Nikken Abe (阿部日顕, Abe Nikken; also known as Nikken Shonin; 19 December 1922 – 20 September 2019) was a Japanese…
Nikken Abe (阿部日顕, Abe Nikken; also known as Nikken Shonin; 19 December 1922 – 20 September 2019) was a Japanese Buddhist monk who served as the 67th High Priest of Nichiren Shōshū and chief priest of Taiseki-ji head Temple in Fujinomiya, Japan. Before becoming High Priest, he served as the head of the doctrinal department of Nichiren Shoshu and as such was involved in the compilation of many of the school's publications. As High Priest, Abe affirmed the permanent expulsion of the Soka Gakkai on 28 November 1991 and was known for the destruction of the "Sho Hondo" in 1997 and the return of the Head Temple Taiseki-ji to earlier traditional and orthodox practices that were prevalent up to 1970. Ultimately, he reconstructed a new replacement building "Hoando" in June 2002. He retired as High Priest on 15 December 2005 and was succeeded by Hayase Nichinyo Shonin. Abe died on 20 September 2019 in his private residence in Nakamachi Street, in the Setagaya ward of Tokyo, aged 96.
Famous People Born in 1922
1922: 61 people
Rimhak Ree (Korean: 이임학; December 18, 1922 – January 9, 2005), alternatively Im-hak Ree, was a Korean Canadian…
Rimhak Ree (Korean: 이임학; December 18, 1922 – January 9, 2005), alternatively Im-hak Ree, was a Korean Canadian mathematician. He contributed in the field of group theory, most notably with the concept of the Ree group in (Ree 1960, 1961).
Sadamasa Motonaga (元永定正, Motonaga Sadamasa, born November, 26, 1922, in Iga Ueno, died October 3, 2011, in Takarazuka)…
Sadamasa Motonaga (元永定正, Motonaga Sadamasa, born November, 26, 1922, in Iga Ueno, died October 3, 2011, in Takarazuka) was a Japanese visual artist and book illustrator, and a first-generation member of the postwar Japanese artist group Gutai Art Association, Gutai for short. Motonaga’s oeuvre, comprising paintings, objects, performances and stage art, ceramics, murals and installation artworks and picture books, is characterized by his humorous, enlivening (animating) use of biomorphic abstract shapes inspired by nature and manga cartoons, as well as the exploration of the materiality of color. He is most known for his ephemeral works from Gutai’s experimental exhibition projects, such as Liquid: Red and Works (Water) from 1955 and 1956, which used vinyl sheets and tubes filled with color-tinted water; his stage works from 1957 and 1958, which involved smoke as artistic material; and for his Informel-style paintings from the late 1950s that experimented with pouring liquid paint on to canvases. Promoted by the French art critic Michel Tapié, who during the 1950s and 1960s attempted to establish Informel as a global movement, Motonaga became one of the few Gutai members who received international and national recognition as a solo artist beyond the Gutai context. He was offered a yearlong residency by the Japan Society in New York in 1966, during which he introduced airbrushing and a hard-edge style to his paintings. After leaving Gutai in 1971, Motonaga’s work again expanded beyond painting to ceramics, interior design, murals, and public performances and installation artworks, all of which he continuously developed around his signature-style of animated biomorphic shapes. The children's picture books, which Motonaga created in collaboration with the poet and translator Shuntarō Tanikawa beginning in 1970, became bestselling books. He was married to graphic designer Etsuko Nakatsuji, with whom he also collaborated on reconstruction projects in the aftermath of the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995.
Kim Chunsu (Korean: 김춘수; Hanja: 金春洙; November 25, 1922 – November 29, 2004) was one of the leading South Korean poets…
Kim Chunsu (Korean: 김춘수; Hanja: 金春洙; November 25, 1922 – November 29, 2004) was one of the leading South Korean poets of the late twentieth century. He won numerous literary awards and was a professor of Korean Literature. His works have been translated into English, German and Spanish.
Tomonobu Imamichi (今道 友信, Imamichi Tomonobu; November 19, 1922 – October 13, 2012) was a Japanese philosopher who…
Tomonobu Imamichi (今道 友信, Imamichi Tomonobu; November 19, 1922 – October 13, 2012) was a Japanese philosopher who studied Chinese philosophy.
