Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture: 188 people
Keiko Kawashima (Japanese: 川島慶子; born 1959) is a Japanese historian of science whose research has focused on women in…
Keiko Kawashima (Japanese: 川島慶子; born 1959) is a Japanese historian of science whose research has focused on women in science and gender in science. She is a professor emerita at the Nagoya Institute of Technology.
Yukihiko Imasaki (今崎 幸彦, Imasaki Yukihiko; born November 10, 1957) is a Japanese jurist. He has served as the Chief…
Yukihiko Imasaki (今崎 幸彦, Imasaki Yukihiko; born November 10, 1957) is a Japanese jurist. He has served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Japan since August 16, 2024. Previously, Imasaki served as Chief Justice of both the Mito and Tokyo District Courts. He was appointed to the Supreme Court on June 24, 2022.
Akira Asada (浅田 彰, Asada Akira; born March 23, 1957) is a Japanese postmodern critic and curator, whose interests…
Akira Asada (浅田 彰, Asada Akira; born March 23, 1957) is a Japanese postmodern critic and curator, whose interests include contemporary arts, the history of social thought, and economic philosophy. He is currently the Dean of the Graduate School at the Kyoto University of Art and Design. Until March 2008, he served as an associate professor of economics at the Institute of Economic Research at Kyoto University (KIER). Asada is widely recognized as the author of the bestselling book, "構造と力─記号論を超えて (Structure and Power: Beyond Semiotics)", which was published in 1983. He holds a position as a member of the supervisory committee at NTT InterCommunication Center, and was a co-editor of the Japanese quarterly journal Hihyōkūkan (Critical Space) with Kojin Karatani until 2002. It has been noted that it was popular in late 1980s Japan to have words ending with "... phenomenon", an example being the use of the expression "Akira Asada phenomenon", which took the name of Asada as he was a central figure in the "new academism" that was a much-discussed topic at the time.
Hiroshi Michinaga (道永 宏, Michinaga Hiroshi) (born 8 October 1956) is an archer from Japan, who was born in Hyogo…
Hiroshi Michinaga (道永 宏, Michinaga Hiroshi) (born 8 October 1956) is an archer from Japan, who was born in Hyogo, Japan. He competed for Japan in the 1976 Summer Olympics held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in the individual event where he finished in second place behind American Darrell Pace .
Kazuhiko "Kay" Nishi (西 和彦, Nishi Kazuhiko; born February 10, 1956 in Kobe, Japan) is a Japanese businessman and…
Kazuhiko "Kay" Nishi (西 和彦, Nishi Kazuhiko; born February 10, 1956 in Kobe, Japan) is a Japanese businessman and personal computer pioneer.
Tsuji Yasuhiro (Japanese: 辻 泰弘), born 1955, is a former Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan.
Yoshihiro Kawaoka (河岡 義裕, Kawaoka Yoshihiro; born November 14, 1955) is a virologist specializing in the study of the…
Yoshihiro Kawaoka (河岡 義裕, Kawaoka Yoshihiro; born November 14, 1955) is a virologist specializing in the study of the influenza and Ebola viruses. He holds a professorship in virology in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, and at the University of Tokyo, Japan. Following the West African Ebola virus epidemic of 2014, Kawaoka attempted to develop an Ebola vaccine working in close coordination with Alhaji N'jai, a toxicologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and his non-profit organization Project 1808, Inc.
Kiyoshi Kurosawa (黒沢 清, Kurosawa Kiyoshi; born July 19, 1955) is a Japanese filmmaker, critic, author, actor, and a…
Kiyoshi Kurosawa (黒沢 清, Kurosawa Kiyoshi; born July 19, 1955) is a Japanese filmmaker, critic, author, actor, and a former professor at Tokyo University of the Arts (2005–23). Noted for his psychological films that often focus on ambiguous narratives and on their characters' inner turmoils and quests for meaning and connections, he is best known for his contributions to psychological horror and Japanese horror, notably his acclaimed 1997 film Cure and his 2001 film Pulse, although he has also worked in a variety of other genres. While most of his work has been in Japanese, two of his films, Daguerrotype (2016) and Serpent's Path (2024; a remake of his own 1998 film of the same name), were in French. Kurosawa received the Medal with Purple Ribbon for his contributions to Japanese cinema, in 2021. The New York Times stated that Kurosawa "is to psychological fright what David Cronenberg is to body horror."
