These three stories from one of Japan's most popular directors... were originally published in 1987, thus predating the first film (1989's Brutal Cop) and the most extreme television appearances, but they are cut from the same cloth - this is Kitano's own childhood and youth... They reveal the origins of his sharp and personal style, and they provide a deeper understanding of his later films, with their dry humor and wistful sentimentality. Donald Ritchie, The Japan Times

Takeshi Kitano is a cult actor and film director, the most famous person in Japanese cinema of recent decades. His unique works have received wide recognition both in Japan and abroad. He is the winner of the Gold and Silver Lion of the Venice Film Festival for the films “Fireworks” and “Zatoichi”. Kitano is blessed with unrivaled comic timing and was, and still is, one of the most exciting figures on Japanese television thanks to his keen eye and uncompromising sense of humor. In addition, he is a poet, artist, film critic and writer. This is the FIRST book by Takeshi Kitano translated into Russian. In it he talks about his life. Why did the great artist, who spent his whole life avoiding answering questions concerning his childhood, suddenly decide to turn to this kind of memories? What is the hooligan and lawless man in the cinema, the famous and mysterious Takeshi Kitano, like on the pages of his books? He immerses the reader in the world of childhood, pure, bright, woven from memories. The three stories that make up the collection entitled “Boy” correspond to three periods of his life - early , middle and late youth.