Kenichi Yamamoto (山本 謙一, Yamamoto Ken'ichi) (November 18, 1922 – February 26, 2002) was a Japanese cross-country skier…
Kenichi Yamamoto (山本 謙一, Yamamoto Ken'ichi) (November 18, 1922 – February 26, 2002) was a Japanese cross-country skier who competed in the 1950s. He finished 22nd in the 18 km event at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo.
Ichiro Abe (安部一郎, Abe Ichirō; 12 November 1922 – 27 February 2022) was a Japanese judoka. He was head of the Promotions…
Ichiro Abe (安部一郎, Abe Ichirō; 12 November 1922 – 27 February 2022) was a Japanese judoka. He was head of the Promotions Panel at the Kodokan and former international chairperson of the All Nippon Judo Federation. He was one of only fifteen judoka to have attained Kodokan 10th dan rank, having been promoted at the New Year Kagami biraki Ceremony, 8 January 2006 along with Toshiro Daigo and Yoshimi Osawa.
Kim Chong-hee (Korean: 김종희; 1922–1981) was the founder of Hanwha Group and a significant figure in the South Korean…
Kim Chong-hee (Korean: 김종희; 1922–1981) was the founder of Hanwha Group and a significant figure in the South Korean explosives industry.
Kiyoshi Ogawa (小川 清, Ogawa Kiyoshi; October 23, 1922 – May 11, 1945) was a Japanese naval aviator ensign (少尉) of the…
Kiyoshi Ogawa (小川 清, Ogawa Kiyoshi; October 23, 1922 – May 11, 1945) was a Japanese naval aviator ensign (少尉) of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. As a kamikaze pilot, Ensign Ogawa's final action took place on May 11, 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa. Piloting a bomb-laden Mitsubishi Zero fighter during Operation Kikusui No. 6, Ogawa flew through American anti-aircraft fire and struck the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill, less than one minute after his flight leader, sub-lieutenant Seizō Yasunori, crashed into the ship. Ogawa dropped a 250-kilogram (551 lb) bomb, never pulled out of the dive, and crashed deliberately into the flight deck near the control tower of the aircraft carrier. The bomb penetrated Bunker Hill's flight deck and exploded. Gasoline fires flamed up and several explosions took place when re-armed and re-fueled planes on deck exploded and caught fire. 393 American sailors died with Yasunori and Ogawa, 264 were wounded, while the carrier was under repair for the remainder of the war.
Yasuo Komamiya (駒宮 安男, Komamiya Yasuo, October 14, 1922 – March 11, 1993) was a Japanese electrical engineer. Komamiya…
Yasuo Komamiya (駒宮 安男, Komamiya Yasuo, October 14, 1922 – March 11, 1993) was a Japanese electrical engineer. Komamiya graduated from the Department of Electrical Engineering, School of Engineering, Tokyo Imperial University (now University of Tokyo) in 1944. He joined the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry's Electrical Testing Laboratory (ETL, now the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology). In 1952, together with Suekane Ryota, he completed the ETL Mark I, a relay-based automatic computer, which was Japan's first digital automatic computer. He proved the Singleton-Joshi-Komamiya bound in 1953 on the size of an arbitrary block code. In 1980, he was appointed professor of Kyushu University. In 1986, he retired from Kyushu University and was appointed professor at Meiji University.
Park Tong-jin (Korean: 박동진; 1922– 11 November 2013) was a South Korean politician. Much of his efforts involved…
Park Tong-jin (Korean: 박동진; 1922– 11 November 2013) was a South Korean politician. Much of his efforts involved building trade routes between the Soviet Union and non-Soviet countries through South Korea. From 19 December 1975 to 2 September 1980, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. From 1988 to 1991, he served as South Korean Ambassador to the United States. He also served as Minister of Unification.
Takehiko Bessho (別所 毅彦, Bessho Takehiko; October 1, 1922 – June 24, 1999), born Akira Bessho (別所 昭, Bessho Akira), was…
Takehiko Bessho (別所 毅彦, Bessho Takehiko; October 1, 1922 – June 24, 1999), born Akira Bessho (別所 昭, Bessho Akira), was a Japanese baseball player whose professional career as a player lasted from 1942 until 1960. Bessho first achieved fame as a pitcher in Japanese professional baseball; later, he served as a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) manager. Bessho spent his first five seasons in the Japanese Baseball League (the predecessor of NPB) with the Nankai franchise (1942–43, 1946–48) and his final 12 seasons with the Yomiuri Giants (1949–1960). He quickly established himself as a top pitcher and went on to earn two Sawamura Awards, the Japanese equivalent of the Cy Young Award, and six Best Nine Awards. In 1947, Bessho set the JBL record for most complete games in a single season (47). In addition, Bessho earned the NPB Most Valuable Player Award in 1952 and 1956. Bessho retired after the 1960 season with 310 wins, a 2.18 earned run average, and 1,932 strikeouts. Up until 2019, he was also the only Hawk to ever throw a no-hitter. After he retired from the sport as a player and a manager, Bessho became a sports broadcaster. In recognition of his accomplishments, the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Bessho in 1979.