Hirofumi Hayashi (林 博史, Hayashi Hirofumi; born April 6, 1955) is a historian, an authority on modern Japanese history…
Hirofumi Hayashi (林 博史, Hayashi Hirofumi; born April 6, 1955) is a historian, an authority on modern Japanese history, and is a professor of politics at the Kanto Gakuin University. He has been conducting research on the Japanese occupation of Southeast Asia, Japanese war crimes, and war crimes trials including the subject of comfort women.
Yūji Kuroiwa (黒岩 祐治, Kuroiwa Yūji; born 26 September 1954) is a Japanese politician and the governor of Kanagawa…
Yūji Kuroiwa (黒岩 祐治, Kuroiwa Yūji; born 26 September 1954) is a Japanese politician and the governor of Kanagawa Prefecture located in Kantō region of Japan.
Masaaki Suzuki (鈴木 雅明, Suzuki Masaaki; born 29 April 1954) is a Japanese organist, harpsichordist, conductor, and the…
Masaaki Suzuki (鈴木 雅明, Suzuki Masaaki; born 29 April 1954) is a Japanese organist, harpsichordist, conductor, and the founder and music director of the Bach Collegium Japan. With this ensemble he is recording the complete choral works of Johann Sebastian Bach for the Swedish label BIS Records, for which he is also recording Bach's concertos, orchestral suites, and solo works for harpsichord and organ. He is also an artist-in-residence at Yale University and the principal guest conductor of its Schola Cantorum, and has conducted orchestras and choruses around the world.
Kizō Hisamoto (久元 喜造, Hisamoto Kizō) is a Japanese politician and the current mayor of Kobe, the capital city of Hyōgo…
Kizō Hisamoto (久元 喜造, Hisamoto Kizō) is a Japanese politician and the current mayor of Kobe, the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture in Japan.
Sonoko Nakano (中野園子, Nakano Sonoko; born October 16, 1952) is a Japanese figure skating coach. Nakano is best known for…
Sonoko Nakano (中野園子, Nakano Sonoko; born October 16, 1952) is a Japanese figure skating coach. Nakano is best known for coaching Kaori Sakamoto, a four-time Olympic medalist and four-time World champion, and Mai Mihara, a two-time Four Continents and the 2022–23 Grand Prix Final champion, for their entire careers.
Kumiko Haba (羽場 久美子, Haba Kumiko) (born 1952) is a Japanese academic and an emeritus professor of international…
Kumiko Haba (羽場 久美子, Haba Kumiko) (born 1952) is a Japanese academic and an emeritus professor of international relations at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo. Her research focus is on international relations, global cooperation, migration, nationalism and xenophobia, and political stability. She's written extensively about the EU and Brexit and more recently about Trump. Haba is the author of more than 50 books and 160 articles.
Shigeharu Aoyama (青山繁晴; born 25 July 1952) is a Japanese politician serving in the House of Representatives. Between…
Shigeharu Aoyama (青山繁晴; born 25 July 1952) is a Japanese politician serving in the House of Representatives. Between 2016 and 2026, he was in the House of Councillors of Japan. He represented the National proportional representation block. He has served on the Committee on Economy and Industry (as Director); Committee on Budget; and on the Special Committee on Official Development Assistance and Related Matters.
Ichiko Hashimoto (橋本 一子, Hashimoto Ichiko; born July 1, 1952 in Kobe, Japan) is a jazz pianist, composer and singer.…
Ichiko Hashimoto (橋本 一子, Hashimoto Ichiko; born July 1, 1952 in Kobe, Japan) is a jazz pianist, composer and singer. She has also acted in television and film. Hashimoto was born in Kobe, grew up in Tokyo and started playing the piano at the age of five. She attended Musashino Academia Musicae, where she graduated in 1975. Ichiko sometimes performs with her sister Mayumi Hashimoto (橋本 まゆみ, Hashimoto Mayumi).
Toshihide Isamu Iguchi (井口俊英) (1951–2019) was an Executive VP and U.S. Government Bond trader at Daiwa Bank's New York…
Toshihide Isamu Iguchi (井口俊英) (1951–2019) was an Executive VP and U.S. Government Bond trader at Daiwa Bank's New York Branch, who was responsible for $1.1 billion in unauthorized trading losses accumulated over a period of 12 years beginning in 1983.
