Harumi Kurihara (栗原 はるみ, Kurihara Harumi; born March 5, 1947) is a celebrity homemaker and television personality in…Harumi Kurihara (栗原 はるみ, Kurihara Harumi; born March 5, 1947) is a celebrity homemaker and television personality in Japan. Kurihara has often been called the "Martha Stewart of Japan", and has enjoyed popularity there for over twenty years. She is the host of numerous television shows, author of Suteki Recipe, a quarterly recipe magazine which has sold 5 million copies, as well as over 20 bestselling cookbooks and style magazines, has a line of cookware named after her, and owns a chain of stores. Her homemaking empire is named Yutori no Kukan, which means "a space to relax". She has had sponsorship deals with companies such as P&G, Shiseido, 3M, Takara Distillers and Nissan. She was born in Shimoda, a coastal city, and never had professional training as a chef. She is therefore known for satisfying home cooking. In particular her cuisine is known for combining traditional and newer Western influences, while accounting for the real-world time constraints of a housewife. She is married to Reiji Kurihara, a former television newsanchor, who originally encouraged her to begin her television career, and is now president of Yutori no Kukan. Harumi's first cookbook was Gochisōsama Ga Kikitakute!, which translates to "I want to hear you say: 'I'm all finished and that was great!'". Harumi's first major cookbook published in English was Harumi's Japanese Cooking, which in 2004 was awarded the best cookbook of the year (and the best world Asian cuisine book) at the 10th Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, and was selected from a pool of 5000 cookbooks from 67 countries.
Tomoharu Katsumata (勝間田 具治, Katsumata Tomoharu; born in February 4, 1938 in Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan) is a Japanese…Tomoharu Katsumata (勝間田 具治, Katsumata Tomoharu; born in February 4, 1938 in Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan) is a Japanese film director best known for his work on various anime works. A leading director at the Toei Animation studio during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, Katsumata worked as a director on several of Toei's anime television adaptations of manga by Go Nagai, including Devilman (1972), Mazinger Z (1972), Cutey Honey (1973), Great Mazinger (1974), UFO Robo Grendizer (1975) and Gaiking (1976) (both Grendizer and Gaiking became later part of Jim Terry's Force Five package on U.S. television). Katsumata also directed a TV adaptation of Silver Fang -The Shooting Star Gin- in 1986.
Kumeko Urabe (Japanese: 浦辺 粂子, romanized: Urabe Kumeko), born Kimura Kume (木村 くめ, Kimura Kume), (October 5, 1902 –…Kumeko Urabe (Japanese: 浦辺 粂子, romanized: Urabe Kumeko), born Kimura Kume (木村 くめ, Kimura Kume), (October 5, 1902 – October 26, 1989) was a Japanese movie actress, one of the first in the country. She worked on stage and in film and television. Urabe was born in a rural part of Shizuoka Prefecture. She lived in several homes while growing up, as she relocated with her father, a Buddhist priest, among the temples to which he was assigned. Urabe completed her education in Numazu, and left school in 1919 to join a theatre company, touring under various stage names as an actor and dancer. In 1923, Urabe auditioned at the film studio Nikkatsu, and adopted the name Kumeko Urabe, by which she was known for the rest of her life. She appeared in her first film the following year, and continued to act until 1987. She worked with such directors as Kenji Mizoguchi and Mikio Naruse, and performed in over 320 films, including Ikiru, Older Brother, Younger Sister, Portrait of Madame Yuki, She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum, and Street of Shame. She also starred in television dramas, including thirteen episodes of Toshiba Sunday Theatre between 1958 and 1980. In the following decade, she carved a niche as a Grandma idol, until her death in 1989.
Gakuryō Nakamura (中村岳陵, Nakamura Gakuryō) (1890–1969) was a Japanese Nihonga painter and designer. He received a…Gakuryō Nakamura (中村岳陵, Nakamura Gakuryō) (1890–1969) was a Japanese Nihonga painter and designer. He received a commission to decorate the Hōmei-den state banquet hall of the Tokyo Imperial Palace. He designed the tapestry works for the decorations of the wall called “Toyohata-gumo (A Pretty Bank of Clouds)”. He was also commissioned to decorate the Ume-no-Ma audience room, a hall that has an area of 152 square meters or 46 tsubo. His “Kouhaku-bai” drawing is at the centre of the wall.
Shimooka Renjō (下岡 蓮杖; March 24, 1823 – March 3, 1914) was a Japanese photographer and was one of the first…Shimooka Renjō (下岡 蓮杖; March 24, 1823 – March 3, 1914) was a Japanese photographer and was one of the first professional photographers in Japan. He opened the first commercial photography studio in Yokohama, and in Japan he is widely considered the father of Japanese photography.