata also became a pupil of the swordsman Uchida Tesshinsai (内田鉄心斎), from whom he learned Ioriken battōjutsu (庵剣抜刀術).[5][4] Due in part to growing audience interest in seeing Japanese weapon techniques in film, Obata branched out into other weapon arts.[13] Obata received instruction in the various weapons of Ryūkyū Kobudō from Inoue Motokatsu, renowned for his efforts at preserving Okinawan weapon martial arts, including sai, bō, tonfa, nunchaku, and kama.[13][52] Obata also studied ninpō, weapons techniques, and Edo-period arresting methods under Nawa Yumio [ja], ninpō researcher and headmaster of Masaki-ryū [ja] manrikigusari-jutsu (正木流万力鎖術) and Edo-machikata jutte torinawa atsukai (江戸町方十手捕縄扱).[38][53]

Having concluded his apprenticeship at the Yōshinkan, Obata was now free to study with the swordsman Nakamura Taizaburō, whose technique he had admired as an uchi-deshi.[30][53] Obata enrolled as Nakamura's pupil, and studied Toyama-ryū under him, as well as Nakamura's own sword style, Nakamura-ryū.[6][10] In addition to receiving direct instruction, Obata regularly assisted Nakamura at sword seminars, and used the opportunity to closely observe his technique.[43] Obata also assisted with Nakamura's regular television appearances and extracurricular projects, appearing in Nakamura's books[54][55] as well as squaring off against Nakamura in a sword duel in the last scene of the 1979 documentary film Budō: The Art of Killing.[34][56]

Despite the rigors of learning several martial arts while attending to his film production duties at the Wakakoma, Obata "took to martial arts like a fish in water," and maintained his Yōshinkan-era discipline of training several hours each day.[43] Obata went on to earn numerous dan rankings in the various arts he studied, amounting to 75 dan in total, as well as high-level licenses, including shihan (師範), keishō denju (継承伝授), and menkyo kaiden (免許皆伝).[5][36] During this time, Obata also participated in and won seven national tameshigiri (test-cutting) competitions, setting speed records for cutting targets.[6][8]

Obata recalls that he was "more or less penniless" for the seven years he worked for the Wakakoma and studied martial arts, but that it was "still one of the most enjoyable times in my life."[43] His opportunity at the Wakakoma to concentrate fully on researching and practicing various Japanese martial arts later became the basis for establishing his own school of swordsmanship and martial arts.[43][57] By the end of his seven-year tenure at the Wakakoma, Obata was qualified to operate independently as an action coordinator in the Japanese film and television industry.[24] However, Obata decided to leave the Wakakoma and elected instead to move to the United States and pursue a career as an actor and action coordinator in Hollywood.[16][10]

1980-present: Hollywood Era

[edit]
Obata on the set of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

In 1980, Obata concluded his tenure at the Wakakoma and relocated to Los Angeles, California at the age of thirty-two.[3][31] Obata had long held a strong desire to travel, and had previously visited the United States once in 1978, admiring the spaciousness, as well as the agreeable climate and relaxed atmosphere of Southern California.[24] His wife Michiyo, whom he married in 1976, remained behind in Tōkyō with their young sons while he attempted to gain traction and earn a livelihood in the United States. As a new migrant, however, Obata faced immediate challenges, as he lacked resident status, money, and employment, and spoke no English.[24]

One of Obata's aims in moving to the United States was to introduce battōdō (the art of sword-drawing) and tameshigiri to the West.[24][36] Prior to his departure to the United States, Nakamura appointed Obata the head of the USA Toyama-ryū Federation, USA Nakamura-ryū Federation, and USA Battōdō Federation, operating under the corresponding Japanese federations.[5][10] With Nakamura's fiat, Obata established the United States Honbu Dōjō (headquarters) for Toyama-ryū and Nakamura-ryū in 1981, teaching initially at the Nichiren-shū Buddhist temple in Boyle Heights and later also at the Japanese Institute of Sawtelle,[34][58] both Japanese-American enclaves in Los Angeles.[59][60] Students from outside the community became acquainted with Obata's school through referrals from Japan, the Japanese consulate in Los Angeles, and newspaper and magazine articles reporting on Obata in English and Japanese.[34][43] Early students included martial arts instructors, law enforcement personnel, and a captain in the United States Army.[34][43]

Obata became a fixture in the Japanese-American community soon after his arrival, giving demonstrations of aikidō, battōdō, and test-cutting at local cultural events and appearing in Japanese-language media.[61] He began writing articles and books on battōdō, aikidō, ninpō, and Ryūkyū Kobudō, as well as filming instructional videos and giving seminars throughout the United States.[5][45] Obata's dōjō continued to attract law enforcement personnel as students,[62] and Obata was also hired by the Long Beach Police Department to teach criminal apprehension and arresting techniques to its officers.[63] Reuniting with Michiyo in 1983, Obata and his wife, also a Yōshinkan yūdansha, began teaching aikidō to children, with their own children training in the dōjō everyday after school.[35][45] Obata also continued to teach martial arts and swordsmanship to various Japanese actors who would fly to Los Angeles to study at his dōjō for extended periods, including NHK taiga drama leads such as Takita Sakae [ja].[47][64]

As his career as an independent martial artist gained momentum, Obata also found purchase in Hollywood.[24] He started working as an action coordinator in films and television programs, training actors in various Japanese martial arts.[24][65] On set, Obata often encountered superficial regard for martial arts and a lack of thoughtful preparation for fight scenes, including instances of actors in martial arts actions films who had never trained in any martial arts before shooting, and found himself motivated to create movies with "high-quality and perfectly executed martial arts" in the United States.[24] In keeping with his work with the Wakakoma, Obata continued to prioritize accurate representation of authentic Japanese martial arts on screen, and cites this as one of his reasons for venturing into Hollywood.[13] Soon, however, Obata caught the attention of directors and casting agents due to his intimidating appearance, martial arts ability, and personality, and found himself representing Japanese martial arts on screen directly as an actor.[24][65]

