Tomiichi Murayama (村山 富市, Murayama Tomiichi; 3 March 1924 – 17 October 2025) was a Japanese politician who served as…
Tomiichi Murayama (村山 富市, Murayama Tomiichi; 3 March 1924 – 17 October 2025) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1994 to 1996. He was the country's only socialist premier since Tetsu Katayama in 1948, and is best remembered for the Murayama Statement on the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, in which he officially apologized for Japan's past colonial wars and aggression. Born in Ōita Prefecture, Murayama graduated from Meiji University in 1946, and became a labor union official in his home prefecture. He was elected to the Ōita City Council in 1955 as a member of the Japan Socialist Party; he was then elected to the Ōita Prefectural Assembly in 1963 and to the National Diet in 1972. After the JSP joined the government following the 1993 election, he became its leader, then became prime minister in 1994 as the head of a new coalition of the JSP, Liberal Democratic Party, and New Party Sakigake. During his time as prime minister, Murayama was noted for his Murayama Statement in which he apologised for the country's actions during World War II, oversaw a crumbling relationship between Japan and the United States, and his government was criticized for its responses to the Great Hanshin earthquake and Tokyo subway sarin attack in 1995. He resigned as prime minister in 1996, and reorganized the JSP as the Social Democratic Party. The new party lost many of its seats in the 1996 election, and he resigned as its leader soon after.
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Daihachi Oguchi (小口 大八, Oguchi Daihachi; February 27, 1924 – June 27, 2008) was a Japanese drummer best known for…
Daihachi Oguchi (小口 大八, Oguchi Daihachi; February 27, 1924 – June 27, 2008) was a Japanese drummer best known for popularizing taiko. Master Japanese drummer Daihachi Oguchi is credited with inventing kumi-daiko, the taiko ensemble, in 1951. After founding his own ensemble, Osuwa Daiko, he led the spread of modern Taiko throughout Japan and the U.S. A former jazz drummer, Daihachi Oguchi took ancient rhythms, broke them down and created new arrangements and compositions to accommodate an ensemble of drummers. One day, he was asked to interpret an old sheet of taiko music for Suwa Shrine, which was found in an old warehouse. The sheet music was written in an old Japanese notation and he could not understand it at first. He found an old man who had performed the tune, and then he succeeded in interpreting it at last. However, as a jazz player, the rhythm pattern of the tune was too simple for him to play. He wondered why nobody played taiko together. A marvelous idea came across his mind and made him decide to break through the tradition. Inspired by a western drum set, he formed a group in which each player beats a different taiko; in short, he gave the group a function as a drum set. A high-pitched Shime-daiko established a basic rhythm like a snare drum does. A growling Nagado-daiko added accents like a bass drum. His intention was right to the point, and this epoch-making invention changed the taiko music forever. Oguchi helped turn the traditional form into a dramatic performance spectacle, elevating the traditional folk sounds of taiko to modern music played in concert halls, not just festivals and shrines. The period from 1970s to 1990s in Japan seemed to be the Renaissance of taiko music. The activities of Osuwa Daiko and other early kumi-daiko groups in 1960s, and the taiko performance at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 ignited the phenomenal taiko boom for next decades. Mr. Oguchi helped found top taiko groups, including San Francisco Taiko Dojo, which has performed in Hollywood movies and on international tours since forming 40 years ago. Oguchi also led and starred in the performance of drumming and dance at the closing ceremony of the 1998 Nagano Olympics. "Your heart is a taiko. All people listen to a taiko rhythm dontsuku-dontsuku in their mother's womb," Daihachi Oguchi told The Associated Press at that time. "It's instinct to be drawn to taiko drumming." "In taiko, man becomes the sound. In taiko, you can hear the sound through your skin". In 2008, Daihachi Oguchi died at age 84 after being hit by a motorist while crossing the street. Oguchi had been scheduled to perform with Kodo, the world-renowned Taiko performance group.
Noboru Takeshita (竹下 登, Takeshita Noboru; 26 February 1924 – 19 June 2000) was a Japanese politician who served as…
Noboru Takeshita (竹下 登, Takeshita Noboru; 26 February 1924 – 19 June 2000) was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1987 to 1989. Born in Shimane Prefecture, Takeshita attended Waseda University and was drafted into the army during the Pacific War. He was first elected to the National Diet in 1958, and served as chief cabinet secretary in 1971–1972 and in 1974, and as finance minister from 1979–1980, 1982–1986, and in 1988, during which he signed the Plaza Accord in 1985. In 1987, Takeshita became head of the Liberal Democratic Party and succeeded Yasuhiro Nakasone as prime minister. He inherited the powerful LDP faction of Kakuei Tanaka, and was dubbed the "last shadow shogun" for his behind-the-scenes influence in politics. Takeshita was forced to resign in 1989 after being implicated in the Recruit scandal, but continued to lead the largest LDP faction until his death in 2000. He was the last prime minister to serve during the rule of Emperor Shōwa.