Hiroshi Kato (加藤 寛, Katō Hiroshi; born January 29, 1951) is a former Japanese football player and manager.
Keiko Itoh is a Japanese writer and historian in the United Kingdom.
Issei Sagawa (佐川 一政, Sagawa Issei; 26 April 1949 – 24 November 2022) also known as Pang or the Kobe Cannibal, was a…
Issei Sagawa (佐川 一政, Sagawa Issei; 26 April 1949 – 24 November 2022) also known as Pang or the Kobe Cannibal, was a Japanese lust murderer, cannibal, and necrophiliac known for the killing of Renée Hartevelt in Paris in 1981. He murdered Hartevelt and then mutilated, cannibalized, and performed necrophilia on her corpse over several days. In France, Sagawa was judged to be legally insane and ordered to be held indefinitely in a mental institution. After a few years, he was deported to Japan, where psychologists from Matsuzawa Hospital examined him and unanimously concluded that he was sane. He therefore had to be released from the hospital in 1986. Since the criminal case in France had been closed and the court records were not made available to the Japanese authorities, Sagawa was not again put on trial and spent the rest of his life a free man. While this was widely criticized as an example of obstruction of justice, he became a minor celebrity in Japan and made a living through the public's interest in his crime.
Shinzō Shimao (島尾伸三, Shimao Shinzō; born July 7, 1948 in Kobe) is a Japanese photographer. He is a student of…
Shinzō Shimao (島尾伸三, Shimao Shinzō; born July 7, 1948 in Kobe) is a Japanese photographer. He is a student of photographer Ōtsuji Kiyoji, and husband to Tokuko Ushioda.
Mayako Kubo (born 5 December 1947) is a Japanese pianist and composer.
Keiji Uematsu (born 1947) is a Japanese sculptor and contemporary artist.
Maki Sasaki (佐々木 マキ, Sasaki Maki; born October 18, 1946) is a Japanese illustrator, picture book writer, and manga…
Maki Sasaki (佐々木 マキ, Sasaki Maki; born October 18, 1946) is a Japanese illustrator, picture book writer, and manga artist. His avant-garde comics are characterized by non-sequiturs and absurd imagery, being called "anti-manga".
Oh Seung-Lip (Korean: 오승립; born 6 October 1946) is a Korean former judoka who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics. He…
Oh Seung-Lip (Korean: 오승립; born 6 October 1946) is a Korean former judoka who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics. He won a bronze medal at the 1969 World Judo Championships.
David Toshio Tsumura (津村 俊夫, Tsumura Toshio; born February 4, 1944) is a linguist, Old Testament scholar, dean of…
David Toshio Tsumura (津村 俊夫, Tsumura Toshio; born February 4, 1944) is a linguist, Old Testament scholar, dean of faculty, and professor of Old Testament professor at Japan Bible Seminary. His degrees are: a M.Div., an M.A., and a Ph.D. He is a chairman of the Tokyo Museum of Biblical Archaeology, editor of Exegetica: Studies in Biblical Exegesis, chairman of the New Japanese Bible（新改訳）Publishing Association, and author of the volume on 1 Samuel in the New International Commentary on the Old Testament series. He is well known as an Ugarit scholar.
Hisashi Yamamoto (山本 尚, Yamamoto Hisashi) (born July 16, 1943) is a prominent organic chemist and currently a member of…
Hisashi Yamamoto (山本 尚, Yamamoto Hisashi) (born July 16, 1943) is a prominent organic chemist and currently a member of the faculty at the University of Chicago and professor of Chubu University.
Shozo Doi (土井 正三, Doi Shōzō; June 28, 1942 – September 25, 2009) was a former Japanese baseball player. He played for…
Shozo Doi (土井 正三, Doi Shōzō; June 28, 1942 – September 25, 2009) was a former Japanese baseball player. He played for the Yomiuri Giants in the Nippon Professional Baseball. He was highly hated during his time as manager of the Orix BlueWave from 1991 to 1993 because he replaced longtime manager Toshiharu Ueda, who led the team to their 3 Japan Series titles under Hankyu. He alienated star player Greg "Boomer" Wells, an 8-year NPB veteran and Triple Crown winner, eventually leading Wells to request a trade to the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. From then on, the furious BlueWave fans would constantly taunt Doi when he took the field. Doi is also infamous for his refusal to play a young Ichiro Suzuki because of his unwillingness to accept Ichiro’s unorthodox swing. Doi was fired in 1993, and his successor, Akira Ōgi, immediately inserted Ichiro into the lineup every day, and he quickly blossomed into a superstar, leading to them winning the Pacific League pennant in 1995 and 1996, winning the Japan Series in the latter year.