Morio Kasai (葛西 森夫; September 29, 1922 – December 8, 2008) was a Japanese surgeon who had a strong interest in…
Morio Kasai (葛西 森夫; September 29, 1922 – December 8, 2008) was a Japanese surgeon who had a strong interest in pediatric surgery. While Kasai went into practice at a time when pediatric surgery was not an established subspecialty, much of his clinical and research work was related to the surgical care of children. He is best known for devising a surgical procedure, the hepatoportoenterostomy, to address a life-threatening birth defect known as biliary atresia. The modern form of the operation is still known as the Kasai procedure. A graduate of the medical school at Tohoku University, Kasai remained there for most of his medical career, chairing the university's 2nd Department of Surgery and serving on the school's Board of Councilors. Though best known for the procedure that came to bear his name, Kasai also studied peritonitis in infants and children, and he made contributions to the understanding of esophageal cancer, pediatric liver cancer and a colon abnormality known as Hirschsprung's disease. Kasai practiced from the 1940s until 1993, spending the last few years of his career leading a hospital in Tohoku. He suffered a debilitating stroke in 1999 and died in 2008.
Ryōji Uehara (上原良司, Uehara Ryōji; 27 September 1922 – 11 May 1945) was a flight captain of the Imperial Japanese Army…
Ryōji Uehara (上原良司, Uehara Ryōji; 27 September 1922 – 11 May 1945) was a flight captain of the Imperial Japanese Army and was killed in action as a kamikaze pilot. Uehara was born in what is now the town of Ikeda, Nagano. He entered the Department of Economics at Keio University in 1942 and joined the IJA 50th Regiment in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, later that same year. He was a member of the 56th Shinmu squadron (第56振武隊) of the IJA Air Corps when he carried out his final mission against the US carrier fleet near Kadena, Okinawa Prefecture on 11 May 1945. He was 22 years old. His letter, written to his parents the night before his final mission, was published after the war and it is still regarded as a masterpiece of wartime literary works in Japan.
Kenichi Yamamoto (山本健一, Yamamoto Kenichi; 16 September 1922 – 20 December 2017) was a Japanese mechanical engineer and…
Kenichi Yamamoto (山本健一, Yamamoto Kenichi; 16 September 1922 – 20 December 2017) was a Japanese mechanical engineer and business executive. He supervised the development of the Mazda Wankel rotary combustion engine, and served as Mazda's President (1984–1987) and Chairman (1987–1992).
Hiroshi Enatsu (12 September 1922 – 4 August 2019) was a Japanese theoretical physicist who contributed to a…
Hiroshi Enatsu (12 September 1922 – 4 August 2019) was a Japanese theoretical physicist who contributed to a relativistic Hamiltonian formalism in quantum field theory.
Yasuko Hatoyama (鳩山 安子, Hatoyama Yasuko; 11 September 1922 – 11 February 2013) was the wife of former Japanese Foreign…
Yasuko Hatoyama (鳩山 安子, Hatoyama Yasuko; 11 September 1922 – 11 February 2013) was the wife of former Japanese Foreign Minister Iichirō Hatoyama and mother of former Prime Minister of Japan Yukio Hatoyama and Diet (Japan's bicameral legislature) member Kunio Hatoyama. Hatoyama funded the establishment of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).
Setsuro Ebashi MJA ForMemRS (江橋 節郎, Ebashi Setsurō; 31 August 1922 Tokyo – 17 July 2006 Okazaki) was a prominent…
Setsuro Ebashi MJA ForMemRS (江橋 節郎, Ebashi Setsurō; 31 August 1922 Tokyo – 17 July 2006 Okazaki) was a prominent Japanese physiologist who uncovered the regulatory role of calcium in cells. He is famous for the discovery of troponin in 1965, which is integral to muscle contraction, as well as for the contribution of diagnosis of muscular dystrophy.
