Gihachiro Okuyama (奥山 儀八郎, Okuyama Gihachirō; February 17, 1907 – October 1, 1981) was a 20th-century Japanese…Gihachiro Okuyama (奥山 儀八郎, Okuyama Gihachirō; February 17, 1907 – October 1, 1981) was a 20th-century Japanese commercial artist and woodblock printmaker. He was a prolific artist of the shin-hanga and sōsaku-hanga styles. Okuyama is noted for his landscape prints, both in color and black-and-white, as well as his simple prints of scenes that interject elements of the modernization of Japan into an otherwise traditional view.
Hiroshi Kuroki (黒木 博, Kuroki Hiroshi; 1907 – 24 December 2001) was a governor of Miyazaki Prefecture in Japan. He was…Hiroshi Kuroki (黒木 博, Kuroki Hiroshi; 1907 – 24 December 2001) was a governor of Miyazaki Prefecture in Japan. He was the 1974 recipient of Ramon Magsaysay Award for administrative originality in modernizing a backward prefecture in a manner congenial to the traditional minded yet attracting the young.
Yoshimura Hisato (Japanese: 吉村 寿人; February 9, 1907 – November 29, 1990) was a Japanese medical scientist and…Yoshimura Hisato (Japanese: 吉村 寿人; February 9, 1907 – November 29, 1990) was a Japanese medical scientist and physiologist who served as a member of Unit 731, a biological warfare unit of the Imperial Japanese Army, during World War II and conducted experiments on prisoners of war and civilians in Manchukuo, Northeast China. He later served in several capacities for Japanese research organizations.
Ichiro Furuyama (古山 一郎, Furuyama Ichirō; born 8 February 1907, date of death unknown) was a Japanese athlete. He…Ichiro Furuyama (古山 一郎, Furuyama Ichirō; born 8 February 1907, date of death unknown) was a Japanese athlete. He competed in the men's discus throw at the 1928 Summer Olympics.
Kenzaburo Hara (原 健三郎, Hara Kenzaburō, 6 February 1907 – 7 November 2004) was a Japanese politician who served as…Kenzaburo Hara (原 健三郎, Hara Kenzaburō, 6 February 1907 – 7 November 2004) was a Japanese politician who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1986 to 1989. He was a member of the House for 54 years from 1946 until he retired in 2000, and died of heart failure in Tokyo at the age of 97.
Jun Takami (高見 順, Takami Jun; 30 January 1907 – 17 August 1965) was the pen-name of a Japanese novelist and poet active…Jun Takami (高見 順, Takami Jun; 30 January 1907 – 17 August 1965) was the pen-name of a Japanese novelist and poet active in Shōwa era Japan. His real name was Takami Yoshio.
Ashihei Hino (火野 葦平, Hino Ashihei) (born 玉井勝則, Tamai Katsunori; 25 January 1907 – 24 January 1960) was a Japanese…Ashihei Hino (火野 葦平, Hino Ashihei) (born 玉井勝則, Tamai Katsunori; 25 January 1907 – 24 January 1960) was a Japanese writer, whose works included depictions of military life during World War II. He was born in Wakamatsu (now Wakamatsu ward, Kitakyūshū) and in 1937 he received the prestigious Akutagawa Prize for one of his novels, Fun'nyōtan (糞尿譚, Tales of Excrement and Urine). At that moment he was a soldier for the Japanese army in China. He then got promoted to the information corps and published numerous works about the daily lives of Japanese soldiers. It is for his war novels that he became famous during (and forgotten after) the war. His book Mugi to Heitai (麦と兵隊, Wheat and Soldiers) sold over a million copies. Hino committed suicide at the age of 53. His death was first reported to have been from a heart attack, but was later revealed by his family to have been from an overdose of sleeping pills. His birthhouse can be visited nowadays.
Hideki Yukawa (湯川 秀樹, Yukawa Hideki; né Ogawa; 23 January 1907 – 8 September 1981) was a Japanese theoretical physicist…Hideki Yukawa (湯川 秀樹, Yukawa Hideki; né Ogawa; 23 January 1907 – 8 September 1981) was a Japanese theoretical physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1949 "for his prediction of the existence of mesons on the basis of theoretical work on nuclear forces."
