Portrait of Makoto Shinkai

Birthday profile

Makoto Shinkai

Makoto Shinkai, Japanese animator, director, and screenwriter

Born
February 9, 1973
Age in 2026
53
Zodiac sign
Aquarius
Birth year
1973

About Makoto Shinkai

Makoto Niitsu (新津 誠, Niitsu Makoto; born February 9, 1973), known as Makoto Shinkai (新海 誠, Shinkai Makoto), is a Japanese filmmaker and novelist. A founder of CoMix Wave Films, he is known for his anime feature films enriched with visually-appealing animation and romantic stories depicting teenagers and high school students. Shinkai began his career as a video game animator with Nihon Falcom in 1996, and gained recognition as a filmmaker with the release of the original video animation (OVA) She and Her Cat (1999). Shinkai then released the science fiction OVA Voices of a Distant Star in 2002 as his first feature with CoMix Wave, followed by his debut feature film The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004). Shinkai's films have consistently received highly positive reviews from both critics and audiences, and he is considered to be one of Japan's most commercially successful filmmakers. His three most recent films Your Name (2016), Weathering with You (2019), and Suzume (2022), collectively known as "Disaster trilogy", are all among the highest-grossing Japanese films of all time, both in Japan and worldwide at the time of their release. == Early life == Makoto Shinkai was born in Koumi, Nagano. His family runs a construction company. Shinkai studied Japanese literature at Chuo University, where he was a member of the juvenile literature club and drew picture books. Shinkai traces his passion for creation to the manga, anime and novels he was exposed to in middle school.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

Makoto Shinkai timeline

  1. It won several awards, including the grand prize at the 12th DoGA CG Animation Contest (2000).
  2. Shinkai then released the science fiction OVA Voices of a Distant Star in 2002 as his first feature with CoMix Wave, followed by his debut feature film The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004).

The world when Makoto Shinkai was born

Makoto Shinkai was born in 1973. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1973

  • #1 song"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" – Tony Orlando & Dawn
  • Top movieThe Sting
  • Top TV showAll in the Family
  • Best-selling bookGravity's Rainbow – Thomas Pynchon

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentSecretariat wins the Triple Crown with a record Belmont Stakes
  • Top headlineOPEC oil embargo triggers global energy crisis
  • Technology milestoneFirst mobile phone call (Martin Cooper, Motorola)
  • Defining fadPlatform shoes
  • Notable inventionMobile phone (Motorola prototype)
  • World population3.93 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderRichard Nixon
  • Sports championOakland Athletics (World Series)
  • Also wonNew York Knicks (NBA)
  • U.S. population211.9M

1973 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Makoto Shinkai's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19732026
Gas$0.39$3.45/gal
Average home$22,100$435,000
Average income$13,500$67,500
Minimum wage$1.60$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$1.77$11.95
Postage stamp$0.08$0.73
Population211.9M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.