Uzō Nishiyama (西山 夘三, Nishiyama Uzō; 1 March 1911 – 2 April 1994) was a Japanese modernist architect, city planner, and…
Uzō Nishiyama (西山 夘三, Nishiyama Uzō; 1 March 1911 – 2 April 1994) was a Japanese modernist architect, city planner, and architectural scholar. He is noted for his application of methods of scientific research to the study of architecture and urban planning. Nishiyama served as a professor at Kyoto University for over 25 years, and produced a number of seminal writings on architectural theory. The Uzo Nishiyama Memorial Library in Kyoto, which specializes in works relating to architecture and urban planning, is named after Nishiyama.
Famous People Born in 1911
1911: 76 people
Kenichi Kuriyagawa (栗谷川健一, Kuriyagawa Ken'ichi; 28 February 1911 – 12 August 1999) was a Japanese painter and graphic…
Kenichi Kuriyagawa (栗谷川健一, Kuriyagawa Ken'ichi; 28 February 1911 – 12 August 1999) was a Japanese painter and graphic designer. He is known for tourism posters depicting Hokkaido, for designing the flag and emblem of Hokkaido Prefecture adopted in 1967, and for founding the first design school in Hokkaido. The Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art has described him as the "father of Hokkaido design".
Tarō Okamoto (岡本 太郎, Okamoto Tarō; February 26, 1911 – January 7, 1996) was a Japanese artist, art theorist, and…
Tarō Okamoto (岡本 太郎, Okamoto Tarō; February 26, 1911 – January 7, 1996) was a Japanese artist, art theorist, and writer. He is particularly well known for his paintings, public sculptures, and murals, his theorization of traditional Japanese culture, and his avant-garde artistic practices.
Daisuke Katō (加東 大介, Katō Daisuke; February 18, 1911 – July 31, 1975) was a Japanese actor. He appeared in over 200…
Daisuke Katō (加東 大介, Katō Daisuke; February 18, 1911 – July 31, 1975) was a Japanese actor. He appeared in over 200 films, including Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, Rashomon, Yojimbo, and Ikiru. He also worked repeatedly for noted directors such as Yasujirō Ozu, Mikio Naruse and Kenji Mizoguchi.
Yoshio Kodama (児玉 誉士夫, Kodama Yoshio; February 18, 1911 – January 17, 1984) was a Japanese right-wing ultranationalist…
Yoshio Kodama (児玉 誉士夫, Kodama Yoshio; February 18, 1911 – January 17, 1984) was a Japanese right-wing ultranationalist and a prominent figure in the rise of organized crime in Japan. The most famous kuromaku, or behind-the-scenes power broker, of the 20th century, he was active in Japan's political arena and criminal underworld from the 1930s to the 1970s, and became enormously wealthy through his involvement in smuggling operations.
Tsutomu Miura (三浦 つとむ, Miura Tsutomu; 1911 - October 27, 1989) was a Japanese linguist born in Tokyo. He studied…
Tsutomu Miura (三浦 つとむ, Miura Tsutomu; 1911 - October 27, 1989) was a Japanese linguist born in Tokyo. He studied language as expression from contentism and criticized formism and functionism, like structural linguistics or the theory of generative grammar. He regarded Tokieda's theory, also known as "Gengo Katei Setsu"(Language-as-a-Process Theory), as "the world highest standard theory" and created his original language theory based on Tokieda's theory.
Toshio Yodoi (淀井 敏夫, Yodoi Toshio; February 15, 1911 – February 14, 2005) was a Japanese sculptor, and a pioneer of…
Toshio Yodoi (淀井 敏夫, Yodoi Toshio; February 15, 1911 – February 14, 2005) was a Japanese sculptor, and a pioneer of Japanese modern and contemporary arts. In 1994, he was officially recognized by the Japanese government as a "Person of Cultural Merit" and in 2001, the Order of Culture was conferred.