Chikage Awashima (淡島 千景, Awashima Chikage; born Keiko Nakagawa, 24 February 1924 – 16 February 2012) was a Japanese…
Chikage Awashima (淡島 千景, Awashima Chikage; born Keiko Nakagawa, 24 February 1924 – 16 February 2012) was a Japanese film and stage actress.
Sachio Otani (大谷 幸夫, Ōtani Sachio; February 20, 1924 – January 2, 2013) was a noted Japanese architect.
Yūkichi Watabe (渡部 雄吉, Watabe Yūkichi; 1924–1993) was a Japanese photographer.
Fubuki Koshiji (越路 吹雪; 18 February 1924 – 7 November 1980), real name Mihoko Kouno (内藤 美保子), was a Japanese singer and…
Fubuki Koshiji (越路 吹雪; 18 February 1924 – 7 November 1980), real name Mihoko Kouno (内藤 美保子), was a Japanese singer and actress. She joined the Takarazuka Revue in 1939. Though she was recognized as a star at Takarazuka, she left in 1951. When she chose to leave the troupe, Koshiji's friend, Tokiko Iwatani, also quit to manage Koshiji's budding career in film, made possible by the liberalization that took place during and after the occupation of Japan. Throughout the 1950s, Koshiji appeared in productions that merged the arts of shinpa, shingeki, and kabuki. Known as the "Queen of Chanson" (シャンソンの女王, Shanson no Joō), Koshiji was influenced by French singer Édith Piaf. She released Japanese-language covers of Piaf's "Hymne à l'amour" in 1951, "Tombe la neige" by Salvatore Adamo, and "C'est si bon". Koshiji was married to composer Tsunemi Naitō. She died in Tokyo of stomach cancer at the age of 56. Koshiji's final words, addressed to her husband, were "Tsunemi-san, black coffee and milk." She is the subject of "Koshiji Fubuki Monogatari", a television production of TV Asahi in Japan with Takimoto Miori playing the role of Fubuki Koshiji.
Chin Shunshin or Chen Shunchen (陳 舜臣) (18 February 1924 – 21 January 2015) was a Taiwanese-Japanese novelist…
Chin Shunshin or Chen Shunchen (陳 舜臣) (18 February 1924 – 21 January 2015) was a Taiwanese-Japanese novelist, translator and cultural critic. He is best known for his historical fictions and mystery novels based on Chinese and Asian history, including First Opium War, Chinese History, Ryukyu Wind. He won numerous literary awards, including the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for Literature and the Naoki Prize.
Kihachi Okamoto (岡本 喜八, Okamoto Kihachi; February 17, 1924 – February 19, 2005) was a Japanese film director who worked…
Kihachi Okamoto (岡本 喜八, Okamoto Kihachi; February 17, 1924 – February 19, 2005) was a Japanese film director who worked in several different genres.
Manzo Iwata (9 February 1924 – 4 June 1993) was a Japanese martial artist.
Etsuko Inada (稲田 悦子, Inada Etsuko; Hiragana: いなだ えつこ; February 8, 1924 – July 8, 2003) was a Japanese figure skater who…
Etsuko Inada (稲田 悦子, Inada Etsuko; Hiragana: いなだ えつこ; February 8, 1924 – July 8, 2003) was a Japanese figure skater who mostly competed in singles. She was the first female athlete to represent Japan at the Winter Olympics.
Akira Kume (久米 明, Kume Akira; February 8, 1924 – April 23, 2020) was a Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator. As of…
Akira Kume (久米 明, Kume Akira; February 8, 1924 – April 23, 2020) was a Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator. As of 2019, with his role as the narrator of the NHK show Tsurube's Salute to Families, he was the world's oldest active voice actor.
Ryōhei Uchida (内田良平, Uchida Ryōhei; 5 February 1924 – 15 June 1984) was a Japanese actor. Uchida appeared in nearly 300…
Ryōhei Uchida (内田良平, Uchida Ryōhei; 5 February 1924 – 15 June 1984) was a Japanese actor. Uchida appeared in nearly 300 films between 1950 and 1984. He specialized in playing villains and yakuza roles. He got acquainted with film director Masaki Kobayashi through a friend's introduction. He was able to sign his contract with Shochiku film company with the help of Kobayashi. In 1953, he made his film debut with Kabe Atsukiheya directed by Masaki Kobayashi. His first starring role in a film was playing Kazama in League of Gangsters (1963) directed by Kinji Fukasaku. He died of myocardial infarction on 15 June 1984 at the age of 60.
