Heitaro Nakajima (中島 平太郎, Nakajima Heitarō; 19 March 1921 – 9 December 2017) was a Japanese digital audio pioneer, who…
Heitaro Nakajima (中島 平太郎, Nakajima Heitarō; 19 March 1921 – 9 December 2017) was a Japanese digital audio pioneer, who led Sony's Compact Disc project in the 1970s. Born in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, Nakajima graduated from the Tokyo Institute of Technology with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1944, and earned a Doctor of Engineering degree from Kyushu University in 1958. In 1971, Nakajima joined Sony as a managing director, hired by Sony's co-founder and president at large, Masaru Ibuka. He became president of Aiwa in 1984. In 1989, he received the first IEEE Masaru Ibuka Consumer Electronics Award and in 1993 he was awarded the Purple Ribbon Medal for CD development.
Famous People Born in 1920s
1920s: 838 people
Xie Xide (simplified Chinese: 谢希德; traditional Chinese: 謝希德; pinyin: Xiè Xīdé; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chiā Hi-tek; 19 March 1921 –…
Xie Xide (simplified Chinese: 谢希德; traditional Chinese: 謝希德; pinyin: Xiè Xīdé; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chiā Hi-tek; 19 March 1921 – 4 March 2000), also known as Hsi-teh Hsieh and as Hilda Hsieh, was a Chinese physicist. She was president of Fudan University from 1983 to 1989, and remained as advisor to the university from 1989 until her death. She helped to set up the university's Centre for American Studies and founded its Modern Physics Institute in 1977. Xie also served as a member in the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party from 1982 to 1992.
Motofumi Makieda (Japanese: 槙枝元文, 4 March 1921 – 4 December 2010) was a Japanese trade union leader. Makieda qualified…
Motofumi Makieda (Japanese: 槙枝元文, 4 March 1921 – 4 December 2010) was a Japanese trade union leader. Makieda qualified as a teacher during World War II, then taught at a junior high school. After the war, he was a founding member of the Japan Teachers' Union (JTU), and became its general secretary in 1962, and then president in 1971, in which role he promoted education for peace. In 1974, he led the union in a national strike. As it was illegal for teachers to strike, he was imprisoned, being released following an international campaign. From 1976, he was additionally president of the General Council of Trade Unions of Japan (Sohyo). In 1978, he was elected as president of the World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession, serving until 1982, during which time he built links between the federation and the rival International Federation of Free Teachers' Unions. Makieda retired in 1983, and thereafter devoted his time to the Japan-China Friendship Society. He also supported the merger of Sohyo into RENGO, a new trade union federation.
Kenji Misumi (三隅 研次, Misumi Kenji) (2 March 1921 – 24 September 1975) was a Japanese film director. He created film…
Kenji Misumi (三隅 研次, Misumi Kenji) (2 March 1921 – 24 September 1975) was a Japanese film director. He created film series such as Lone Wolf and Cub and the initial film in the long-running Zatoichi series, and also directed Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice, starring Shintaro Katsu. He died at age 54. In 2012, his 1973 film Sakura no Daimon was voted for by Makoto Shinozaki at the BFI The Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time.
Hirofumi Daimatsu (大松 博文, Daimatsu Hirofumi; 12 February 1921 – 24 November 1978) was a Japanese volleyball coach and a…
Hirofumi Daimatsu (大松 博文, Daimatsu Hirofumi; 12 February 1921 – 24 November 1978) was a Japanese volleyball coach and a Japanese politician. He led Oriental Witches, nickname of "Nichibo Kaizuka", a factory volleyball team of Dai Nippon Spinning Co., Ltd. (later, Nichibo, thereafter, Unitika) in Kaizuka, Osaka given by the reports of European media when they achieved 24 consecutive victories against other national teams on the expedition to Europe, to world champion.