Yoshitaka Takeda (武田義孝, Takeda Yoshitaka; 15 February 1911 – August 1943) was a Japanese gymnast. He competed at the…
Yoshitaka Takeda (武田義孝, Takeda Yoshitaka; 15 February 1911 – August 1943) was a Japanese gymnast. He competed at the 1932 Summer Olympics and the 1936 Summer Olympics. He died of kidney disease in August 1943.
Aiko Kawasaki (1911–1936), also known as Chika Sagawa (左川 ちか, Sagawa Chika), was a Japanese avant-garde poet.
Keiko Minami (南 桂子, Minami Keiko; 12 February 1911 – 1 December 2004) was a Japanese artist, aquatint engraver, and…
Keiko Minami (南 桂子, Minami Keiko; 12 February 1911 – 1 December 2004) was a Japanese artist, aquatint engraver, and poet. She is best known for her pictograph-like aquatints with a whimsical, childlike aesthetic.
Masaaki Tanaka (田中 正明, Tanaka Masaaki) (February 11, 1911 – January 8, 2006) was a Japanese author notable for his book…
Masaaki Tanaka (田中 正明, Tanaka Masaaki) (February 11, 1911 – January 8, 2006) was a Japanese author notable for his book What Really Happened in Nanking: The Refutation of a Common Myth, which denies that the Nanjing Massacre as traditionally understood took place. Originally written in Japanese in 1987, an English version was published in 2000 in response to Iris Chang's book, The Rape of Nanking.
Doshin So (宗道臣, Sō Dōshin) (born Michiomi Nakano (中野道臣, Nakano Michiomi)), (1911–1980) was a Japanese soldier and…
Doshin So (宗道臣, Sō Dōshin) (born Michiomi Nakano (中野道臣, Nakano Michiomi)), (1911–1980) was a Japanese soldier and martial artist. He is most known as the creator and founder of Shorinji Kempo and the doctrine Kongo Zen (金剛禅, Kongō Zen). Practitioners of Shorinji Kempo refer to him as Kaiso, Japanese for "the founder".
Takako Irie (入江 たか子, Irie Takako; 7 February 1911 – 12 January 1995) was a Japanese film actress. Born in Tokyo into…
Takako Irie (入江 たか子, Irie Takako; 7 February 1911 – 12 January 1995) was a Japanese film actress. Born in Tokyo into the aristocratic Higashibōjō family (her birth name was Hideko Higashibōjō (東坊城 英子, Higashibōjō Hideko)), she graduated from Bunka Gakuin before debuting as an actress at Nikkatsu in 1927. She became a major star, even starting her own production company, Irie Productions, in 1932. One of Kenji Mizoguchi's silent film masterpieces, The Water Magician, was produced at that company with Irie starring. She appeared in many advertisements, as well as on fans and other commercial goods. Irie was also the subject of a folding screen painting by Nihonga artist Nakamura Daizaburō, which appeared in the 1930 Teiten (Imperial Exhibition), and which is today in the collection of the Honolulu Museum of Art; toy dolls were also produced based on this image. In the postwar period, Irie became known as a "ghost cat actress" (bakeneko joyū) for appearing in a series of kaidan (ghost story) movies. One of her late memorable roles was in Akira Kurosawa's Sanjuro, where she plays Mutsuta's wife, the lady who warns Sanjuro (Toshirō Mifune) that "the best sword stays in its scabbard". Her husband, Michiyoshi Tamura, was a film producer. Their daughter, Wakaba Irie, is also an actress. Irie's brother, Yasunaga Higashibōjō, was a film director and screenwriter.
Haruo Maekawa (前川 春雄, Maekawa Haruo; February 6, 1911 – September 22, 1989), also romanized as Mayekawa, was a Japanese…
Haruo Maekawa (前川 春雄, Maekawa Haruo; February 6, 1911 – September 22, 1989), also romanized as Mayekawa, was a Japanese businessman, central banker, the 24th Governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ).