Jun-ichi Igusa (井草 凖一, Igusa Jun’ichi; 30 January 1924 – 24 November 2013) was a Japanese mathematician who for over…
Jun-ichi Igusa (井草 凖一, Igusa Jun’ichi; 30 January 1924 – 24 November 2013) was a Japanese mathematician who for over three decades was on the faculty at Johns Hopkins University. He is known for his contributions to algebraic geometry and number theory. The Igusa zeta-function, the Igusa quartic, Igusa subgroups, Igusa curves, and Igusa varieties are named after him. He was an invited speaker for the 1962 International Congress of Mathematicians in Stockholm. He was awarded Japan's Order of the Sacred Treasure. In 2012 he became a fellow of the American Mathematical Society.
Ong Iok-tek (Ikutoku Ō; 王育德/王育徳; POJ: Ông Io̍k-tek; Hepburn:Ō Ikutoku: pinyin: Wáng Yùdé; Wade–Giles: Wang Yü-te; 30…
Ong Iok-tek (Ikutoku Ō; 王育德/王育徳; POJ: Ông Io̍k-tek; Hepburn:Ō Ikutoku: pinyin: Wáng Yùdé; Wade–Giles: Wang Yü-te; 30 January 1924–9 September 1985) was a Taiwanese scholar and early leader of the Taiwan independence movement. He is considered to be an authority on the Southern Min language family and the Taiwanese language. He was born in Tainan Prefecture (modern-day Tainan), during Japanese rule, of a prominent family. He attended Tokyo Imperial University in 1943 but the ongoing World War II compelled him to return to Taiwan after a year. Following the war and handover of Taiwan he took a critical attitude toward the Kuomintang, one accentuated by the killing of his brother, Wang Yu-lin, a Tokyo-educated prosecutor, in the February 28 Incident. His own life threatened by the new regime, he fled to Japan in 1949 and spent the rest of his life there in addition to various other places. He resumed his studies in May 1950, and after completing his Ph.D. in 1969 at the University of Tokyo, he later taught Taiwanese at Meiji University in 1974. He also played a leading role in garnering support for the Taiwan independence movement within Japan. As a student he had joined Thomas Liao's Republic of Taiwan Provisional Government but became dissatisfied with it after two years. He established the Taiwan Youth Association in 1960 and published the organization's influential monthly Taiwan Seinen in Japanese (later for a time in Chinese) and Formosan Quarterly in English. The Taiwan Youth Association later changed its name to the Taiwan Youth Independence League. In the 1970s he was a leader in the campaign to secure compensation for the 200,000 Taiwanese who had served as soldiers under the Imperial Japanese military. In 1982 he served as a committee member of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs. Ong argued that Han people were a folk, and not a nation, and that Hakka and Hoklos are smaller folks within the Han. Ong further argued that after Japan modernized Taiwan, the Taiwanese nation was established with Taiwan being pre-national as the Japanese ruled it, and that modern capitalism creates a nation. Ong argued that Taiwanese people can become a nation within the state container if Taiwan becomes an independent state. Shaojin Chai, author of Taiwanese Nationalism: Situation Dependency and Elite Games, said that Ong's view of a nation is that it is "the modern construction of state" and that his concept "responded to the modernity of nationalism". Chai added that "Ong's Taiwanese nationalism theory indicates that nationalism precedes nation, and without a state, there could be no nation." Chai added that Ong and Thomas Liao were both perceived as Mainlanders in Taiwan and Chinese people in Mainland China, and hence were viewed as oppressors of Taiwanese people and non-Taiwanese. Chai explained that Ong placed emphasis on the "political construction" while Liao placed emphasis on "primordial criteria". In regards to reception to Ong's ideas, Chai said that Taiwanese people at the time of Ong's active period did believe they were a folk of Han people, even though they did have a strong provincial identity. Chai added that "Ong's argument was especially convincing to Holos [sic], but it is problematic when applied to indigenous peoples. Following his rationale, the different indigenous tribes also have to [sic] right to build their state to form their own nations."
Kosaku Inaba (稲葉 興作, Inaba Kōsaku; January 16, 1924 – November 16, 2006) was a Singapore-born Japanese businessman…
Kosaku Inaba (稲葉 興作, Inaba Kōsaku; January 16, 1924 – November 16, 2006) was a Singapore-born Japanese businessman, former president of Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., head of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (1993–2001) and second president of Nippon Kaigi (1998–2001). He was a graduate of Azabu High School and Tokyo Institute of Technology. He joined the Ishikawajima Shibaura Turbine Co. in 1946. In 1962, the company merged with Ishikawajima-Shibaura Seiki Co. and Shibaura Sewing Machine Co. and changed its name to its current one. Inaba rose through the ranks as board director, managing director and senior vice president before becoming president of the company in 1983 and chairman in 1995. He was a recipient of the Order of the Rising Sun.