Shozo Tsugitani (継谷 昌三, Tsugitani Shōzō; June 25, 1940 – June 2, 1978) was a Japanese football player.
Tatsuo Kawaguchi (河口龍夫, Kawaguchi Tatsuo, born in 1940, Kobe Japan) is a Japanese multidisciplinary artist, whose…
Tatsuo Kawaguchi (河口龍夫, Kawaguchi Tatsuo, born in 1940, Kobe Japan) is a Japanese multidisciplinary artist, whose practice often involves the use of objects and the investigation of materials. After studying painting at Tama Art University, Kawaguchi's diverse oeuvre has included drawing, sculpture, installation, photography, and video. He also co-founded the Group "i", a Kobe-based artistic collective, in 1965. Kawaguchi's early work explored visual perception, principally through the use of objects and mirrors. After 1970, he began using the word "relation" (関係, kankei) in the titles of his works. Kawaguchi seeks to put on display the fragile relationships between the visible and the invisible that create the world around us. The artist intends for his works - which have employed both man-made elements such as lightbulbs or motors, as well as natural elements like stone, wood, seeds and metals - to be perceived of as perpetual works in progress, transforming with time. Environmental anxiety has also informed the development of Kawaguchi's "relation" works. After the Chernobyl disaster, the artist has continuously enveloped various objects, such as seeds, plants, soil, or tools, in lead, a material that protects against radiation. Kawaguchi's work has featured in major international exhibitions and has been associated by art historians with artistic movements such as land art, minimalism and Mono-ha. Kawaguchi has also been identified as belonging to the loosely-affiliated Gainen-ha (Conceptual School), alongside Yutaka Matsuzawa, Jiro Takamatsu, Kazuo Okazaki, Saburo Muraoka (with whom he collaborated in 1973), Isamu Wakabayashi, and Aiko Miyawaki. Kawaguchi was awarded the First Iue Culture Prize for Art and Culture in 1974 as well as the Prize of Japan Arts Foundation in 2008. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Tsukuba, Institute of Art and Design. He lives and works in Chiba City.
Tatsuo Yata (矢田 立郎, Yata Tatsuo; born 7 February 1940) is a Japanese politician who became the mayor of Kobe, the…
Tatsuo Yata (矢田 立郎, Yata Tatsuo; born 7 February 1940) is a Japanese politician who became the mayor of Kobe, the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture in Japan from 2001 until 2013. He was first elected in October 2001 and won the re-election four years later.
Katsura Shijaku II (2代目 桂 枝雀, Nidaime Katsura Shijaku; August 13, 1939 – April 19, 1999) was a Japanese rakugo…
Katsura Shijaku II (2代目 桂 枝雀, Nidaime Katsura Shijaku; August 13, 1939 – April 19, 1999) was a Japanese rakugo performer of the late 20th century, who often performed in English. He was born Tōru Maeda (前田 達, Maeda Tōru) in Kobe, the son of a brick-maker. In 1960, he entered the tutelage of the rakugo performer Katsura Beichō III (桂米朝), and upon completion of his study, was given the stage name Katsura Koyone X (桂小米). He changed his stage name to Shijaku Katsura (Shijaku Katsura II) in 1974. Katsura studied English in the early 1980s, and gave his first English-language rakugo performance in 1983. For the rest of his career, he often performed rakugo in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere, making an otherwise inaccessible form of comedy accessible for non-Japanese speakers. He also assisted in launching the career of Bill Crowley, the non-Japanese professional rakugo performer. Katsura died of heart failure on April 19, 1999, after a suicide attempt at his home in Suita, Osaka. He was discovered by his wife Eyo and his brother, the magician Takeshi Maeda.