Mitsuo Nakamura (中村 光夫, Nakamura Mitsuo; 5 February 1911 – 12 July 1988) was the pen-name of a writer of biographies…
Mitsuo Nakamura (中村 光夫, Nakamura Mitsuo; 5 February 1911 – 12 July 1988) was the pen-name of a writer of biographies and stage-plays, and a literary critic active in Shōwa period Japan. His real name was Koba Ichirō.
Kaoru Mabuchi (馬淵 薫, Mabuchi Kaoru; February 4, 1911 – May 3, 1987), also known by his pen name Takeshi Kimura (木村 武…
Kaoru Mabuchi (馬淵 薫, Mabuchi Kaoru; February 4, 1911 – May 3, 1987), also known by his pen name Takeshi Kimura (木村 武, Kimura Takeshi), was a Japanese screenwriter who wrote many films for Toho studios. Kimura scripted several films for director Ishirō Honda, including Matango, Frankenstein vs. Baragon, The War of the Gargantuas, King Kong Escapes, and Destroy All Monsters. He was a member of the Japanese Communist Party whose screenplays often included political themes. His scripts are frequently contrasted with those written by Shinichi Sekizawa, whose scripts for kaiju films typically had a more lightweight, "fun" tone. Kimura considered the screenplay for Ishirō Honda's Matango to be his best work, and he considered all of his scripts from Frankenstein Conquers the World onward to be merely work for hire. Kimura was known for having a dark and gloomy personality, and he was reportedly never very close to any of his fellow Toho employees. He died from a throat obstruction in his Tokyo apartment in 1987.
Haruki Mori (森 治樹, Mori Haruki; 26 January 1911 – 19 August 1988) was a Japanese diplomat. Following the…
Haruki Mori (森 治樹, Mori Haruki; 26 January 1911 – 19 August 1988) was a Japanese diplomat. Following the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the Japanese and the Italian governments in 1952, Mori was appointed counsellor of the embassy in Italy. In the late 1960s he served as vice-minister of foreign affairs, and in that capacity concluded the Japanese-OECD agreement that regulated OECD activities in Japan. In 1972, he was appointed ambassador to the United Kingdom, and in that capacity signed on behalf of Japan the Brussels Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage and the London Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals. In 1977, he served as member of the Brandt Commission that was appointed under the chairmanship of former West German Prime Minister Willy Brandt to study world economic development.
Japanese supercentenarians are citizens, residents or emigrants from Japan who have attained or surpassed the age of…
Japanese supercentenarians are citizens, residents or emigrants from Japan who have attained or surpassed the age of 110 years. As of January 2015, the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) had validated the longevity claims of 263 Japanese supercentenarians, most of whom are women. As of 18 October 2026, the oldest-known living Japanese person is Fuyo Kishimoto (born in Hamasaka on 20 December 1911), who is aged 114 years, 302 days. The oldest verified Japanese and Asian person ever is Kane Tanaka (1903–2022), who lived to the age of 119 years and 107 days, making her the second-oldest validated person ever as well. Japan was also home to the world's oldest man ever, Jiroemon Kimura (1897–2013), who lived to the age of 116 years and 54 days.
Yoshio Fujimaki (藤牧義夫, Fujimaki Yoshio) (January 19, 1911 – disappeared September 2, 1935）was a Japanese printmaker who…
Yoshio Fujimaki (藤牧義夫, Fujimaki Yoshio) (January 19, 1911 – disappeared September 2, 1935）was a Japanese printmaker who was part of the Sōsaku-hanga movement. He focused mainly on depicting the Shitamachi area of Tokyo during the 1930s, and is known for creating a long Hakubyō scroll print focusing on areas surrounding the Sumida River. Fujimaki became an obscure figure after his disappearance at the age of 24, but a 1978 exhibition renewed interest in his work.