Obata's first on-screen appearance in Hollywood was in the 1984 film Ghost Warrior, also known as Swordkill, a rare Hollywood film that featured a Japanese lead, Fujioka Hiroshi.[66] In some of his subsequent films, Obata served dual roles as actor and action coordinator, such as Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991), in which he trained actors Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee in Japanese martial arts, as well as serving as one of the film's lead antagonists.[31][45] In addition to training Lundgren in swordsmanship and tameshigiri, Obata also recorded lines of Japanese dialogue that appeared in the script in order to aid Lundgren with his pronunciation.[45][67] Due to Lee's background in martial arts, Obata and Lee were able to freely choreograph their climactic fighting scene in which Obata's character is defeated.[67][68] Through their work on the film, Obata and Lee developed a strong friendship, and Obata was saddened at Lee's death in 1993.[31][43]

Obata went on to appear in numerous Hollywood films as well as television programs, and attained sufficient renown that he no longer was required to audition for roles.[24] Notable films in which he appeared include Black Rain (1989), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie (1990) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991), Rising Sun (1993), Demolition Man (1993), The Shadow (1994), and The Hunted (1995), appearing opposite celebrity actors including Sean Connery, Michael Douglas, Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Ken Takakura, Matsuda Yūsaku, Christopher Lambert, and Alec Baldwin.[5][9] During the filming of The Hunted in 1995, Obata recollects that he was able to reunite with one of his Wakakoma kōhai (juniors), Togo Hidenobu, who served as a special martial arts coordinator on the production.[67] Obata also worked on several films with Cynthia Rothrock and Richard Norton, actors well known for their martial arts action film roles.[1][11] Obata taught Norton swordsmanship for his role in The Sword of Bushido (1990), and Norton choreographed Obata's fight scene with Chuck Norris in a 1993 episode of Walker, Texas Ranger.[67]

[Include photo of training Dolph Lundgren]

Obata's growing success in Hollywood was not without ongoing challenges. His main obstacle was English, having immigrated to the United States at thirty-two, which Obata felt was too old an age to learn English properly.[43] Although Obata had difficulty understanding his directors, his long experience working in the Japanese film and television industry allowed him to intuit their intent and perform well in front of a camera, and he found himself cast in roles that relied more on character or image than substantive dialogue.[36][43] Frequently, his children would help him practice pronouncing his lines correctly, and at times he requested simpler revisions of his lines from his directors; occasionally, his voice was simply dubbed over entirely.[1]

Obata also encountered cultural difficulties as a Japanese immigrant working in Hollywood. Despite his eventual success, he likened the barriers to entry into the American film industry to the Great Wall of China, and found his Japanese set of values at times incongruous with others while working on movie sets.[24] He also found that many Americans held an outdated view of Japanese people as typified by Mifune Toshirō and Shimura Takashi, though Obata opined that this ultimately worked in his favor, leading his samurai ancestry and profession as a martial artist to be highly valued both inside and outside the film industry.[24] Based on his experiences, Obata has published advice for Japanese actors looking to find success in Hollywood.[36]

Despite enjoying his work as an action coordinator and fight choreographer, Obata has also expressed criticism at the lack of recognition afforded to action coordinators in both the United States and Japan for their high level of training and accomplishment in martial arts, horsemanship, and acrobatic ability.[43]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films

[edit]
Theatrical poster for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

Obata's breakout role in Hollywood was playing Master Tatsu in the martial arts action film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), produced by Golden Harvest.[36][11] Despite mixed reviews from critics, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a box-office success, grossing $202 million against a budget of $13.5 million, becoming the highest-grossing independent film up to that time and for the next decade,[69] as well as the ninth highest-grossing film worldwide of 1990.[70] The film also broke the record for the biggest opening weekend for an independent film,[71][72] and went on to gross $32 million in its opening week, making it the second biggest US opening ever at that point, after Tim Burton's Batman (1989).[73] Within the martial arts action film genre, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles deposed The Karate Kid (1984) as the highest-grossing film, which had earned $130 million.[24] Obata reprised his role as Master Tatsu in the sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991), which was also a box-office success, becoming the thirteenth highest-grossing film domestically that year.[74]

Obata was originally cast as The Shredder, the leading villain role in the film, due to his formidable appearance.[13][35] He initially turned down the offer, citing his reluctance to put on a mask and obscure his face.[1] Instead, director Steve Barron decided to create another leading role for him to play, and invented the role of Master Tatsu for Obata, which was not in the original script.[1][36] At Obata's request, Barron also agreed to shorten his lines, due to his difficulty with English.[36]

Master Tatsu is nothing like me, but he has caught people's attention. Strangers come up to me and ask me if my head is all right now because in the movie I was hit with a golf club.[13]

After the film's success, Obata became instantly recognizable overnight.[1][24] As a result of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films and other films in which he coordinated Japanese-style swordplay or appeared using a sword, Obata has been credited with precipitating the Hollywood "samurai craze,"[24] and was even dubbed the "Samurai of Hollywood."[3][75]

See § Filmography for films.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Nakagawa, Martha (February 15, 1997). "Life on the Cutting Edge". Rafu Shimpo. No. 28111. LA News Publishing Co. pp. 1, 4. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Lombardo, Patrick (1998). Encyclopédie Mondiale des Arts Martiaux [World Encyclopedia of Martial Arts] (in French). Européenne de Magazines. pp. 176–77. ISBN 2-907736-21-3.
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