Shōtarō Moriyasu (守安 祥太郎, Moriyasu Shōtarō; January 5, 1924 – September 25, 1955) was a Japanese jazz pianist. He…
Shōtarō Moriyasu (守安 祥太郎, Moriyasu Shōtarō; January 5, 1924 – September 25, 1955) was a Japanese jazz pianist. He became a leading bebop musician in Japan in the early to mid-1950s, but was never officially recorded. His suicide at the age of 31 contributed to his image as a tragic artistic figure in jazz.
Kim Chung-yum (Korean: 김정렴; Hanja: 金正濂; 3 January 1924 – 25 April 2020) was a South Korean politician. Under President…
Kim Chung-yum (Korean: 김정렴; Hanja: 金正濂; 3 January 1924 – 25 April 2020) was a South Korean politician. Under President Park Chung Hee, he was the longest serving chief presidential secretary in South Korean history. He also served as Minister of Finance and Minister of Commerce and Industry, playing a leading role in the country's miraculous economic development. Kim died on April 25, 2020.
Susumu Ishii (Japanese: 石井 進; 1924–1991) was the second kaicho (godfather) of the Inagawa-kai yakuza gang in Japan. He…
Susumu Ishii (Japanese: 石井 進; 1924–1991) was the second kaicho (godfather) of the Inagawa-kai yakuza gang in Japan. He was also fifth socho of the Yokosuka-ikka. Ishii was born in Yokosuka in 1924. As a child, he moved with his family to Kamakura where they ran a small noodle shop. In World War II, he was assigned to a kaiten unit of the Japanese Navy but was not given the chance to take part in a suicide attack. After the war, he became a yakuza and joined the Inagawa-kai in 1958. He rose to the number two position in that gang, but was imprisoned for a gambling scam from 1978 to 1984. After serving his time in prison Ishii spoke to the media, saying; "We cannot succeed in the yakuza world unless we are active and aggressive until our early forties. After that, we have to adapt our lives to ordinary society. We cannot always be so forceful." His house remains in Yokosuka city, a three-storey, brick house in French, Greek and Italian styles. Ishii owned the Iwama Country Club, with a 36 holes, luxurious golf course. Ishii gathered the wealthiest of Japan and asked them to buy memberships, at a cost of over 200,000 USD. The golf course was a success, bringing millions to Ishii. He was released from prison at the start of Japan's bubble economy in 1984. Through various loans, banking deals, and real estate scams, he accumulated assets of over $4 billion which he invested in projects around the world, including in Korea and the United States. In 1989, his group even hired Prescott Bush Jr., the brother of President George H. W. Bush, as an advisor (Bush denied knowing his clients' criminal background). The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper stated, "Almost every money transaction was related to Susumu Ishii in the 80s and 90s." Ishii's money went overseas as well. He invested in hotels in Monaco, Hong Kong and America. In total he invested 700 million dollars around the world. Throughout various investments he was able to have successful international relations and grow his money. Ishii was known as the "World's Richest Gangster" or "The Gangster With the Golden Touch".
Toyoko Yamasaki (山崎 豊子, Yamasaki Toyoko; real name Sugimoto Toyoko (杉本 豊子); 3 November 1924 – 29 September 2013) was a…
Toyoko Yamasaki (山崎 豊子, Yamasaki Toyoko; real name Sugimoto Toyoko (杉本 豊子); 3 November 1924 – 29 September 2013) was a Japanese novelist. A native of Osaka, Yamasaki worked as a journalist for the Mainichi Shimbun from 1945 to 1959 after graduating from Kyoto Women's University in Japanese literature. She published her first story, Noren (1957), a story of a kelp trader, based on the experiences of her family's business. The following year, she won the Naoki Prize for her second novel Hana Noren, the story about the founder of an entertainment group. A major influence on her writings of that period was Yasushi Inoue, who was deputy head of the Mainichi Shimbun's cultural news desk. Yamasaki wrote some stories based on actual events. For example, Futatsu no Sokoku is derived from the biography of a Japanese American David Akira Itami, and Shizumanu Taiyō is based on the Japan Air Lines Flight 123 accident. Several works of hers were featured in films and television dramas.