Shoichi Sakata (坂田 昌一, Sakata Shōichi; 18 January 1911 – 16 October 1970) was a Japanese physicist and Marxist who was…
Shoichi Sakata (坂田 昌一, Sakata Shōichi; 18 January 1911 – 16 October 1970) was a Japanese physicist and Marxist who was internationally known for theoretical work on subatomic particles. He proposed the two meson theory, the Sakata model (an early precursor to the quark model), and the Pontecorvo–Maki–Nakagawa–Sakata neutrino mixing matrix. After the end of World War II, he joined other physicists in campaigning for the peaceful uses of nuclear power.
Kazuo Mori (森 一生, Mori Kazuo; January 15, 1911 – June 29, 1989), also known by his street name Issei Mori (もり いっせい…
Kazuo Mori (森 一生, Mori Kazuo; January 15, 1911 – June 29, 1989), also known by his street name Issei Mori (もり いっせい, Mori Issei), was a Japanese film director who primarily worked in popular genres like the jidaigeki. Mori directed over 100 films in his life.
Zenkō Suzuki (鈴木 善幸, Suzuki Zenkō; 11 January 1911 – 19 July 2004) was a Japanese politician who served as prime…
Zenkō Suzuki (鈴木 善幸, Suzuki Zenkō; 11 January 1911 – 19 July 2004) was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1980 to 1982. Born in Iwate Prefecture, Suzuki graduated from the Tokyo University of Fisheries in 1935 and was elected to the Diet in 1947 as a member of the Japan Socialist Party, then shifted rightward and joined the Liberal Democratic Party. He briefly served as posts and telecommunications minister and cabinet secretary under Hayato Ikeda, as health and welfare minister under Eisaku Satō, and as agriculture, forests, and fisheries minister under Takeo Fukuda. After the sudden death of prime minister Masayoshi Ōhira in 1980, Suzuki assumed leadership of his faction, and he succeeded him as LDP president and prime minister until 1982.
Hiroshi Hara (原 寛, Hara Hiroshi; January 5, 1911 – September 24, 1986) was a Japanese botanist. Hara was born 1911 in…
Hiroshi Hara (原 寛, Hara Hiroshi; January 5, 1911 – September 24, 1986) was a Japanese botanist. Hara was born 1911 in Nagano. He studied at The University of Tokyo and became a professor there in 1957. Between 1968 and 1971 he was the director of the newly established University Museum of The University of Tokyo. Hara specialized in mosses, but described other plants as well.
Setsuo Yokomichi (Japanese: 横路節雄; January 2, 1911 – June 14, 1967) was a Japanese politician. He was the father of…
Setsuo Yokomichi (Japanese: 横路節雄; January 2, 1911 – June 14, 1967) was a Japanese politician. He was the father of Takahiro Yokomichi, Governor of Hokkaido from 1983 to 1995.
Akimoto Matsuyo (秋元松代; 2 January 1911 – 24 April 2001) was a leading playwright of postwar Japan, most respected as a…
Akimoto Matsuyo (秋元松代; 2 January 1911 – 24 April 2001) was a leading playwright of postwar Japan, most respected as a realist Japanese playwright. Akimoto was known for her shingeki plays, but also wrote some classical bunraku (puppet) and kabuki dramas, and she later became a scriptwriter for both radio and television shows. Along with Akimoto's childhood, World War II played a significant role in her career. As a realist playwright, she used her work to make political statements in order to warn the greater Japanese community that the government was trying to continue their pre-war imperial system of capitalism, militarism, and patriarchy.
Fumio Takashina (高階富士夫, Takashina Fumio; born 1911, date of death unknown) was a Japanese diver. He competed in the…
Fumio Takashina (高階富士夫, Takashina Fumio; born 1911, date of death unknown) was a Japanese diver. He competed in the men's 3 metre springboard event at the 1928 Summer Olympics.