Pretty sure you're wrong there. Zatoichi was, as far as I'm aware, totally directed by Kitano- he more or less was presuaded to do it by the families of the people involved in the originals, which meant he had licence to do it his way. The tap dancing routine at the end, which is a massive part of the film whether you love it or hate it, was Takeshi's sole idea. I guess other people might have been involved, but Kitano was the director, even if he was in a light hearted move-
http://www.kitanotakeshi.com/resources/raynszatoichi.html
Im enjoying revisiting Kitano's films at the moment, particularly Sonatine and Hana-Bi, as I'm writing a dissertation on him. He enjoys a strange relationship with Japanese Yakuza films- taking lots of their conventions like the objectification of women, but tries to subvert the violence of those films, making it mundane rather than heroic.
There's clearly something contemplative and Ozu like about his films, not merely as a stylistic quirk but as a deep level of detachment from his character- lot of wandering through empty spaces, with the hero's eyes in Sonatine only meeting other peoples once Takeshi is master of his domain on the beach. There's no gang ethos here at all, it's bitter alienating stuff.
However, after these films he reached a difficult juncture as he wanted to make films about how people find a way to live rather than how they fine a way to die. This is tricky, as intitially I thought his films have little to give except contemplative space and an ironic juxtaposition of Samurai values with mundane modern day life. Mind you, perhaps Kikijuro is his most radical film as it shows masculinity (a father) beset not by violence, but by sheer diplacement and not knowing what to do. Whereas American gang films tend to stage a rediscovery of innocence (Jimmy Cagney shouting "On top of the world, ma!" as he kills himself), and are essentially male-melodramas, Kitano's films, both cops and Kids, seems to be emphasise a male personnas radically detached from society.
So, do people reckon his family films are as good as his cops-and-killers ones?