Takekuni Hirayoshi (平吉 毅州, Hirayoshi Takekuni; July 10, 1936 in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture – May 28, 1998) was a Japanese…
Takekuni Hirayoshi (平吉 毅州, Hirayoshi Takekuni; July 10, 1936 in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture – May 28, 1998) was a Japanese classical composer.
Masaru Takumi (宅見 勝 Takumi Masaru; June 22, 1936 – August 28, 1997) had been a powerful Japanese organized crime figure…
Masaru Takumi (宅見 勝 Takumi Masaru; June 22, 1936 – August 28, 1997) had been a powerful Japanese organized crime figure until he was assassinated in 1997. Until his death, he was the second-in-command (wakagashira) and financial overseer of Japan's largest yakuza gang, the Yamaguchi-gumi. Known as "the man who never sleeps", he also headed his own sub-organization, the 1000-member Takumi-gumi.
Yoshihiko Miyauchi (宮内 義彦, Miyauchi Yoshihiko; born September 13, 1935) is a Japanese businessman. He is Senior…
Yoshihiko Miyauchi (宮内 義彦, Miyauchi Yoshihiko; born September 13, 1935) is a Japanese businessman. He is Senior Chairman of ORIX Corp. and was a former CEO of Orix. Miyauchi served as President of the Council for Promoting Regulatory Reform in Japan. As of 2007, ORIX was Japan's largest leasing and leading diversified financial services conglomerate with assets in excess of US$69 billion and subsidiaries & associates in 24 countries worldwide. Miyauchi received a BA from Kwansei Gakuin University in 1958, followed by an MBA in 1960 from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. Upon completing his MBA, Miyauchi returned to Japan and in 1964 joined a small startup, Orient Leasing Co. Ltd., that helped pioneer the lease financing of machinery and industrial equipment for Japan's booming manufacturing base. Now known as ORIX Corporation, the company expanded rapidly during the 1960s and '70s, diversifying the range of its products and services to include ships and aircraft, along with real estate finance and development. Miyauchi became president and CEO of ORIX in 1980, and then as chairman and CEO in 2000, before stepping down and assuming the position of Senior Chairman of ORIX in June 2014. In addition to Miyauchi's strictly business decisions, he also oversaw ORIX's 1988 purchase of the Orix Braves, renamed the Orix BlueWave, and later the Orix Buffaloes. In addition to being one of Japan's top corporate leaders, Miyauchi is a strong advocate of regulatory reform and served as president of the Council for Promoting Regulatory Reform, an advisory board to the prime minister of Japan. In this capacity, he is often referred to as "Mr. Deregulation" and has been described as the free market economy czar of Japan. He serves as a director on the boards of many major corporations including Fuji Xerox, Showa Shell Sekiyu and Sony.
Miyako Maki (牧 美也子, Maki Miyako; born July 29, 1935) is a Japanese manga artist, and one of the earliest female manga…
Miyako Maki (牧 美也子, Maki Miyako; born July 29, 1935) is a Japanese manga artist, and one of the earliest female manga artists. During the 1960s, Maki contributed significantly to the development of shōjo manga (manga for girls), and became one of the most popular shōjo authors of her generation. She later became a pioneer in manga for adults, producing gekiga and redikomi towards the end of that decade. She is the widow of manga artist Leiji Matsumoto, with whom she has collaborated with on multiple works. Miyako created Licca-chan, a popular Japanese doll manufactured by Takara. Works by Maki have been awarded the Japan Cartoonists Association Award, the Montreal International Comic Contest prize, and the Shogakukan Manga Award.
Kyoko Matsuoka (March 12, 1935 – January 25, 2022; Japanese: 松岡享子, romanized: Matsuoka Kyōko) was a Japanese librarian…
Kyoko Matsuoka (March 12, 1935 – January 25, 2022; Japanese: 松岡享子, romanized: Matsuoka Kyōko) was a Japanese librarian, translator, and expert in children's literature. She is known for her own children's books, of which she wrote more than 200 in her lifetime, as well as translations of works for young readers, particularly her translation of the classic Paddington Bear series. After working at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland, and the Osaka Municipal Central Library, she founded the Matsunomi Bunko, a private children's library. When Matsunomi and three other libraries joined to form the Tokyo Children's Library in 1974, she became founding director of the organization. She remained honorary chair of the library until her death in 2022. In 2021, she was designated a Person of Cultural Merit.