Yozo Matsushima (松島 与三, Matsushima Yozō; February 11, 1921 – April 9, 1983) was a Japanese mathematician, who made…
Yozo Matsushima (松島 与三, Matsushima Yozō; February 11, 1921 – April 9, 1983) was a Japanese mathematician, who made important contributions to Differential Geometry and the theory of Lie Groups.
Junzō Shōno (庄野 潤三, Shōno Junzō; 9 February 1921 – 21 September 2009) was a Japanese novelist. A native of Osaka, he…
Junzō Shōno (庄野 潤三, Shōno Junzō; 9 February 1921 – 21 September 2009) was a Japanese novelist. A native of Osaka, he began writing novels after World War II. He won the 1954 Akutagawa Prize for his book Purusaido Shokei (Poolside Scene). Shōno's other award-winning books include Seibutsu (Still Life), for which he won the Shinchosha literary prize, Yube no Kumo (Evening Clouds), which was awarded the 1965 Yomiuri Prize, and Eawase (Picture Cards) which took the Noma literary prize.
Akio Morita (盛田 昭夫, Morita Akio; January 26, 1921 – October 3, 1999) was a Japanese entrepreneur and co-founder of Sony…
Akio Morita (盛田 昭夫, Morita Akio; January 26, 1921 – October 3, 1999) was a Japanese entrepreneur and co-founder of Sony along with Masaru Ibuka.
Masamine Sumitani (隅谷正峯; born Sumitani Yoichiro; 14 January 1921 – 12 December 1998) was a Japanese swordsmith.…
Masamine Sumitani (隅谷正峯; born Sumitani Yoichiro; 14 January 1921 – 12 December 1998) was a Japanese swordsmith. Sumitani's family ran a soy-sauce manufacturing business, but rather than entering the family trade, Masamine opted to study at Ritsumeikan University, with a view to becoming a swordsmith, graduating in 1941 with a degree in mechanical engineering. After his graduation, Sumitani remained at Kyoto, studying (alongside Masayuki Nagare) under Sakurai Masayuki. When the University's sword studio was destroyed in a fire in 1942, Sumitani moved to Onomichi to continue his education at the Foundation of National Japanese Sword Studies and the Kokoku Japanese Sword Temper Workshop there. Sumitani settled in Mattō, Ishikawa. He worked in the Bizen tradition, and was noted for his choji midare or "clove patterns" along the hamon of his blades. As well as swords, Sumitani also specialised in the forging of tosu knives and was a practitioner of bachiru. In 1975 he co-founded the Zen Nihon Toshokai ("Japanese Swordsmith's Association"), and served as the group's Vice-Secretary.
Yoichiro Nambu (南部 陽一郎, Nanbu Yōichirō; 18 January 1921 – 5 July 2015) was a Japanese-American physicist and professor…
Yoichiro Nambu (南部 陽一郎, Nanbu Yōichirō; 18 January 1921 – 5 July 2015) was a Japanese-American physicist and professor at the University of Chicago. Known for his groundbreaking contributions to theoretical physics, Nambu was the originator of the theory of spontaneous symmetry breaking, a concept that revolutionized particle physics. He was also a pioneer of quantum chromodynamics (QCD), one of the founding figures of string theory, and the proposer of Nambu mechanics. In addition, he co-created the Nambu–Jona-Lasinio model, which explained the dynamical origin of mass in nucleons. He was awarded half of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2008 for the discovery in 1960 of the mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics, related at first to the strong interaction's chiral symmetry and later to the electroweak interaction and Higgs mechanism. The other half was split equally between Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa "for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature".
Shunpei Ueyama (上山 春平, Ueyama Shunpei; January 16, 1921 in Wakayama – August 2012, in Minoyama) was a Japanese…
Shunpei Ueyama (上山 春平, Ueyama Shunpei; January 16, 1921 in Wakayama – August 2012, in Minoyama) was a Japanese philosopher associated with the postwar Kyoto School. He graduated in philosophy from Kyoto University in 1943, and trained in a kamikaze human torpedo (gyorai:魚雷) squad. His main professional interest in philosophy were in the fields of logic, and American pragmatism, especially with its founding fathers Charles Sanders Peirce, William James and John Dewey. He was emeritus professor at Kyoto University.
