None of us knows how long he shall live or when his time will come. But soon, all that will be left of our brief lives is the pride our children feel when they speak our names.

When i've done camera test, after we've shot and I've seen the monitor with the glasses (wearing a Kimono) and looking by myself in 3D. Oh my god. Especially for a Samurai film. I've never seen that. It's kind of a culture shock.

I believe, the Japanese film industry must be open.

I saw a lot of 47 Ronin on the TV, in the films, and I've done Chushingura Gaiden Yotsuya Kaidan [Crest of Betrayal, 1994] directed by Kinji Fukasaku.

It's a Samurai story [47 ronin], so if we change too much Japanese audiences will have strong against feelings to the film. It's not good.

I've done Last Samurai in Japan, in LA, in New Zealand. Even in Japan it is very hard to shoot, because there's been so many changes. Only around a temple can we shoot.

Keanu Reeves learned a lot, respecting the culture. I was surprised when I first met him. He knew a lot already and he learned a lot. And also he learned Japanese. It's incredible. On the set, switching between the Japanese and English, even for us, is very hard. It's complicated. But the first time Keanu spoke in Japanese it was a very important scene between us, and more than the dialogue's meaning, I was moved. His energy for the film, completely perfect Japanese pronunciation. It was moving, surprising, respecting.