Masao Kawai (河合 雅雄, Kawai Masao; January 2, 1924 – May 14, 2021) was a Japanese primatologist, who introduced the…
Masao Kawai (河合 雅雄, Kawai Masao; January 2, 1924 – May 14, 2021) was a Japanese primatologist, who introduced the concept of kyōkan as a means of studying primates in his book Life of Japanese Monkeys (1969).
Genichi Taguchi (田口 玄一, Taguchi Gen'ichi; January 1, 1924 – June 2, 2012) was a Japanese engineer and statistician.…
Genichi Taguchi (田口 玄一, Taguchi Gen'ichi; January 1, 1924 – June 2, 2012) was a Japanese engineer and statistician. From the 1950s on, Taguchi developed a methodology for applying statistics to improve the quality of manufactured goods. Taguchi methods have been controversial among some conventional Western statisticians, but others have accepted many of the concepts introduced by him as valid extensions to the body of knowledge.
Yoko Matsuoka McClain (January 1, 1924 – November 2, 2011) was a Japanese-born American professor of Japanese language…
Yoko Matsuoka McClain (January 1, 1924 – November 2, 2011) was a Japanese-born American professor of Japanese language and literature at the University of Oregon. She was the granddaughter of Japanese novelist, Natsume Sōseki, from her maternal lineage. McClain was born Yoko Matsuoka in Tokyo. She graduated from Tsuda College in 1945 and found work as a translator during the Occupation of Japan by the Americans following World War II. She obtained a scholarship, the forebear of the Fulbright Program, to study at the University of Oregon. As a student, Matsuoka worked as a receptionist for the University of Oregon's art museum, now called the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. She received a bachelor's degree in French from the University of Oregon in 1956 and a master's degree in comparative literature in 1967. McClain taught Japanese literature at the University of Oregon from 1964 to 1994, when she became a professor emeritus. She authored more than a dozen books and scholarly works on Japanese studies. Her husband, George Robert McClain, collected Japanese prints and art, which she donated to Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art following his death. The Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs honored McClain for her contributions to Japanese-U.S. cultural relations in 2003. The University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences also awarded her the Alumni Fellows Award in 2003. In August 2011, McClain received the Gertrude Bass Warner Award from the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. McClain died from a stroke on November 2, 2011, aged 87.
Teruo Ishii (石井輝男, Ishii Teruo; January 1, 1924 – August 12, 2005) was a Japanese film director best known in the West…
Teruo Ishii (石井輝男, Ishii Teruo; January 1, 1924 – August 12, 2005) was a Japanese film director best known in the West for his early films in the Super Giant series, and for his films in the ero guro ("erotic-grotesque") subgenre of sexploitation such as Shogun's Joy of Torture (1968). He also directed the 1965 film Abashiri Prison, which helped to make Ken Takakura a major star in Japan. Referred to in Japan as "The King of Cult", Ishii had a much more prolific and eclectic career than was generally known in the West during his lifetime.
Ki-baik Lee (Korean: 이기백; 1924–2004) was a Korean historian. He was born in Jeongju-gun, in North Pyeongan province in…
Ki-baik Lee (Korean: 이기백; 1924–2004) was a Korean historian. He was born in Jeongju-gun, in North Pyeongan province in what is today North Korea. He graduated from the Osan School in 1941, attending Waseda University in Tokyo but ultimately graduating from Seoul National University in 1947. Lee was a notable historian. He served as professor of history at Sogang University, Seoul. His most noted work was the New History of Korea (Kuksa Sillon, to echo Shin Chaeho's 1908 Doksa Sillon), first published in 1967 and revised thereafter. New History of Korea was published in English in translation by Edward W. Wagner. Lee was given the Inchon Award in 1990.
Sadamu Takahashi (高橋 定, Takahashi Sadamu; December 5, 1912 – December 25, 2015) was a dive bomber pilot officer in the…
Sadamu Takahashi (高橋 定, Takahashi Sadamu; December 5, 1912 – December 25, 2015) was a dive bomber pilot officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II. He is best known for leading the Zuikaku's dive bomber squadron during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. He survived the war and later served in the Japan Self-Defense Forces retiring in 1970 with the rank of Vice Admiral.
Ujitoshi Konomi (16 December 1912 – 5 March 1980) was a Japanese sport shooter who competed in the 1956 Summer…
Ujitoshi Konomi (16 December 1912 – 5 March 1980) was a Japanese sport shooter who competed in the 1956 Summer Olympics. Hip hop artist UZI is Konomi's grandson.