Takasi Yamazaki (Japanese: 山崎敬) (6 January 1921–2 February 2007) was a Japanese botanist and taxonomist. He was born in…
Takasi Yamazaki (Japanese: 山崎敬) (6 January 1921–2 February 2007) was a Japanese botanist and taxonomist. He was born in Odawara and grew up in Yokohama. After graduating from the former Niigata High School, he graduated from Tokyo Imperial University in 1944 and studied Plant taxonomy of since his research in the laboratory of Shoji Honda. Beginning in 1954, he taught at the University of Tokyo, and in 1972, he became been a professor at the Botanical Garden attached to the University of Tokyo. In the 1960s, he participated in a field survey in Bhutan and an academic survey of the Ogasawara Islands. He studied the taxa Scrophulariaceae and Ericaceae. From 1987 to 1988, he was the chairman of the Japanese Society of Plant Taxonomy. The standard author abbreviation T.Yamaz. is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.
Shinya Inoué (井上 信也, Inoue Shin'ya; January 5, 1921 – September 30, 2019) was a Japanese American biophysicist and cell…
Shinya Inoué (井上 信也, Inoue Shin'ya; January 5, 1921 – September 30, 2019) was a Japanese American biophysicist and cell biologist, a member of the National Academy of Sciences. His research field was visualizing dynamic processes within living cells using light microscopy.
Natsuko Kahara (賀原夏子, Kahara Natsuko; 3 January 1921 – 20 February 1991) was a Japanese stage and film actress. She was…
Natsuko Kahara (賀原夏子, Kahara Natsuko; 3 January 1921 – 20 February 1991) was a Japanese stage and film actress. She was a member of the Bungakuza theatre company and regularly appeared in the films of director Mikio Naruse. During her 50 years spanning career, she also worked for directors such as Yasujirō Ozu, Akira Kurosawa, Keisuke Kinoshita and Tadashi Imai.
Yoshikuni Araki (荒木芳邦, Araki Yoshikuni; 1921–1997) was a Japanese garden designer, garden architect, landscape…
Yoshikuni Araki (荒木芳邦, Araki Yoshikuni; 1921–1997) was a Japanese garden designer, garden architect, landscape gardener, landscape architect, and garden creator, who was known for his Japanese-style gardens. Araki was born in Osaka and graduated from the Tokyo Landscaping School (which later became the School of Landscape Architecture at the Tokyo University of Agriculture). Araki trained in landscape design and construction under Sentaro Iwaki in Tokyo.
Nishimoto Tadashi (西本 正, Nishimoto Tadashi) (1921–1997), also known as He Lanshan (Chinese: 賀蘭山; pinyin: Hèlán Shān)…
Nishimoto Tadashi (西本 正, Nishimoto Tadashi) (1921–1997), also known as He Lanshan (Chinese: 賀蘭山; pinyin: Hèlán Shān), was a Japanese cinematographer best known for his work in Hong Kong on films by the Shaw Brothers Studio. He contributed to several Japanese films and over fifty titles in Hong Kong. Nishimoto is recognized for his work on some of the Shaw Brothers' most notable films and for his contributions to the development of film technology of Hong Kong.
Shin Hyun-hwak (Korean: 신현확; Hanja: 申鉉碻; 29 October 1920 – 26 April 2007) was a South Korean politician who served as…
Shin Hyun-hwak (Korean: 신현확; Hanja: 申鉉碻; 29 October 1920 – 26 April 2007) was a South Korean politician who served as the prime minister of South Korea from 1979 to 1980. He was a member of the Democratic Republican Party.