Shigehiro Ozawa (小沢 茂弘, Ozawa Shigehiro; 29 August 1922 – 12 October 2004) was a Japanese film director and…
Shigehiro Ozawa (小沢 茂弘, Ozawa Shigehiro; 29 August 1922 – 12 October 2004) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his film The Street Fighter. He directed over 110 films between 1954 and 1976.
Sōsuke Uno (宇野 宗佑, Uno Sōsuke; 27 August 1922 – 19 May 1998) was a former Japanese politician who served as prime…
Sōsuke Uno (宇野 宗佑, Uno Sōsuke; 27 August 1922 – 19 May 1998) was a former Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan in 1989. Born in Shiga Prefecture, Uno enrolled in the Kobe College of Commerce before he was conscripted into the army during the Second World War. In 1960, he entered politics and was elected to the National Diet, becoming a leading Liberal Democratic Party member and a key ally of Yasuhiro Nakasone. Uno served as director of the Defense Agency under Kakuei Tanaka, as director of the Science and Technology Agency under Takeo Fukuda, and as director of the Administrative Management Agency under Masayoshi Ōhira. He was briefly international trade and industry minister in 1983, and foreign minister in 1987–1989. In 1989, Uno became prime minister but served for only two months before he resigned after a poor showing in that year's upper house election, influenced by the lingering Recruit scandal and public financial scandal with an outspoken Geisha mistress.
Taro Kagawa (賀川 太郎, Kagawa Tarō; August 9, 1922 – March 6, 1990) was a Japanese football player. He played for Japan's…
Taro Kagawa (賀川 太郎, Kagawa Tarō; August 9, 1922 – March 6, 1990) was a Japanese football player. He played for Japan's national team. His brother was journalist and former footballer Hiroshi Kagawa.
Kazuyoshi Kino (紀野一義, Kino Kazuyoshi; August 9, 1922 – December 28, 2013) was a Japanese Buddhist scholar. Together…
Kazuyoshi Kino (紀野一義, Kino Kazuyoshi; August 9, 1922 – December 28, 2013) was a Japanese Buddhist scholar. Together with Hajime Nakamura and others, he translated the Heart Sutra, the Prajnaparamita sutras, and the three main sutras of the Jodo sect.
Isao Nakauchi (中内 功; August 2, 1922, in Osaka, Japan – September 19, 2005) was the founder of Daiei.
Ken Noritake (則武 謙, Noritake Ken; July 18, 1922 – March 6, 1994) was a Japanese football player who played for the…
Ken Noritake (則武 謙, Noritake Ken; July 18, 1922 – March 6, 1994) was a Japanese football player who played for the Japan national team.
Tetsurō Tamba (Japanese: 丹波 哲郎, Hepburn: Tanba Tetsurō), born Shozaburo Tanba (丹波 正三郎, Tanba Shōzaburō; July 17, 1922 –…
Tetsurō Tamba (Japanese: 丹波 哲郎, Hepburn: Tanba Tetsurō), born Shozaburo Tanba (丹波 正三郎, Tanba Shōzaburō; July 17, 1922 – September 24, 2006), was a Japanese actor with a career spanning five decades. He appeared in nearly 300 film and television productions, both in leading and supporting roles, and was the winner of the 1981 Japan Academy Film Prize for Best Supporting Actor. At the height of his career, he was one of Japan's most esteemed and prolific leading men, and worked with many significant directors including Kinji Fukasaku, Shōhei Imamura, Masaki Kobayashi, Masahiro Shinoda and Takashi Miike. Several of his films were identified with the Japanese New Wave movement. He also appeared in several international films, notably as Japanese secret service chief Tiger Tanaka in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice. Later in his life, Tamba became known for his well-publicized interest in psychic phenomena, publishing several books on the subject and acting as a spokesperson for the Risshō Kōsei Kai new religious movement. He continued acting until 2006, when he died of pneumonia.
Yoshinobu Nishioka (西岡 善信, Nishioka Yoshinobu; July 8, 1923 – October 11, 2019) was a Japanese jidaigeki production…
Yoshinobu Nishioka (西岡 善信, Nishioka Yoshinobu; July 8, 1923 – October 11, 2019) was a Japanese jidaigeki production designer, art director, producer and set decorator from Asuka, Nara Prefecture who won three Japan Academy Film Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction. Nishioka joined Daiei Kyoto film in 1948. His first work as an art director was in the 1952 film Tenpo Suikoden. After the bankruptcy of Daiei film he founded Eizo Kyoto production with former employees of Daiei film.