Masao Horino (堀野 正雄, Horino Masao; 1907–1998) was one of the most prominent Japanese photographers in the first half of…Masao Horino (堀野 正雄, Horino Masao; 1907–1998) was one of the most prominent Japanese photographers in the first half of the 20th century in Japan. He was born in Tokyo and graduated from Tokyo Higher Technical School (東京高等工業学校), now Tokyo Institute of Technology (東京工業大学). He was a member of Shinkō Shashin Kenkyukai (新興写真研究会; , New Photography Research Society) which was founded by Sen'ichi Kimura (木村専一) in 1930. In 1932, Horino published a monograph Camera, Eye x Iron, Construction (カメラ・眼×鉄・構成) which is one of the most important works for Japanese modern photography (Shinkō Shashin, 新興写真). This monograph consists of photographs of ships and architectures made of steel, such as bridges, tanks and towers, based on his own sense of beauty, "a beauty of machinery" (機械美学), derived directly from the theories of the art critic (photo critic) Takaho Itagaki (板垣鷹穂), using, for example, close-up and looking-up. Therefore, this work can be regarded as a collaboration between Horino and Itagaki. This work is as important as the monograph Métal by Germaine Krull in terms of the beauty of machinery. Further, Horino published his work of documentary photography using montage technique in some magazines, such as the Character of Great Tokyo (Dai Tokyo no Seikaku, 大東京の性格. 1931, editing and design by Takaho Itagaki, Chūōkōron October issue) and Flowing through the City - Sumida River Album (Shutokanryū - Sumida-gawa no Arubamu, 首都貫流-墨田川のアルバム, 1931, editing and design by Tomoyoshi Murayama, Hanzai Kagaku December issue). No other photographer made such high-level documentary photographs before World War II. Horino was one very important example of the earliest photographers to have a professional mind, like Yōnosuke Natori, although in Japan before World War II, most photographers were amateurs and took pictures only for their own inside world, not for the outside world. In Europe and America the effects of the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not fully understood. The photos produced by Masao Horino contributed to the world wide cry for the bombs to never be used again. After World War II, he founded the company Minicum manufacturing electronic flashguns for cameras and was absorbed in managing his own company rather than taking photographs.
Sōhachi Yamaoka (山岡荘八, Yamaoka Sōhachi; January 11, 1907 – September 30, 1978) from Niigata was a Japanese author. He…Sōhachi Yamaoka (山岡荘八, Yamaoka Sōhachi; January 11, 1907 – September 30, 1978) from Niigata was a Japanese author. He wrote a number of historical novels. Politician Kenji Yamaoka is an adopted son. In 1968, he won the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for his historical novel Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Keizō Hayashi (林 敬三, Hayashi Keizō; 8 January 1907 – 12 November 1991) was a Japanese civil servant, general officer…Keizō Hayashi (林 敬三, Hayashi Keizō; 8 January 1907 – 12 November 1991) was a Japanese civil servant, general officer and the first Chairman of Joint Staff Council (JSC), a post equivalent to Chief of the General Staff in other countries, from 1954 to 1964. He was instrumental in founding the post-war Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) in 1954. Hayashi began his civil service career in the Home Ministry in 1929. In post-war Japan, he became Governor of Tottori Prefecture from 1945 to 1947 and Director of the Bureau of Local Affairs from 1947 until the Home Ministry was disbanded in the same year. After that, he was appointed Vice-Minister of Imperial Household from 1948 to 1950, during which he became a confidant of Emperor Showa. After the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, Hayashi, who did not have prewar military background, was chosen by Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida, with the endorsement of the American occupation authority, to head the newly formed National Police Reserve (NPR) in the capacity as Superintendent-General. Since Japan had been demilitarized after the Second World War, one of his major tasks was to build up the NPR as the foundation of Japan's self-defense power in post-war era. He was also responsible for developing a new mind-set for the NPR so as to adapt to post-war changes. When the NPR was restructured as the National Safety Force (NSF) in 1952, he was appointed Chief of the 1st (Ground) Staff of the First Staff Office, which was the top decision making body of the NSF. Hayashi helped found the JSC and the JSDF after Japan regained its status as a sovereign state under the Treaty of San Francisco in 1954. As Chairman of JSC, he assisted the Director-General of Defense Agency (JDA) in formulating defense plans, reviewing proposals as submitted by the JSDF, carrying out defense-related intelligence and investigation work, as well as fostering closer military ties with the United States and its allies. Having served in the JSC for ten years, he was not only the longest-serving Chairman, but was also the only Chairman with civilian civil service background. In retirement, he took an active part in public affairs, serving as, among others, President of the Japan Housing Corporation from 1965 to 1971, of the Japanese Red Cross from 1978 to 1987, and of the Japan Good Deeds Association from 1983 to 1990.