Takashi Kijima (杵島 隆, Kijima Takashi; 1920–2011) was a Japanese photographer best known for his photographs of nudes…
Takashi Kijima (杵島 隆, Kijima Takashi; 1920–2011) was a Japanese photographer best known for his photographs of nudes and of flowers. Kijima was born in Calexico, California on 24 December 1920, the son of a Mr Watanabe, a shoe manufacturer who had immigrated in 1905, and his wife Sei (せい). The boy's name as a US citizen was Ryu Watanabe. In 1924, the Immigration Act and anti-Japanese sentiment brought the family back to Japan, where it separated: the boy's elder brother followed his father to Osaka while Takashi lived with his mother's family in Ōshinotsu (now part of Yonago), Tottori. In 1935 his father gave him a Zeiss Semi Ikonta camera, starting his interest in photography. Despite retaining US nationality at a time of anti-US sentiment, he majored in film at Nihon University, graduating in 1943. Although his elder brother was teaching Japanese to the US Navy and his father was incarcerated in a relocation camp in California (where he would become ill and die), Kijima joined the naval air corps, in a kamikaze unit. At the end of the war, carrying the Rolleicord of one of his wartime comrades, Kijima returned to Yonago and studied photography under Shōji Ueda. Kijima became a proponent of the realist views of Ken Domon, as expressed in Camera magazine. A portrait of an old woman won effusive praise from Domon on its submission to a contest held by Camera. Kijima moved to Tokyo in 1953, working for Light Publicity. He won prizes for his advertising work before and after becoming a freelance in 1956. His 1960 advertisements for Yawata Iron & Steel in Life won an advertising award from Life. He has been called "the most vigorous creator in the world of commercial photography in Japan" during the 1950s and early 1960s. He also trained younger photographers; the commercial photographer Yoichi Aoyagi (青柳陽一) studied under him for two years before going freelance. Since 1945, Kijima had also been following his own, noncommercial interest in photographing nudes in black and white outdoors. His photographing of nude women directly in front of Sakurada gate of the imperial palace in central Tokyo very early one morning in 1958 caused a great moral panic. His 1958 exhibition, titled "Ra" (裸), of nude photographs was the second held in Japan (the first was by Kira Sugiyama); more than thirty thousand people came to see it. At some time in the late 1950s Kijima and Shōzō Kitadai did the photography for an untitled set, designed by Kitadai, of four miniature books (mamebon) of photographs, distributed by Graphic Shūdan (グラフィック集団, Gurafikku Shūdan); its effective use of juxtapositions and miniature format has elevated it to fame among the Japanese photobooks of the time. Kijima gradually turned toward photographing traditional Japanese arts and nature and particularly flowers, with entire books about cherry blossoms and orchids. He specialized in kimono and until very late in his life was photographing models for the magazine Kimono Salon. Ikui has described Kijima's works as influenced by both Domon and the very different Ueda, but finding a third, commercial way. Kijima died on 20 February 2011.
Hiroyuki Agawa (阿川 弘之, Agawa Hiroyuki; December 24, 1920 – August 3, 2015) was a Japanese author. He was known for his…
Hiroyuki Agawa (阿川 弘之, Agawa Hiroyuki; December 24, 1920 – August 3, 2015) was a Japanese author. He was known for his fiction centered on World War II, as well as his biographies and essays.
Seiichi Shima (嶋清一, Shima Seiichi; December 15, 1920 – March 29, 1945) was a baseball player who pitched for Kaisou…
Seiichi Shima (嶋清一, Shima Seiichi; December 15, 1920 – March 29, 1945) was a baseball player who pitched for Kaisou Central High School and Meiji University of the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League. He never got to play professionally, as he was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1945. He died during World War II, on March 29, 1945, off the coast of Indochina. He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008. Shima represented Kaisou Central in the 1939 Japanese High School Baseball Championship, where he shut out all five of the opposing teams, only allowed five hits, struck out 57 batters, and pitched no-hitters in the semifinal and final rounds. Shima began to play for Meiji University in 1940.
