Yurie Miura (三浦 友理枝, Miura Yurie) is a Japanese pianist and actress from Oota, Tokyo. After graduating from Ferris High…Yurie Miura (三浦 友理枝, Miura Yurie) is a Japanese pianist and actress from Oota, Tokyo. After graduating from Ferris High School in Yokohama and later studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. In 2001, she won first prize of the Maria Canals International Music Competition.
Sayumi Horie (堀江 さゆみ, Horie Sayumi; born June 23, 1963 in Yokohama city, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese NHK…Sayumi Horie (堀江 さゆみ, Horie Sayumi; born June 23, 1963 in Yokohama city, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese NHK employee and former television announcer, and a graduate of the University of Tokyo's arts department. In June 1998, she appeared on "Live from Studio Park", NHK's live talk show. Sayumi Michishige, former member of J-pop idol group Morning Musume, was named after Horie by her father.
Izumi Nakamitsu (中満 泉 Nakamitsu Izumi; born 1963) is a United Nations Under-Secretary-General of Disarmament Affairs…Izumi Nakamitsu (中満 泉 Nakamitsu Izumi; born 1963) is a United Nations Under-Secretary-General of Disarmament Affairs from March 29, 2017, appointed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. She succeeded Kim Won-soo of the Republic of Korea. Prior to this, she served as the Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator, and Crisis Response Unit leader of the United Nations Development Programme. Nakamitsu began her career with the United Nations in 2008, and during that time has held several high-level positions with the Organization. From 2016 to 2017, she was the Special Adviser Ad Interim on Follow-up to the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants. Previous to this, she held the position of Director in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations. Nakamitsu is married to Magnus Lennartsson, a Swedish diplomat serving as Deputy Permanent Representative for the Swedish Mission to the United Nations in New York, and former Deputy chief of mission for the Embassy of Sweden, Tokyo. They have 2 daughters.
Anna Ogino (荻野 アンナ, Ogino Anna; born November 7, 1956) is a Japanese author and emeritus professor of literature at…Anna Ogino (荻野 アンナ, Ogino Anna; born November 7, 1956) is a Japanese author and emeritus professor of literature at Keio University. She has won the Akutagawa Prize, the Yomiuri Prize, and the Itō Sei Literature Prize.
Mayumi Miyata (宮田 まゆみ, Miyata Mayumi) is a Japanese player of the shō, a traditional Japanese mouth organ. Miyata was…Mayumi Miyata (宮田 まゆみ, Miyata Mayumi) is a Japanese player of the shō, a traditional Japanese mouth organ. Miyata was born on April 1, 1954, in Tokyo and graduated from the Kunitachi College of Music, where she majored in piano. While in school, she began studying gagaku music from Ono Tadamaro of the Imperial Household Agency. From 1979 she performed in gagaku concerts at the National Theatre of Japan, and from 1983 she began giving solo shō recitals, which brought her wider public attention. Although the shō is generally associated with Japan's ancient gagaku court music, Miyata was among the first players of the instrument to specialize in contemporary classical music. She plays a specially constructed instrument with extra pipes, allowing for the use of more chromaticism. The US composer John Cage (1912–1992) composed a number of works for Miyata just before his death. Cage met her during the 1990 Darmstadt summer course. She has also premiered works by Tōru Takemitsu, Toshi Ichiyanagi, Maki Ishii, Joji Yuasa, Klaus Huber, Toshio Hosokawa, and Uroš Rojko, and has performed with major orchestras internationally, including the Saito Kinen Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa, the NHK Symphony Orchestra under Charles Dutoit, the New York Philharmonic under André Previn, and the Czech Philharmonic under Vladimir Ashkenazy. In 1998, Miyata performed the Japanese national anthem, "Kimigayo", at the opening ceremony of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. In 2005, Miyata performed in three songs by the Icelandic musician Björk, for the soundtrack album to Drawing Restraint 9, a film by Björk's contemporary media artist boyfriend Matthew Barney, about Japanese culture and whaling. Miyata also appeared in the film, playing the shō in one scene. Previously, a piece written for and recorded by Miyata, "Music for Shō and Harp" by Cort Lippe, was sampled in the Björk single, "Venus as a Boy". She has performed in Japan, Australia, the United States, and Europe.
Masako Ōkawara (大河原 雅子; born 8 April 1953) is a Japanese politician of the Constitutional Democratic Party and a former…Masako Ōkawara (大河原 雅子; born 8 April 1953) is a Japanese politician of the Constitutional Democratic Party and a former member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture and 1977 graduate of International Christian University, she had served in the assembly of Tokyo for three terms (ten years) since 1993. She was a member of the House of Councillors between 2007 and 2013.
Shiho Fujimura (藤村 志保 Fujimura Shiho, 3 January 1939 – 12 June 2025) was a Japanese actress. She was given a Special…Shiho Fujimura (藤村 志保 Fujimura Shiho, 3 January 1939 – 12 June 2025) was a Japanese actress. She was given a Special Prize for her career at the 2008 Yokohama Film Festival. Fujimura died on 12 June 2025, at the age of 86.
Kashiko Kawakita (川喜多かしこ, Kawakita Kashiko; March 21, 1908 - July 27, 1993) was a Japanese film producer and film…Kashiko Kawakita (川喜多かしこ, Kawakita Kashiko; March 21, 1908 - July 27, 1993) was a Japanese film producer and film curator, and the wife of Nagamasa Kawakita. As vice president of Tōwa Trading, together with her husband and daughter Kazuko Kawakita she was influential in the development of the post-war Japanese film industry, sponsoring actors and actresses, and in promoting Japanese cinema to overseas audiences.
Wakamatsu Shizuko (若松 賤子; 6 September 1864 – 10 February 1896) was a Japanese educator, translator, and novelist best…Wakamatsu Shizuko (若松 賤子; 6 September 1864 – 10 February 1896) was a Japanese educator, translator, and novelist best known for translating Little Lord Fauntleroy written by Frances Hodgson Burnett. She is also known for introducing literature with Christianity for children's novels.