Shigeru "Shiggy" Konno (金野 滋, Konno Shigeru; 7 July 1922 – 1 April 2007) was a noted figure in post-war rugby union in…
Shigeru "Shiggy" Konno (金野 滋, Konno Shigeru; 7 July 1922 – 1 April 2007) was a noted figure in post-war rugby union in Japan for over fifty years. He was a strong advocate of amateurism in the game.
Stephen (often rendered as Latin Stephanus) Kim Sou-hwan (Korean: 김수환 스테파노; Hanja: 金壽煥 스테파노; July 2, 1922 – February…
Stephen (often rendered as Latin Stephanus) Kim Sou-hwan (Korean: 김수환 스테파노; Hanja: 金壽煥 스테파노; July 2, 1922 – February 16, 2009) was a Korean prelate of the Catholic Church and the Korea's first elevated to the rank of cardinal. He is a former archbishop of Seoul, South Korea. Having been an iconic figure in South Korea's bloody and tumultuous transition from military rule to democracy, he was widely respected across all sections in South Korean society. He is venerated by the Roman Catholic Church having been declared Servant of God by Pope Francis.
Akira Fujiwara (藤原 彰, Fujiwara Akira; 2 July 1922 – 26 February 2003) was a Japanese historian. His academic speciality…
Akira Fujiwara (藤原 彰, Fujiwara Akira; 2 July 1922 – 26 February 2003) was a Japanese historian. His academic speciality was modern Japanese history and he was a professor emeritus at Hitotsubashi University. In 1980 he became a member of the Science Council of Japan and was a former chairman of the Historical Science Society of Japan.
Takayuki Kiyooka (清岡 卓行, Kiyooka Takayuki; July 29, 1922 - June 3, 2006) was a Japanese poet and novelist. He was born…
Takayuki Kiyooka (清岡 卓行, Kiyooka Takayuki; July 29, 1922 - June 3, 2006) was a Japanese poet and novelist. He was born in Dalian, China, while it was Japan's leased territory, spent his youth there, and is noted for his stories about the life in Dalian. He received the Akutagawa Prize in 1969, for his story, Dalian of Acasia Flowers. He was married to Keiko Iwasaka.
Shunsuke Tsurumi (鶴見 俊輔, Tsurumi Shunsuke; June 25, 1922 – July 20, 2015) was a Japanese philosopher, historian, and…
Shunsuke Tsurumi (鶴見 俊輔, Tsurumi Shunsuke; June 25, 1922 – July 20, 2015) was a Japanese philosopher, historian, and sociologist.
Fumio Abe (阿部 文男, Abe Fumio; 23 June 1922 – 6 December 2006) was a politician in Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)…
Fumio Abe (阿部 文男, Abe Fumio; 23 June 1922 – 6 December 2006) was a politician in Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) who served as state minister for Hokkaido and Okinawa development agencies. Abe was not related to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose surname is pronounced identically but written using different characters (安倍).
Shinzo Maeda (前田真三, Maeda Shinzō; 1922–1998) was a Japanese photographer famous for landscape photographs and movies.…
Shinzo Maeda (前田真三, Maeda Shinzō; 1922–1998) was a Japanese photographer famous for landscape photographs and movies. He published 46 photography books in Japan, and founded the Tankei Photo Agency Co. The Shinzo Maeda Photo Art Gallery in Biei, Hokkaidō, opened in 1987, and exhibits a number of his Hokkaidō photographs. One of his movies, Tower on the Hill of Japan's Biei region, is often shown in HDTV format.
Reiko Miyagi (27 May 1922 – 1 June 2008) was a Japanese tennis player of the 1950s and 1960s. She was the elder sister…
Reiko Miyagi (27 May 1922 – 1 June 2008) was a Japanese tennis player of the 1950s and 1960s. She was the elder sister of grand slam doubles champion Atsushi Miyagi. Miyagi was born in Ōta City, near the grounds of the Denen Coliseum where she trained. A four-time Asian Games gold medalist, Miyagi won a record thirty titles at the All Japan Championships across singles and doubles. Ten of those national titles were in singles, including eight that Miyagi won consecutively from 1956 to 1963. In 1964 she was a member of Japan's first ever Federation Cup team and made the singles second round of that year's U.S. National Championships, losing to Billie Jean Moffitt. Miyagi was the Japanese Federation Cup coach from 1978 to 1982.
