Steven Seagal Returned to the U.S. While His First Wife and 2 Kids Remained in Japan – Years Later, His Actress Daughter Had People Saying She Looks Like Her Father: Rare Family Photos

Long before he became an action star, the actor and martial artist started a family in Japan with an accomplished aikido instructor. Rare family photos, including images of his look-alike daughter, can be found at the end of the article.

Steven Seagal built his public image around martial arts and action movies, becoming widely known for films such as "Above the Law" and "Under Siege." But before Hollywood made him a recognizable star, he had spent years immersed in martial arts, including a significant period of his life in Japan.

There, he met his first wife, Miyako Fujitani, an accomplished aikido practitioner whose own standing in the discipline extended far beyond her association with the action star.

Miyako's father had founded an aikido dojo in Osaka, where she began practicing as a child. She later became an instructor herself and eventually achieved the rank of seventh dan. It was also through aikido that her life became intertwined with Steven's.

The pair married and, on October 3, 1975, welcomed their first child, Kentaro Take-Seagal, in Osaka. Their daughter, Ayako Fujitani, followed on December 7, 1979. However, the family did not remain together.

Following the couple's divorce, Steven eventually returned to the United States, and Miyako later revealed that the two children remained with her and were primarily raised in Osaka.

Although separated from his father by distance during part of his upbringing, Kentaro eventually spent time in the United States. He completed high school at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire and briefly attended the University of Southern California.

The martial arts tradition that surrounded him from childhood also remained part of his adult life. In 2008, Kentaro established a Los Angeles branch of Tenshin Dojo, his mother's training center.

As Ayako grew older, photographs also prompted comparisons between her appearance and her father's.

A fourth-degree black belt in aikido at the time, he ran the dojo while his wife, Yin Tze, managed the facility. Miyako, meanwhile, held the considerably higher rank of seventh dan.

Kentaro also ventured into the profession that made his father famous. His screen credits included "Seamless" in 1999, followed by the Japanese-language films "The Bleep Brothers" in 2001 and "Death Trance" in 2005.

Ayako similarly found her way in front of the camera. After working professionally as a model, she appeared in the Japanese "Gamera" film franchise before taking a role in the 2008 anthology movie "Tokyo!" She starred in its "Interior Design" segment, directed by Michel Gondry.

However, her confidence as an actress did not come immediately. Speaking about her approach to acting in 2009, Ayako recalled realizing early in her career that she had considerable room to improve.

"When I first started it, I'm like, 'Hmm, I'm not good at all as an actress. So I have to get better.' [But] that feeling is still there. I guess I'll never be able to stop it," she revealed.

As for her initial interest in movies, it had roots in the Osaka home she was raised in. Ayako credited her mother with allowing her considerable freedom in what she watched as a child — including horror movies — which helped cultivate an interest that would eventually become part of her career.

Yet acting also created a rare professional connection between daughter and father. In 1998, Ayako appeared alongside Steven in the action thriller "The Patriot," playing his character's secretary.

Despite growing up in Japan after her father returned to the United States, Ayako later described her relationship with him without suggesting lingering tension between them, sharing:

"We are good to each other, actually. We don't have any weird things going on between us. We're chill."

As Ayako grew older, photographs also prompted comparisons between her appearance and her father's. Reacting to one image of her as a child, a person commented, "Woow [sic], you look like your father here. So alike😍😍😍." Other photographs drew attention to the family resemblance on her mother's side.

In May 2019, Ayako shared a childhood picture showing herself and Kentaro with their mother. The photograph captured the siblings as young children, years before either entered the entertainment industry, with their mother smiling behind them.

The throwback prompted one person to write, "Wow! You look like your mom and the girls look like you. So sweet!" Another typed, "So beautiful picture [sic]. Great woman and great kids! Big kiss."

Decades after Steven left Japan while his first two children remained there with Miyako, both Kentaro and Ayako built adult lives that reflected parts of their parents' backgrounds.

Rare photos of the family, including images that sparked comments about Ayako's resemblance to her famous father, can be found below.

A Closer Look at Steven Seagal's Family