Takashi Miike
Takashi Miike (三池崇史) was born August 24, 1960 in Osaka, Japan. A director who's filmography includes over 60 titles, he originally worked in the B-movie field producing straight-to-video Yakuza, horror and manga adaptations and has turned this field into a new artform. While still not necessarily a commercial success outside of Japan yet, he has an immense cult fan following. His work, as well as horror films like Ringu, have renewed interest in the Japanese film industry over the past five years.
Miike's films at this point range in topic from "yakuza horror theatre," as he calls it, to musicals and family dramas. Often, his most memorable films combine extreme forms of violence, body horror and fetish with powerful statements about the social decline of Japan. His social critiques, much like those of his friend Ryu Murakami, encourage a Japanese viewpoint that sees what harm the rigid hegemonic social order causes. Miike's films explore a broad range of what is "Japanese," addressing issues like body modification, rebel culture, sexual taboos, family structure, feminism and gender dichotomies.
Working as heavily within the yakuza film genre as he does, Miike's work is rife with body modification. Horimono make extremely overt presences in his films, sometimes endowed with supernatural power, and other times the only thing left of a person when they're crushed to death in a junkyard.
As for Miike, on the subject of body modification: yes, he has tattoos. According to a Suicide Girl's interview with the director, he has two scorpions on his back.
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