Kato (The Green Hornet)

Lore & Background

Kato is Britt Reid's valet who doubles as the Green Hornet's masked driver and partner, helping in vigilante adventures disguised as racketeering. According to the storyline, years before the events, Britt Reid saved Kato's life while traveling in the Far East, prompting Kato to become his assistant or friend. In the anthology book The Green Hornet Chronicles, author Richard Dean Starr's story 'Nothing Gold Can Stay: An Origin Story of Kato' explores the character's background and how he ends up living in America, suggesting Kato met Britt Reid on a later trip back to his homeland while in search of his mother.

Reader's Guide

Kato's significance stems largely from Bruce Lee's portrayal in the 1966 television series, which made the Green Hornet more well-known and helped popularize martial arts in the United States during the 1960s. Lee refused to follow the American director's expectation of fisticuff fights and insisted on using his martial arts skills, which became so popular that Van Williams, who played the Green Hornet, asked to be taught some moves. The character's nationality shifted over time due to public relations concerns: initially presented as Japanese in 1936, by 1939 he was simply called a 'faithful valet,' then referred to as Korean in the 1939 movie serial, and by 1941 as Filipino. A long-standing but false urban legend maintained the switch occurred immediately after the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor. In the 2011 film, Kato tells Britt Reid he was born in Shanghai, China.

Did You Know?

• On radio, Kato was initially played by Raymond Hayashi, then Roland Parker for most of the run, and later by Mickey Tolan and Paul Carnegie.
• In the television series, Kato was portrayed by Bruce Lee, and the show's success in Hong Kong, where it was known as The Kato Show, led to Lee starring in feature films that made him a pop culture icon.
• In a crossover episode of Batman, Kato battles Robin to a draw—a creative decision made by the showrunners, not due to any personal refusal by Bruce Lee.
• In the NOW Comics series, the TV/Bruce Lee version of Kato is the son of the radio Kato and has the given name Hayashi as an homage to the character's first radio actor.

Origins and the Far East Debt

Kato's backstory is rooted in a debt of gratitude. According to the core storyline, years before the series' events, Britt Reid saved Kato's life while traveling in the Far East. This act of rescue is what draws Kato into Reid's orbit, whether as a loyal assistant or a close friend, depending on which version of the tale one encounters. In civilian life, Kato serves as Britt Reid's valet, while in his masked identity he becomes the Green Hornet's driver and crime-fighting partner. The pair disguise their vigilante work as the activities of a racketeer and his chauffeur, bodyguard, or enforcer. The anthology collection The Green Hornet Chronicles, published by Moonstone Books, offers a deeper look at Kato's past. In Richard Dean Starr's story "Nothing Gold Can Stay: An Origin Story of Kato," the character's background is explored further, suggesting he met Britt Reid during a later trip back to his homeland while searching for his mother. This adds a layer of personal motivation to what might otherwise be a simple master-servant dynamic.

The Shifting Nationality

One of Kato's most notable narrative threads is how his ethnic identity shifted across decades and media. In the 1936 radio premiere, Kato was explicitly identified as Japanese. However, by 1939, the Japanese invasion of China made that association problematic for public relations, and the show's announcer dropped the descriptor, referring to him simply as "faithful valet" through 1945. Universal's first movie serial, produced in 1939 but released in early 1940, casually described Kato as Korean. By 1941, he had become Filipino, a designation that carried through Harvey Comics publications. A persistent but false urban legend claims the switch from Japanese to Filipino happened immediately after the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack. In the 2011 film, Jay Chou's Kato states he was born in Shanghai, China, while Britt Reid responds by saying he "love[s] Japan." The character's actual performers have been equally varied: Keye Luke, a Chinese-born American actor, played him in the serials, while the radio roles went to Raymond Hayashi, Roland Parker, Mickey Tolan, and Paul Carnegie.

Bruce Lee and the Television Phenomenon

The 1966-1967 ABC television series, produced by William Dozier's Greenway Productions, proved to be a cultural turning point. Van Williams starred as the Green Hornet alongside Bruce Lee as Kato, and the show ran for a single season before cancellation. Yet its impact was enormous. Lee refused to perform the generic fisticuff fights the American director expected, insisting instead on showcasing his genuine martial arts skills. The audience responded so enthusiastically that Van Williams himself asked to learn some moves. In a Batman crossover episode, Lee refused to film a scene in which Kato was defeated by Robin, arguing it would show Asian-style martial arts losing; the fight was rewritten to end in a draw, mirroring the simultaneous draw between their senior partners. The show's phenomenal popularity in Hong Kong, where audiences knew it as The Kato Show, directly led to Lee's feature film career and made him a global pop culture icon. A Watkins & Strathmore tie-in coloring book was even titled Kato's Revenge Featuring the Green Hornet, underscoring how Lee's presence had upended the traditional hierarchy of the franchise.

Comic Book Adaptations and Legacy

Kato has been a constant presence across every comic book adaptation of The Green Hornet, with publishers including Helnit (later Holyoke), Harvey, Dell, and Gold Key all featuring the character. In the Helnit comics, Britt Reid is described as having learned jiujitsu from Kato, while Harvey Comics depicted him with knowledge of judo, and Gold Key's TV-tied comic stated the Kato practiced kung fu. The 1940 Big Little Book series, The Green Hornet Strikes!, identified him as a jiujitsu practitioner. In 1989, NOW Comics published a volume that attempted to unify the disparate versions into a single continuity. In that comic, the Bruce Lee-era Kato is established as the son of the radio-era Kato, bearing the given name Hayashi as a tribute to the character's first radio actor, Raymond Hayashi. NOW Comics also introduced Mishi, a much younger half-sister of the television Kato, who demanded to be treated as the Hornet's full partner rather than a sidekick. However, Green Hornet, Inc. withdrew its approval, and Mishi was replaced with the 1960s version after issue ten, her departure explained by the Kato family company, Nippon Today, needing her automotive design skills.