Peter Baptist Tadamaro Ishigami, OFMCap (Japanese: ペトロ・バプティスタ石神忠真郎; December 1, 1920 – October 25, 2014) was a Japanese…
Peter Baptist Tadamaro Ishigami, OFMCap (Japanese: ペトロ・バプティスタ石神忠真郎; December 1, 1920 – October 25, 2014) was a Japanese prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Ishigami was born in Kasari, Japan and ordained a priest on September 6, 1952 for the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. Ishigami was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Naha on December 18, 1972 where served until his retirement on January 24, 1997.
Choji Hosaka (born 24 November 1920) was a Japanese sport shooter who competed in the 1956 Summer Olympics. He belonged…
Choji Hosaka (born 24 November 1920) was a Japanese sport shooter who competed in the 1956 Summer Olympics. He belonged to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, and during the Asama-Sansō incident, he acted as the leader of the sniper team and made a contribution to neutralize the criminal's sniper rifle by warning shots of his pistol.
Teruhiko Kobayashi (小林 照彦, Kobayashi Teruhiko, 17 November 1920 – 4 June 1957) was a Japanese fighter pilot during…
Teruhiko Kobayashi (小林 照彦, Kobayashi Teruhiko, 17 November 1920 – 4 June 1957) was a Japanese fighter pilot during World War II and a flying ace of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. He began his flying career as a bomber pilot, but then rose to fame when he became the leader of the 244th Sentai, making him the youngest sentai leader in the IJAAF when he took command in November 1944. He was described as an excellent and charismatic leader by his men and under his command the 244th would become the most famous and successful aerial defense unit in Japan. While leading this unit he achieved five kills (three Boeing B-29 Superfortresses and two F6F "Hellcats") in the aerial defense of the Japanese Home Islands. He would survive the war and in 1954 join the newly created Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).
Yoshihiko Yoshimatsu (吉松 義彦, Yoshimatsu Yoshihiko; November 16, 1920 – July 5, 1988) was a Japanese judoka. Born in…
Yoshihiko Yoshimatsu (吉松 義彦, Yoshimatsu Yoshihiko; November 16, 1920 – July 5, 1988) was a Japanese judoka. Born in Kagoshima, Japan, he received a silver medal at the 1956 World Judo Championships in Tokyo, behind winner Shokichi Natsui. He won the All-Japan Judo Championships three times.
Takashi Kano (加納 孝, Kano Takashi; October 31, 1920 – June 4, 2000) was a Japanese football player. He played for Japan…
Takashi Kano (加納 孝, Kano Takashi; October 31, 1920 – June 4, 2000) was a Japanese football player. He played for Japan national team.
Akiho Miyashiro (都城 秋穂, Miyashiro Akiho; 30 October 1920 – 22 July 2008) was a Japanese geologist.
Chang Sung-hwan (Korean: 장성환; Hanja: 張盛煥; October 27, 1920 – January 4, 2015) was a South Korean air force lieutenant…
Chang Sung-hwan (Korean: 장성환; Hanja: 張盛煥; October 27, 1920 – January 4, 2015) was a South Korean air force lieutenant general, government minister and diplomat.
Masao Sugiuchi (杉内雅男, Sugiuchi Masao; October 20, 1920 – November 21, 2017) was a professional Go player.
Lin Tuan-chiu (Chinese: 林摶秋; October 6, 1920 - April 4, 1998) was a playwright, theater director, film producer, and…
Lin Tuan-chiu (Chinese: 林摶秋; October 6, 1920 - April 4, 1998) was a playwright, theater director, film producer, and film director from Taoyuan, Taiwan. During the Japanese rule and the early post-war years, he concentrated mainly on writing and directing plays, earning praise from the Tokyo Shimbun (東京新聞) as "Taiwan's first native playwright". After the war, he devoted himself to the film industry, founding the Yufeng Film Company and the Hushan Film Studio. The plays he wrote include The Tribe in the Deep Mountains (奧山の社), Castrated Chicken (閹雞), Takasago Inn (高砂館), Geothermal (地熱), and Lights of the Marketplace from the Mountain (從山上看街市的燈火). He also directed films such as The Election Campaign of Brother Ah San (阿三哥出馬), Sigh for Fireworks 1 and 2 (嘆煙花), Wrong Love (錯戀), and May 13 Heartbreaking Night (五月十三傷心夜).