Shigeo Tanaka (田中 重雄, Tanaka Shigeo) (January 7, 1907 – January 18, 1992) was a Japanese film director. Tanaka directed…Shigeo Tanaka (田中 重雄, Tanaka Shigeo) (January 7, 1907 – January 18, 1992) was a Japanese film director. Tanaka directed the second instalment of the Japanese film series Gamera, and also directed Kenshin, The Great Wall and Typhoon Reporter.
Kinue Hitomi (人見 絹枝, Hitomi Kinue; January 1, 1907 – August 2, 1931) was a Japanese track and field athlete. She was…Kinue Hitomi (人見 絹枝, Hitomi Kinue; January 1, 1907 – August 2, 1931) was a Japanese track and field athlete. She was the world record holder in several events in the 1920s – 1930s. Hitomi was also the first Japanese and Asian woman to win an Olympic medal. She was also the first woman to represent Japan at the Olympics.
Ishizu Ryosuke (石津 良介, Ishizu Ryōsuke; 1907 – 1986) was a Japanese photographer whose work was included in 328…Ishizu Ryosuke (石津 良介, Ishizu Ryōsuke; 1907 – 1986) was a Japanese photographer whose work was included in 328 Outstanding Japanese Photographers (2000). He was associated with the New Photography (shinkō shashin) movement of the 1930s. Born in Okayama and active as an editor in Tokyo, he later returned to his home region, where he became an influential figure in photography circles around the Chūgoku and San'in area.
Hiroshi Nagata (Japanese: 永田 寛, 30 August 1907 – 4 August 1961) was a Japanese field hockey player who competed in the…Hiroshi Nagata (Japanese: 永田 寛, 30 August 1907 – 4 August 1961) was a Japanese field hockey player who competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics. He was born in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. In 1932 he was a member of the Japanese field hockey team, which won the silver medal. He played two matches as forward.
Kōrō Honjō (本庄 光郎, Honjō Kōrō; 1907-1995) was a renowned Japanese photographer. By 1933, Honjō was active in the Naniwa…Kōrō Honjō (本庄 光郎, Honjō Kōrō; 1907-1995) was a renowned Japanese photographer. By 1933, Honjō was active in the Naniwa Photography Club, where museum accounts list him among the members associated with the club's shift from New Photography toward Surrealist and abstract avant-garde work in Osaka. In 1937, he co-founded the Avant-Garde Image Group with Yoshifumi Hattori, Gingo Hanawa, Tarui Yoshio, and Terushichi Hirai, a circle dedicated to experimental photographic expression. The Osaka section of the 2022 Tokyo Photographic Art Museum exhibition Avant-Garde Rising: The Photographic Vanguard in Modern Japan later discussed the group as part of the Kansai avant-garde. In 1956, Honjō also participated in the newly founded Japan Subjective Photography League, a postwar framework through which prewar avant-garde photographers such as Kansuke Yamamoto were briefly regrouped alongside emerging postwar figures including Kiyoji Ōtsuji, Ikkō Narahara, and Yasuhiro Ishimoto in the First International Subjective Photography Exhibition later that year.
Koh Yasuda (保田 耕, Yasuda Kō; 1907 - September 7, 1943) or Kō Yasuda was a Japanese ophthalmologist who became the first…Koh Yasuda (保田 耕, Yasuda Kō; 1907 - September 7, 1943) or Kō Yasuda was a Japanese ophthalmologist who became the first director of Amami Wakoen Sanatorium, a leprosy sanatorium in Amami Ōshima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. He was drafted into military service and died in China in 1943.