Gorō Mutsumi (睦五朗 or 睦五郎, Mutsumi Gorō; also credited as Goro Mutsu, September 11, 1934 – June 5, 2021 (claimed)) was a…
Gorō Mutsumi (睦五朗 or 睦五郎, Mutsumi Gorō; also credited as Goro Mutsu, September 11, 1934 – June 5, 2021 (claimed)) was a Japanese actor with more than 30 films to his credit. He has also appeared in numerous television shows, especially jidaigeki, in which he specializes in villains, and in tokusatsu. In addition, he is a stage and voice actor with prominent roles in narration, dubbing, and anime.
Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney (Japanese: 大貫恵美子 born 1934) is a noted anthropologist and the William F. Vilas Professor of…
Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney (Japanese: 大貫恵美子 born 1934) is a noted anthropologist and the William F. Vilas Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She is the author of fourteen single-authored books in English and in Japanese, in addition to numerous articles. Her books have been translated into many other languages, including Italian, Korean, Polish and Russian. Ohnuki-Tierney was appointed the Distinguished Chair of Modern Culture at the Library of Congress in DC in 2009 and then in 2010 Fellow of Institut d’Études Avancées-Paris. She is a member of The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, its mid-west council member, and a recipient of John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship among other prestigious awards.
Jūkei Fujioka (藤岡 重慶, Fujioka Jūkei; 19 November 1933 – 23 July 1991) was a Japanese actor. He is known as an actor who…
Jūkei Fujioka (藤岡 重慶, Fujioka Jūkei; 19 November 1933 – 23 July 1991) was a Japanese actor. He is known as an actor who often played villains, but is famous for playing the role of detective Daisaku Tani in the detective drama Seibu Keisatsu. Fujioka started his acting career at the Haiyuza Theatre Company. His film debut was in the 1961 film A New Wind Over the Mountain Pass directed by Seijun Suzuki. Following year, he signed his contract with Nikkatsu film company. In May 1991, while performing at the New Kabukiza in Osaka, he complained of poor health and was hospitalized at Kitasato University East Hospital in Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture. At 7:06 a.m. on July 23 of the same year, he died due to intracerebral hemorrhage (died at the age of 57).
Chikage Oogi (扇 千景, Ōgi Chikage), real name Hiroko Hayashi (林 寛子, Hayashi Hiroko) (born Hiroko Kimura (木村 寛子, Kimura…
Chikage Oogi (扇 千景, Ōgi Chikage), real name Hiroko Hayashi (林 寛子, Hayashi Hiroko) (born Hiroko Kimura (木村 寛子, Kimura Hiroko); 10 May 1933 – 9 March 2023), was a Japanese actress and politician. During her 30-year-long political career, she served in various important governmental posts, and became the first female President of the House of Councillors, a role she held from 2004 to 2007. Her pseudonymous surname is also spelled Ogi, Ōgi and Ohgi for a variety of Hepburn romanization systems. She herself used Oogi.
Toshi Ichiyanagi (一柳 慧, Ichiyanagi Toshi; 4 February 1933 – 7 October 2022) was a Japanese avant-garde composer and…
Toshi Ichiyanagi (一柳 慧, Ichiyanagi Toshi; 4 February 1933 – 7 October 2022) was a Japanese avant-garde composer and pianist. One of the leading composers in Japan during the postwar era, Ichiyanagi worked in a range of genres, composing Western-style operas, orchestral and chamber works, as well as compositions using traditional Japanese instruments. Ichiyanagi is known for incorporating avant-garde techniques into his works, such as chance music, extended technique, and nontraditional scoring. Ichiyanagi was married to artist Yoko Ono from 1956 to 1962.