Akimitsu Takagi (高木 彬光, Takagi Akimitsu; 25 September 1920 – 9 September 1995) was the pen-name of a popular Japanese…
Akimitsu Takagi (高木 彬光, Takagi Akimitsu; 25 September 1920 – 9 September 1995) was the pen-name of a popular Japanese crime fiction writer active during the Shōwa period of Japan. His real name was Seiichi Takagi (高木 誠一, Takagi Seiichi).
Koichi Tsukamoto (塚本 幸一, Tsukamoto Kōichi; September 17, 1920 – June 10, 1998) was a Japanese businessman, the founder…
Koichi Tsukamoto (塚本 幸一, Tsukamoto Kōichi; September 17, 1920 – June 10, 1998) was a Japanese businessman, the founder of Wacoal, and the first President of Nippon Kaigi (1997–1998). He was from the former town of Gokashō, now part of Higashiōmi, in Shiga Prefecture. He enlisted in the Imperial Japanese Army in 1940 and fought in Battle of Imphal during the Burma Campaign of the Pacific War, aged only 19. He was demobilized 3 years later at age 21. In 1968, at an event held by the Japanese industrialist Kōnosuke Matsushita to celebrate the hundred years anniversary of the Meiji Restoration, he met the composer Toshiro Mayuzumi. He had a three decade friendship with him and attended his memorial on May 29, 1997.
Tokuzō Tanaka (田中徳三, Tanaka Tokuzō; 15 September 1920 – 20 December 2007) was a Japanese film director. He is well…
Tokuzō Tanaka (田中徳三, Tanaka Tokuzō; 15 September 1920 – 20 December 2007) was a Japanese film director. He is well known for directing several installments of the Zatoichi and Nemuri Kyōshirō film series.
Natto Wada (和田 夏十, Wada Natto; 13 September 1920 – 18 February 1983), also known as Natsuto Wada, was a Japanese script…
Natto Wada (和田 夏十, Wada Natto; 13 September 1920 – 18 February 1983), also known as Natsuto Wada, was a Japanese script writer and film columnist.
Chieko Misaki (三崎千恵子, Misaki Chieko; 20 February 1921 – 13 February 2012) was a Japanese actress and singer known for…
Chieko Misaki (三崎千恵子, Misaki Chieko; 20 February 1921 – 13 February 2012) was a Japanese actress and singer known for her role as aunt Tsune Kuruma in the long-running It's Tough Being a Man film series.
Yōko Hagiwara (萩原葉子; September 4, 1920–July 1, 2005) was a Japanese writer. She wrote extensively about her family.
Kihachiro Ueda (上田毅八郎) was a Japanese painter. His primary subject matter is Japanese ships. During the Second World…
Kihachiro Ueda (上田毅八郎) was a Japanese painter. His primary subject matter is Japanese ships. During the Second World War, Ueda was an anti-aircraft gunner assigned to several merchant ships. He served on about 28 merchant ships, and 6 of those were attacked and destroyed while he was aboard. During his spare time, he would draw ships. On 13 November 1944, while assigned to Kinka Maru, he was severely injured during a U.S. air raid on Manila Bay. He lost the use of his right hand, but subsequently was able to draw and paint with his left hand. His painting of the Ōryoku Maru (sunk 15 December 1944) is part of the Hell Ship Memorial Project's display at the Subic Bay Historical Center, Philippines. Ueda started working with the model company Tamiya Corporation in the early 1960s. Ueda illustrated most of the package artwork for Tamiya's Waterline Series (which consists of about 150 models). Ueda died on 26 June 2016.