Sadao Bekku (別宮貞雄, Bekku Sadao; May 24, 1922, in Tokyo – January 12, 2012, in Mitaka, Tokyo) was a Japanese classical…
Sadao Bekku (別宮貞雄, Bekku Sadao; May 24, 1922, in Tokyo – January 12, 2012, in Mitaka, Tokyo) was a Japanese classical composer. His works include five symphonies, film scores, a flute sonata, a piano concerto, choral work and art songs, and the opera, Prince Arima. His work took strong influence from jazz. His best-known works include the film score Matango (1963).
Jakucho Setouchi (15 May 1922 – 9 November 2021; born Harumi Mitani), formerly known as Harumi Setouchi, was a Japanese…
Jakucho Setouchi (15 May 1922 – 9 November 2021; born Harumi Mitani), formerly known as Harumi Setouchi, was a Japanese Buddhist nun, writer, and activist. Setouchi wrote a best-selling translation of The Tale of Genji and over 400 fictional biographical and historical novels. In 1997, she was honoured as a Person of Cultural Merit, and in 2006, she was awarded the Order of Culture of Japan.
Izuo Hayashi (林 厳雄, Hayashi Izuo) (May 1, 1922 – September 26, 2005) was a Japanese physicist. Hayashi was born in…
Izuo Hayashi (林 厳雄, Hayashi Izuo) (May 1, 1922 – September 26, 2005) was a Japanese physicist. Hayashi was born in Tokyo in 1922 and graduated from the faculty of science, University of Tokyo in 1946. He worked as assistant professor at the Institute for Nuclear Research of the same university and defended his PhD in 1962. After the PhD defense, he stayed for a year at MIT, and between 1964 and 1971 worked at Bell Labs on semiconductor lasers. In 1970, Hayashi helped develop the first room-temperature continuous-wave semiconductor injection laser with double heterostructure. In 1971 he joined the Research Laboratories of NEC where he continued his studies of semiconductor lasers, aiming to improve their reliability and lifetime. Between 1982 and 1987 he was a head scientist at NEC, and in 1987–1994 became director of the Optoelectronics Technology Research Laboratory in Tsukuba. From 1994 until retirement in 1996, he served as advisor in the same laboratory. Hayashi died of acute leukemia in 2005.
Akira Iwai (岩井 章, Iwai Akira; April 25, 1922 – February 18, 1997) was a Japanese trade union leader. He served as the…
Akira Iwai (岩井 章, Iwai Akira; April 25, 1922 – February 18, 1997) was a Japanese trade union leader. He served as the secretary-general of the General Council of Trade Unions of Japan (Sōhyō) from 1955 to 1970. Born in Matsumoto, Nagano, Iwai left school in 1937 and began working as a locomotive hand on the Japan National Railways. He served in the armed forces during World War II, but returned to the railways after the war, and joined the National Railway Workers' Union. In 1950, he became the chair of the union's headquarters struggle committee, leading the union's "year-end struggle" in 1952 and 1953, but in 1954 he was sacked by his employer due his trade union activities. Within the national trade federation Sōhyō, Iwai voiced his disagreement with secretary-general Minoru Takano over Takano's "Peace Force Thesis," whereby Takano sought to align Sōhyō with the "peaceful" Soviet Union and Communist China against the "warlike" United States. In 1955, Iwai was instrumental in blocking the reelection of Takano to a fifth term, and was himself elected secretary-general instead. When the charismatic Kaoru Ōta was elected Sōhyō chairman in 1958, Ōta and Iwai formed a close partnership known as the "Ōta-Iwai Line," which sought to balance wage struggles with political struggles. Iwai supported Ōta's policy of the "spring wage offensive" (shuntō), an annual, coordinated, pre-scheduled strike by Sōhyō unions to secure annual wage increases in line with Japan's economic growth. Iwai also helped oversee Sōhyō's militant role in the 1960 Anpo protests against the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty and the 1960 Mitsui Miike Coal Mine Strike. However, both the Anpo and Miike struggles came to be viewed as defeats for the labor movement, as the Anpo protests failed to stop passage of a revised security treaty, and the Miike miners' union was broken when Mitsui corporation succeeded in hiving off a more pliable "second union" and reopening the mine. After these perceived failures, Iwai and Ōta sought to further moderate Sōhyō's renowned militancy, shying away from political protests and focusing more on bread-and-butter issues such as securing piecemeal workplace improvements and wage increases, negotiated amicably with employers in advance of the annual shuntō spring wage offensive. Public-sector unions, however, did not benefit as much from these efforts, and saw their wages falling behind private-sector counterparts. These workers remained extremely militant, and pressured Sōhyō to take more forceful actions vis-a-vis their government employers. When Sōhyō's public-sector unions threatened to go on strike in 1964, in defiance of a law banning public-sector workers from striking, Ōta and Iwai met face-to-face with Prime Minister of Japan Ikeda Hayato, and successfully negotiated an annual increase in public sector wages that would match pay in the private sector, in exchange for a promise to further reduce labor militancy. Iwai retired as secretary-general of Sōhyō in 1970, and was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize that same year. In 1972, he became vice-president of the Japan-Soviet Friendship Society.