Yusuke Nakahara (August 22, 1931 – March 3, 2011) was a Japanese art critic, curator, scholar, lecturer, university…
Yusuke Nakahara (August 22, 1931 – March 3, 2011) was a Japanese art critic, curator, scholar, lecturer, university president, art festival organizer, and cultural administrator. He is perhaps best known as the figure who spearheaded the influential 1970 Tokyo Biennale, Between Man and Matter at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. The exhibition was a watershed moment in Post-1945 Japanese art for its promotion of avant-garde Japanese and international art practices as demonstrated by disparate artists who worked in varying mediums within the then-underrepresented movements of Arte Povera, Conceptual Art, Minimalism, and Mono-ha. The exhibition is seen as a reaction against the concurrent Expo ‘70 in Osaka for embodying the attributes of Japan's Post-World War II economic resurgence and ascension to major world status. Nakahara was a prolific writer in the Japanese art world as he published innumerable exhibition reviews, books, academic essays, magazine articles, and chapters. His writings have appeared in journals such as Bijutsu Techo, Mizue, and Geijutsu Shincho. Originally trained as a physicist, Nakahara's approach to art criticism and curation was grounded more in scientific methodologies than art historical pedagogy based on his frequent incorporation of references to human perception, physical spatiality, and kinetics, among other theoretical ideas. Since his passing in 2011, contemporary Art historians and critics consider Nakahara a significant figure in Post-1945 Japanese art history and is likened to other critics of his generation, including Ichiro Haryu, Yoshiaki Tono, and Shinichi Segi.
Sakyo Komatsu (小松 左京, Komatsu Sakyō; January 28, 1931 – July 26, 2011) was a Japanese science fiction writer and…
Sakyo Komatsu (小松 左京, Komatsu Sakyō; January 28, 1931 – July 26, 2011) was a Japanese science fiction writer and screenwriter. He was one of the most well known and highly regarded science fiction writers in Japan.
Tadao Takashima (高島忠夫, Takashima Tadao) (27 July 1930 – 26 June 2019) was a Japanese actor and jazz musician. He…
Tadao Takashima (高島忠夫, Takashima Tadao) (27 July 1930 – 26 June 2019) was a Japanese actor and jazz musician. He appeared in more than 100 films, including the Toho productions King Kong vs. Godzilla, Atragon, and Frankenstein vs. Baragon. He also performed in stage musicals such as My Fair Lady and appeared in several television shows.
Asashio Tarō (Japanese: 朝潮 太郎; November 13, 1929 – October 23, 1988) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from…
Asashio Tarō (Japanese: 朝潮 太郎; November 13, 1929 – October 23, 1988) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Tokunoshima in the Amami Islands. He was the sport's 46th yokozuna. He was also a sumo coach and head of Takasago stable.
Tōru "Tohl" Narita (成田 亨, Narita Tōru; pronounced [nəˈriːtə]; September 3, 1929 – February 26, 2002) was a Japanese…
Tōru "Tohl" Narita (成田 亨, Narita Tōru; pronounced [nəˈriːtə]; September 3, 1929 – February 26, 2002) was a Japanese visual artist. He is best known for creating the characters and mechanics for the television programs in the Ultra series: Ultra Q, Ultraman, and Ultraseven.
Kazuko Saegusa (三枝和子) (March 31, 1929 – April 24, 2003) was a Japanese novelist. She won the Tamura Toshiko Award and…
Kazuko Saegusa (三枝和子) (March 31, 1929 – April 24, 2003) was a Japanese novelist. She won the Tamura Toshiko Award and the Izumi Kyoka Prize for Literature.
Kōji Taki (Japanese: 多木 浩二, Hepburn: Taki Kōji; 27 December 1928 – 13 April 2011) was a Japanese critic, photographer…
Kōji Taki (Japanese: 多木 浩二, Hepburn: Taki Kōji; 27 December 1928 – 13 April 2011) was a Japanese critic, photographer and philosopher.
Takako Doi (土井 たか子, Doi Takako; 30 November 1928 – 20 September 2014) was a Japanese politician who served as leader of…
Takako Doi (土井 たか子, Doi Takako; 30 November 1928 – 20 September 2014) was a Japanese politician who served as leader of the Japan Socialist Party (JSP) from 1986 to 1991 and later its successor the Social Democratic Party (SDP) from 1996 to 2003. As leader of the JSP, she became the first female leader of a major Japanese political party, and the country's first female opposition leader. Doi's leadership and the result of the 1989 Upper House elections are considered watershed moments for female political participation in Japan. She led the party to great success in the 1989 and 1990 elections. After the 1993 election, she was elected as the first woman to serve as speaker of the House of Representatives, serving in that office from 1993 to 1996. She then led the diminished SDP from 1996 until her resignation after the 2003 election.