Eisuke Nakazono (中薗 英助, Nakazono Eisuke; August 27, 1920 – April 9, 2002), pen-name for Hideki Nakazono, was one of…
Eisuke Nakazono (中薗 英助, Nakazono Eisuke; August 27, 1920 – April 9, 2002), pen-name for Hideki Nakazono, was one of Japan's pioneer writers of spy fiction. Nakazono was born in Fukuoka Prefecture, spent from 1938-1946 in China, and died of pneumonia at a hospital in Kawasaki, Kanagawa. He won the 1992 Yomiuri Prize for Peking hanten kyūkan nite.
Kaoru Betto (別当 薫, Bettō Kaoru; August 23, 1920 - April 16, 1999) was a Nippon Professional Baseball player and…
Kaoru Betto (別当 薫, Bettō Kaoru; August 23, 1920 - April 16, 1999) was a Nippon Professional Baseball player and manager. He made his professional debut as a 28-year old for the Ōsaka Tigers in 1948. He played for the team for two seasons. Betto achieved his most noted success for the Mainichi Orions from 1950 to 1957. In his first season with the Orions, Betto won the first Pacific League MVP Award and helped lead the team to victory in the first Japan Series; he batted .500 and had twelve hits with 3 RBIs during the Series to win the very first Japan Series MVP Award. As an outfielder, Betto was named to the Best Nine six straight times from 1948 to 1953. After his playing days ended, he became a manager for four different teams, where he had a managerial record of 1,237–1,156. Betto was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988.
Liang Su-yung (Chinese: 梁肅戎; pinyin: Liáng Sùróng; 8 August 1920 – 27 August 2004) was a Chinese lawyer, intelligence…
Liang Su-yung (Chinese: 梁肅戎; pinyin: Liáng Sùróng; 8 August 1920 – 27 August 2004) was a Chinese lawyer, intelligence and politician with CC Clique membership who served in the first Legislative Yuan from 1948 to 1991. He was elevated to vice president of the parliament in 1988, and retired in 1991 as its leader. Prior to his political career, he worked as a human rights lawyer. Liang was a member of CC Clique, he was also regarded as the last leader of the CC Clique.
Chushiro Hayashi (林 忠四郎, Hayashi Chūshirō; July 25, 1920 – February 28, 2010) was a Japanese astrophysicist. Hayashi…
Chushiro Hayashi (林 忠四郎, Hayashi Chūshirō; July 25, 1920 – February 28, 2010) was a Japanese astrophysicist. Hayashi tracks on the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram are named after him.
Bunkichi Sawada (沢田 文吉, Sawada Bunkichi; 18 July 1920 – 12 May 2006) was a Japanese pole vaulter who won gold medals at…
Bunkichi Sawada (沢田 文吉, Sawada Bunkichi; 18 July 1920 – 12 May 2006) was a Japanese pole vaulter who won gold medals at the 1951 and 1954 Asian Games. He placed sixth at the 1952 Summer Olympics, where he served as the flag bearer for Japan.
Isao Okazaki (岡崎 功, Okazaki Isao; 1920–2006) was a Japanese right-wing activist who caused the Matsue Incident in 1945.
Yoshio Inaba (稲葉 義男, Inaba Yoshio; July 15, 1920 – April 20, 1998) was a Japanese actor best known for his role as…
Yoshio Inaba (稲葉 義男, Inaba Yoshio; July 15, 1920 – April 20, 1998) was a Japanese actor best known for his role as Gorobei in Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. In addition to his career in film, Inaba was also a prolific theater actor and a member of the prestigious Haiyuza Theatre Company. He died of a heart attack at the age of 77.
Ryuta Iida (Japanese: 飯田 龍太, Hepburn: Iida Ryūta; July 10, 1920 – February 25, 2007) was a haiku poet from Yamanashi…
Ryuta Iida (Japanese: 飯田 龍太, Hepburn: Iida Ryūta; July 10, 1920 – February 25, 2007) was a haiku poet from Yamanashi Prefecture, the son of the haiku poet Dakotsu Iida.