Ayako Miura (三浦綾子, Miura Ayako; 25 April 1922 – 12 October 1999) was a Japanese novelist. She published over eighty…
Ayako Miura (三浦綾子, Miura Ayako; 25 April 1922 – 12 October 1999) was a Japanese novelist. She published over eighty works of both fiction and non-fiction. Many of her works are considered best-sellers, and a number have been remade as feature-length films. Her debut novel, Hyōten (氷点, "Freezing Point"), was published in 1964, and won the Asahi Shimbun's Ten Million Yen Award that same year.
Kazui Nihonmatsu (二本松 嘉瑞, Nihonmatsu Yoshimitsu) (born 9 April 1922, date of death unknown) was a Japanese film…
Kazui Nihonmatsu (二本松 嘉瑞, Nihonmatsu Yoshimitsu) (born 9 April 1922, date of death unknown) was a Japanese film director.
Kiyoyuki Terada (寺田精之, Terada Kiyoyuki, March 20, 1922 – July 13, 2009) was a Japanese aikido teacher. He was ranked…
Kiyoyuki Terada (寺田精之, Terada Kiyoyuki, March 20, 1922 – July 13, 2009) was a Japanese aikido teacher. He was ranked 10th dan in Yoshinkan Aikido and served as the most senior instructor in Yoshinkan Aikido until his death.
Hiroo Onoda (Japanese: 小野田 寛郎, Hepburn: Onoda Hiroo; IPA: [o̞no̞da̠ çiɾo̞ː]) (19 March 1922 – 16 January 2014) was a…
Hiroo Onoda (Japanese: 小野田 寛郎, Hepburn: Onoda Hiroo; IPA: [o̞no̞da̠ çiɾo̞ː]) (19 March 1922 – 16 January 2014) was a Japanese soldier who served as a second lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. One of the last Japanese holdouts, Onoda continued fighting for nearly 29 years after the war's end in 1945, carrying out guerrilla warfare on Lubang Island in the Philippines until 1974. Onoda initially held out with three other soldiers. One surrendered in 1950, and two were killed, one in 1954 and one in 1972. The men did not believe flyers and letters from their families stating that the war was over. They survived on wild fruits, game, and stolen rice, and occasionally engaged in shootouts (using their service rifles) with locals and police. Onoda was contacted in the jungles of Lubang by Japanese adventurer Norio Suzuki in 1974 but still refused to surrender until he was formally relieved of duty by his former commanding officer, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi, who flew from Japan to the island to issue the order. Onoda surrendered on 10 March 1974 and received a hero's welcome when he returned to Japan. That year, he wrote and published an autobiography and later moved to Brazil, where he became a cattle rancher. In 1984, Onoda returned to Japan, where he died in 2014 at the age of 91.
Kim Chung-up (Korean: 김중업; Hanja: 金重業; 9 March 1922 – 11 May 1988) was a Korean architect and educator.