Minoru Takita (Japanese: 滝田 実, 15 December 1912 – 9 December 2000) was a Japanese trade union leader. Born in the…
Minoru Takita (Japanese: 滝田 実, 15 December 1912 – 9 December 2000) was a Japanese trade union leader. Born in the Toyama Prefecture, Takita qualified as an electrical engineer at Takaoka Technical College, then worked at Nisshin Bõseki. In 1948, he became the chair of the union at Nisshin Bōseki, and also of the Japan Federation of Textile Workers' Unions (Zensen), to which it was affiliated. In 1954, he additionally became president of the All-Japan Trade Union Congress (Zenrō), serving until 1964, when it merged into the Japanese Confederation of Labour (Dōmei). Takita became a vice chair of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in 1965, and in 1968 also became president of the ICFTU Asia and Pacific Regional Organisation. The same year, he became the president of the Dōmei. He resigned from the leadership of Zensen in 1971, becoming honorary president, and in 1972 he left the leadership of Dōmei. In retirement, Takita worked as an advisor to his former unions, and in 1981, he was awarded the First Class Great Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun. He died in 2000.
Tetsuji Takechi (武智 鉄二, Takechi Tetsuji; 10 December 1912 – 26 July 1988) was a Japanese theatrical and film director…
Tetsuji Takechi (武智 鉄二, Takechi Tetsuji; 10 December 1912 – 26 July 1988) was a Japanese theatrical and film director, critic, and author. First coming to prominence for his theatrical criticism, in the 1940s and 1950s he produced influential and popular experimental kabuki plays. Beginning in the mid-1950s, he continued his innovative theatrical work in noh, kyōgen and modern theater. In late 1956 and early 1957 he hosted a popular TV program, The Tetsuji Takechi Hour, which featured his reinterpretations of Japanese stage classics. In the 1960s, Takechi entered the film industry by producing controversial soft-core theatrical pornography. His 1964 film Daydream was the first big-budget, mainstream pink film released in Japan. After the release of his 1965 film Black Snow, the government arrested him on indecency charges. The trial became a public battle over censorship between Japan's intellectuals and the government. Takechi won the lawsuit, enabling the wave of softcore pink films which dominated Japan's domestic cinema during the 1960s and 1970s. In the later 1960s, Takechi produced three more pink films. Takechi did not work in film during most of the 1970s. In the 1980s, he remade Daydream twice, starring actress Kyōko Aizome in both films. The first Daydream remake (1981) is considered the first theatrical hardcore pornographic film in Japan. Though Takechi is largely unknown in Japan today, he was influential in both the cinema and the theater during his lifetime, and his innovations in kabuki were felt for decades. He also helped shape the future of the pink film in Japan through his battles against governmental censorship, earning him the titles, "The Father of Pink" and "The Father of Japanese Porn."
Yasutake Funakoshi (舟越 保武, Funakoshi Yasutake; December 7, 1912 – February 5, 2002) was a Japanese sculptor and painter.
Shigeru Egami (江上 茂, Egami Shigeru; December 7, 1912 – January 8, 1981) was a pioneering Japanese master of Shotokan…
Shigeru Egami (江上 茂, Egami Shigeru; December 7, 1912 – January 8, 1981) was a pioneering Japanese master of Shotokan karate who founded the Shōtōkai style. He was a student of Gichin Funakoshi, who is widely recognized as the founder of modern karate.
Keisuke Kinoshita (木下 惠介, Kinoshita Keisuke; December 5, 1912 – December 30, 1998) was a Japanese film director and…
Keisuke Kinoshita (木下 惠介, Kinoshita Keisuke; December 5, 1912 – December 30, 1998) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. While lesser-known internationally than contemporaries such as Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi and Yasujirō Ozu, he was a household figure in his home country, beloved by both critics and audiences from the 1940s to the 1960s. Kinoshita's films were marked by a sense of sentimentality, purity, and beauty, and often featured experimentation in both technique and subject matter. Kinoshita entered the film industry in 1933 as a film processor. He moved on to the position of camera assistant, then assistant director. In 1943, Kinoshita was promoted to director and released his first film, Port of Flowers. A prolific filmmaker, Kinoshita directed 43 films in the first 23 years of his career, and then five more after a stint in television production. Among his best known films are Carmen Comes Home (1951), A Japanese Tragedy (1953), Twenty-Four Eyes (1954), She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum (1955) and The Ballad of Narayama (1958).
Kozo Saeki (佐伯幸三, Saeki Kōzō) (4 December 1912 – 27 December 1972) was a Japanese film director.
Hajime Nakamura (中村 元, Nakamura Hajime; November 28, 1912 – October 10, 1999) was a Japanese Orientalist, Indologist…
Hajime Nakamura (中村 元, Nakamura Hajime; November 28, 1912 – October 10, 1999) was a Japanese Orientalist, Indologist, philosopher and academic of Vedic, Hindu and Buddhist scriptures.
