YOURS CUTEE: Takeshi Kaneshiro

Takeshi Kaneshiro (born October 11, 1973) is an actor of mixed heritage – his father is Ryukyuan and his mother is Taiwanese. He speaks Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Taiwanese Hokkien and English. Kaneshiro is a common Okinawan family name.

Although Kaneshiro is not a Chinese surname, the first kanji of Kaneshiro coincides with the Chinese surname Jin 金 and with the Korean surname "Kim" 김. Since personal names are commonly written in Chinese characters in both Chinese and Japanese naming conventions, with surnames before given names, this gives Kaneshiro the freedom whether to distinguish himself as a Japanese or not when working in Chinese-speaking countries by preserving or removing the space between his surname and given name.

Kaneshiro's mother is from Taiwan and his father from Okinawa, Japan. He was born and raised in Taipei and holds Japanese citizenship.

He has two elder brothers, one is his senior by seven years, the other just by one. After graduating from Taipei Japanese Junior High School, he enrolled at English-based Taipei American School, which enabled him to converse in English. While he was studying there, he began doing TV commercials and decided to quit school to pursue a singing and acting career. He is multi-lingual, fluent in Mandarin, Taiwanese Hokkien and Japanese, and to lesser degrees in English and Cantonese.

Kaneshiro is known for trying to avoid the media spotlight. He has been quoted as saying “If one day I get married and have kids, I will probably be one of those men who really care for the family. I will eat at home every day, and help with the chores and take care of the children.”

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