Shigeru Mura (Japanese: 武良 茂, Hepburn: Mura Shigeru; March 8, 1922 – November 30, 2015), best known by his pen name…
Shigeru Mura (Japanese: 武良 茂, Hepburn: Mura Shigeru; March 8, 1922 – November 30, 2015), best known by his pen name Shigeru Mizuki (水木 しげる, Mizuki Shigeru), was a Japanese manga artist, illustrator and folklorist. He is best known for popularizing and reviving interest in yōkai, supernatural creatures from Japanese folklore, especially through his most famous series GeGeGe no Kitarō. Raised in Sakaiminato, Mizuki developed an early interest in art and the supernatural. Drafted during World War II, he lost his left arm in combat, an experience that deeply shaped his later antimilitarist works, including Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths. Mizuki began his career in kamishibai (paper theater) and transitioned to manga in the late 1950s. His signature style contrasted cartoonish characters with highly detailed backgrounds and grotesque depictions of yōkai. Deeply influenced by oral folklore, especially stories told by a woman he called "Nonnonba," he also engaged in extensive ethnographic research. His works often combined autobiography, history, and fantasy to critique modernization, nationalism, and imperialism. A recipient of numerous awards, his legacy extends into global pop culture through translations, adaptations, and homages in media.
Akira Yamada (山田 晶, Yamada Akira; 7 March 1922 – 29 February 2008) was a Japanese scholar and philosopher of the West…
Akira Yamada (山田 晶, Yamada Akira; 7 March 1922 – 29 February 2008) was a Japanese scholar and philosopher of the West European Medieval philosophy. He was member of the Japan Academy since 1998.
Kotonishiki Noboru (March 7, 1922 – July 14, 1974, born Noboru Fujimura) was a sumo wrestler and coach from Kanonji…
Kotonishiki Noboru (March 7, 1922 – July 14, 1974, born Noboru Fujimura) was a sumo wrestler and coach from Kanonji, Kagawa, Japan. His highest rank was komusubi. He was runner-up in the January 1949 tournament and earned seven gold stars for defeating yokozuna. After his retirement in 1955 he founded the Sadogatake stable and produced yokozuna Kotozakura among others. He ran the stable until his death in 1974.
Kazuo Nakamoto (Japanese: 中本 一男, 1 March 1922 - 7 June 2011) was a Japan-born American chemist and Professor Emeritus…
Kazuo Nakamoto (Japanese: 中本 一男, 1 March 1922 - 7 June 2011) was a Japan-born American chemist and Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Marquette University. He specialized in infrared and Raman spectroscopy.
Hiromori Kawashima (27 February 1922 – 9 December 2012) was a Japanese police officer and executive who served as the…
Hiromori Kawashima (27 February 1922 – 9 December 2012) was a Japanese police officer and executive who served as the Commissioner of Baseball in Nippon Professional Baseball from 1998 to 2004. He is a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame. Kawashima was an alumnus of Chuo University. He was a senior police officer after the war and served as chief of the Security Bureau of the National Police Agency from 1968 to 1970, director of the Cabinet Research Office in 1971 and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary from 1973 to 1976. In 1979 Kawashima was president of the Japan Railway Construction Public Corporation (JRCC). He was one of six JRCC executives forced to step down in September 1979 when it was revealed that the corporation had used money intended for overtime and other expenses for personal vacations. In December 1998 Kawashima and Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig and signed the revised United States – Japanese Player Contract Agreement, which initiated the "posting system." It required MLB teams to place "bids" for NPB players, which became the basis of transfer fees that are paid as compensation to NPB teams whose star players sign with MLB. Kawashima died on 9 December 2012, at the age of 90.
Makoto Tanabe (田邊 誠; 25 February 1922 – 2 July 2015) was the chairman of the former Japan Socialist Party, now known as…
Makoto Tanabe (田邊 誠; 25 February 1922 – 2 July 2015) was the chairman of the former Japan Socialist Party, now known as the Social Democratic Party of Japan. He was elected to the position in 1991. Tanabe was from the right wing of the party and was a reformer. He served in the Japanese House of Representatives 11 times. Tanabe was a supporter of giving Japanese aide to deal with the lack of food in North Korea. He was also supportive of apologizing for Japan's behaviour during World War II and of giving reparations to those in Asian countries. He died on 2 July 2015, at the age of 93.
Hitoshi Motoshima (本島 等, Motoshima Hitoshi; 20 February 1922 – 31 October 2014) was a Japanese politician. He served…
Hitoshi Motoshima (本島 等, Motoshima Hitoshi; 20 February 1922 – 31 October 2014) was a Japanese politician. He served four terms as mayor of Nagasaki from 1979 to 1995. He publicly made controversial statements about the responsibility of Japan and its then-reigning Emperor for World War II, and survived a retaliatory assassination attempt in 1990 by a right wing fanatic. His mayoral successor, Iccho Itoh, was killed in an unrelated assassination in 2007.