Shūji Sano (佐野周二, Sano Shūji; October 10, 1912 – December 21, 1978) was a Japanese actor active from 1936 to 1977. A…
Shūji Sano (佐野周二, Sano Shūji; October 10, 1912 – December 21, 1978) was a Japanese actor active from 1936 to 1977. A popular star of the Shōchiku film studios, he is best known for his appearances in the films of Yasujirō Ozu, Keisuke Kinoshita, Heinosuke Gosho and Hiroshi Shimizu.
Kazuo Yamada (山田 一雄, Yamada Kazuo; 19 October 1912 – 13 August 1991) was a Japanese conductor and composer.
Lt. Col. Masataka Ida (井田 正孝, Ida Masataka; 5 October 1912 – 6 February 2004) was a young Lieutenant Colonel in the…
Lt. Col. Masataka Ida (井田 正孝, Ida Masataka; 5 October 1912 – 6 February 2004) was a young Lieutenant Colonel in the Military Affairs Section of the Japanese Ministry of War, at the end of World War II. He had been stationed on Formosa (Taiwan), but was ordered back to Tokyo early in 1945. Along with Major Kenji Hatanaka and a few others, he was one of the chief conspirators in the Kyūjō incident to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Kantarō Suzuki; they wished to see the institution of martial law under War Minister Korechika Anami. The plan changed, however, into a plot, engineered by Major Kenji Hatanaka, to seize the Imperial Palace and prevent the broadcast of the Emperor's surrender speech. Lt. Col. Ida took part in this plot only briefly, trying to talk Hatanaka out of it by the end. Not many know about his attempted 'coup', which, although it failed, came dangerously close to lengthening the war, and altering the face of modern history. Ida saw the surrender as suicide on the part of the nation as a whole, and as an attempt by the Cabinet members to save their own lives, with no regard for the nation's honor. He decided that the only way for the military to regain its honor, and apologize to the Emperor for being defeated was for them to commit mass suicide by seppuku. Failing that, he intended to commit seppuku himself. Upon being asked by Major Hatanaka, the creator of the plot, to join him, he replied that the plot offered no guarantee of success, and might even lead to a civil war. He refused to join the plot, opting instead to continue his preparations for suicide. Ida was convinced for a time to help Hatanaka, by asking for support from Lt. Gen. Takeshi Mori of the 1st Imperial Guards Division, and from the Eastern District Army. As he explained his reasoning to Mori, he became more and more passionate about going through with the plot. However, after Mori's refusal to support the uprising, and subsequent murder, and Ida's inability to gain the support of the Eastern District Army, he decided that the plan could never succeed. He went to the Imperial Palace to warn Hatanaka that the Eastern District Army was on their way to stop him, and that he should give up. Ida felt that there was no longer a chance for success, and the only honorable end to it could come from suicide. Convinced he had done all he could to dissuade Hatanaka, Ida went to tell War Minister Korechika Anami of the occupation of the Palace. Told that Anami was preparing to commit seppuku, Ida informed the Minister of his intentions to do the same. Anami insisted that he live on, that it was more courageous to work for the rebuilding of Japan than to commit suicide. Anami killed himself, and Ida was placed under watch to make sure he did not do the same. Following Anami's orders, Ida survived through the end of the war. Ida was court-martialed for his part in the coup, but managed to convince the court that he had genuinely tried to undo his mistake through his attempt to convince Hatanaka to give up on the plot. Post-war, he would be provisionally barred from public office. He would later become the head of the general affairs department for Dentsu, Japan's largest advertising agency. In 1955, he divorced and changed his name to Iwada.
Count Hirohide Fushimi (伏見 博英, Fushimi Hirohide; 4 October 1912 – 21 August 1943) of Japan, was a member of a…
Count Hirohide Fushimi (伏見 博英, Fushimi Hirohide; 4 October 1912 – 21 August 1943) of Japan, was a member of a collateral branch of the Japanese imperial family and a career officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy who was killed in the line of duty in World War II.
Motosaburo Masuyama (増山 元三郎, Masuyama Motosaburō; October 3, 1912 – 3 July 2005) was a Japanese statistician who…
Motosaburo Masuyama (増山 元三郎, Masuyama Motosaburō; October 3, 1912 – 3 July 2005) was a Japanese statistician who championed the ideas of R.A. Fisher and went on to influence the fields of quality control and biometrics.