Shūe Matsubayashi (松林 宗恵, Matsubayashi Shūe; sometimes rendered as Shuei Matsubayashi) (born July 7, 1920 – August 15…
Shūe Matsubayashi (松林 宗恵, Matsubayashi Shūe; sometimes rendered as Shuei Matsubayashi) (born July 7, 1920 – August 15, 2009, in Shimane Prefecture, Japan) was a Japanese film director. He is best known for films in the comedy and war genres. He was also an ordained Shin Buddhist priest. His final work as director was in the 1992 film Shorishatachi.
Tomohiko Tomita (富田 朝彦, Tomita Tomohiko; July 3, 1920 – November 13, 2003) was a Japanese official who served as Grand…
Tomohiko Tomita (富田 朝彦, Tomita Tomohiko; July 3, 1920 – November 13, 2003) was a Japanese official who served as Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Agency from May 1978 to June 1988). Tomita graduated from the University of Tokyo. Prior to his appointment as Grand Steward he was a senior police officer who served as chief of the Security Bureau of the National Police Agency, Deputy Superintendent General of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and director of the Cabinet Research Office.
Setsuko Hara (原 節子, Hara Setsuko; born Masae Aida (会田 昌江); 17 June 1920 – 5 September 2015) was a Japanese actress. She…
Setsuko Hara (原 節子, Hara Setsuko; born Masae Aida (会田 昌江); 17 June 1920 – 5 September 2015) was a Japanese actress. She is best known for her performances in Yasujirō Ozu's films Late Spring (1949), Tokyo Story (1953) and Tokyo Twilight (1957), amongst many others, and for working extensively with director Mikio Naruse. She is widely considered to be one of the greatest Japanese film actresses of all time.
Tadao Umesao (梅棹 忠夫, Umesao Tadao; June 13, 1920 – July 3, 2010) was a Japanese anthropologist. A professor for decades…
Tadao Umesao (梅棹 忠夫, Umesao Tadao; June 13, 1920 – July 3, 2010) was a Japanese anthropologist. A professor for decades at Kyoto University, he was also among the founders and the director-general of National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, Japan. A number of Umesao's theories were influential on anthropologists, and his work was also well known among the general population of Japan.
Eiji Okada (岡田 英次, Okada Eiji; 13 June 1920 – 14 September 1995) was a Japanese film actor from Chōshi, Chiba. Okada…
Eiji Okada (岡田 英次, Okada Eiji; 13 June 1920 – 14 September 1995) was a Japanese film actor from Chōshi, Chiba. Okada served in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II and was a miner and traveling salesman before becoming an actor. Internationally, his best-remembered roles include Lui ("him" in French) in the 1959 film Hiroshima mon amour, directed by Alain Resnais. In this film, Eiji Okada had to learn the screenplay phonetically because he did not speak French. He is also known for playing the entomologist Niki Junpei in Hiroshi Teshigahara's 1964 film Woman in the Dunes, an adaptation of Kōbō Abe's novel. He was also second billed under Marlon Brando in the 1963 political thriller The Ugly American. Okada was married to Aiko Wasa, with whom he ran a theatre company in Japan. He died on 14 September 1995 of heart failure, at the age of 75.
Shōtarō Akiyama (秋山 庄太郎, Akiyama Shōtarō; June 8, 1920 – January 16, 2003) was a renowned Japanese photographer. Over a…
Shōtarō Akiyama (秋山 庄太郎, Akiyama Shōtarō; June 8, 1920 – January 16, 2003) was a renowned Japanese photographer. Over a career spanning more than half a century he became one of Japan's most popular photographers, known for his portraits of actresses and magazine models, his nude and glamour photography, and photographs of flowers, which he took up as a life's work from his mid-forties onward.