Takaaki Hattori (Japanese: 服部高顯; October 1, 1912 – March 24, 1993) was the 9th Chief Justice of Japan (1979–1982). He…
Takaaki Hattori (Japanese: 服部高顯; October 1, 1912 – March 24, 1993) was the 9th Chief Justice of Japan (1979–1982). He was a graduate of the University of Tokyo. He was a recipient of the Order of the Rising Sun.
Shoichiro Takenaka (竹中 正一郎, Takenaka Shōichirō; 30 September 1912 – 4 April 1997) was a Japanese long-distance runner.…
Shoichiro Takenaka (竹中 正一郎, Takenaka Shōichirō; 30 September 1912 – 4 April 1997) was a Japanese long-distance runner. He competed in the men's 5000 metres at the 1932 Summer Olympics.
Tomie Ōhara (大原 富枝; September 28, 1912 – January 27, 2000) was a Japanese novelist. She is best known for her novel A…
Tomie Ōhara (大原 富枝; September 28, 1912 – January 27, 2000) was a Japanese novelist. She is best known for her novel A Woman Called En.
Masao Harada (原田 正夫, Harada Masao; September 22, 1912 – January 22, 2000) was a Japanese athlete who competed mainly in…
Masao Harada (原田 正夫, Harada Masao; September 22, 1912 – January 22, 2000) was a Japanese athlete who competed mainly in the triple jump. In this event he won a silver medal at the 1936 Olympics. He won two more silver medals, in the long jump and triple jump, at the 1934 Far Eastern Championship Games.
Rihei Sano (佐野 理平, Sano Rihei; September 21, 1912 – March 26, 1992) was a Japanese football player. He played for Japan…
Rihei Sano (佐野 理平, Sano Rihei; September 21, 1912 – March 26, 1992) was a Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team.
Sir Masaharu Matsushita (松下 正治, Matsushita Masaharu; September 17, 1912 – July 16, 2012), was a Japanese businessman…
Sir Masaharu Matsushita (松下 正治, Matsushita Masaharu; September 17, 1912 – July 16, 2012), was a Japanese businessman who served as the second President of Panasonic for sixteen years beginning in 1961. He was the son-in-law of Panasonic's founder, Konosuke Matsushita. Masaharu Matsushita has been credited with expanding Panasonic into a global brand during a time of high economic expansion in Japan.
Tomomi Narita (成田 知巳, Narita Tomomi; 15 September 1912 – 9 March 1979) was a Japanese politician who served as the…
Tomomi Narita (成田 知巳, Narita Tomomi; 15 September 1912 – 9 March 1979) was a Japanese politician who served as the chairman for the Japan Socialist Party from 1968 to 1977. He also served in a few other capacities, such as Chief of the Policy Deliberation Group and Secretary General.
Ishimoda Shō (石母田 正; 9 September 1912 – 18 January 1986), born in Sapporo, was a Japanese historian specializing in…
Ishimoda Shō (石母田 正; 9 September 1912 – 18 January 1986), born in Sapporo, was a Japanese historian specializing in ancient Japanese history, with a particular interest in the nature of the structural transition from the ancient to the medieval period. As an orthodox materialist, he was a lifetime member of the Communist Party, and influential Marxist scholar in the analyses on Japanese history conducted by members of the post-war Rekiken group. In the 1950s, after the success of the Chinese Communist Revolution in 1949, he espoused that model as the Asian alternative to Westernization, which had failed in Japan.
Ichiji Otani (大谷 一二, Otani Ichiji; August 31, 1912 – November 23, 2007) was a Japanese football player. He played for…
Ichiji Otani (大谷 一二, Otani Ichiji; August 31, 1912 – November 23, 2007) was a Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team.
Katsumi Tezuka (手塚 勝巳, Tezuka Katsumi; born August 31, 1912, date of death unknown) was a Japanese actor. He is best…
Katsumi Tezuka (手塚 勝巳, Tezuka Katsumi; born August 31, 1912, date of death unknown) was a Japanese actor. He is best known for playing monsters in several Toho science fiction and horror films directed by Ishirō Honda.
Sohn Kee-chung (Korean: 손기정; Korean pronunciation: [son.kidʑʌŋ]; August 29, 1912 – November 15, 2002) was a Korean…
Sohn Kee-chung (Korean: 손기정; Korean pronunciation: [son.kidʑʌŋ]; August 29, 1912 – November 15, 2002) was a Korean Olympic athlete and long-distance runner. He became the first Korean to win a medal at the Olympic Games, winning gold in the marathon at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He was born in the Korean Peninsula, but he was forced to compete as a member of the Japanese delegation because Korea was under Japanese rule at the time. Sohn set an Olympic record of 2 hours 29 minutes 19.2 seconds. Sohn competed under the Japanese name Kitei Son, as Korea was under Japanese occupation during his career.