Masaaki Mori (森 祇晶, Mori Masaaki; born January 9, 1937) is a retired professional Japanese baseball player and manager.…
Masaaki Mori (森 祇晶, Mori Masaaki; born January 9, 1937) is a retired professional Japanese baseball player and manager. Mori played Nippon Professional Baseball from 1955–1974 as the catcher of the Yomiuri Giants. He was an eight-time Best Nine Award-winner (1961–1968) and the Japan Series MVP in 1967. He was selected to eleven Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star Games. He was nicknamed "the brains of the V9 Dynasty", as he was the main catcher of the Yomiuri Giants V9 Dynasty. When his career ended in 1974, he asked newly-minted Giants manager Shigeo Nagashima for a job and was refused. After his retirement as a player, Mori managed the Seibu Lions from 1986 to 1994, leading the team to six Japan Series championships of the Invincible Seibu dynasty. He won the Matsutaro Shoriki Award in 1986 and 1990. He announced his impeding retirement from the Lions at the close of the 1994 Japan Series, although it was later speculated that management expressed it was time for a change. Mori managed the Yokohama BayStars in 2001 to 2002. Mori participated in 27 of the 73 Japan Series contested, as a player, coach, and manager, as of 2023, with him winning 21 of the 27, making him the most decorated individual in NPB history.
Famous Japanese People: Critic
Critic: 339 people
Hideaki Kase (加瀬 英明, Kase Hideaki; 22 December 1936 – 15 November 2022) was a Japanese diplomatic critic known for…
Hideaki Kase (加瀬 英明, Kase Hideaki; 22 December 1936 – 15 November 2022) was a Japanese diplomatic critic known for promoting historical negationism. His father, Toshikazu Kase, was a diplomat under Shigenori Tōgō who negotiated an end to the Pacific war. Yoko Ono is his cousin.
Hiro Sachiya (ひろさちや, Hirosachiya; 1936 – April 7, 2022) was a Japanese religious scholar and a popular contemporary…
Hiro Sachiya (ひろさちや, Hirosachiya; 1936 – April 7, 2022) was a Japanese religious scholar and a popular contemporary writer of Buddhism. His birth name is Yoshihiko Masuhara (増原 良彦). He was born in Osaka Prefecture and studied Indian philosophy at University of Tokyo, graduating in 1960. Under the pen name Hiro Sachiya (derived from the Sanskrit Satya), he has written more than 400 books and articles. His interest in religion is not limited to Buddhism. He is mostly known for his comparative studies in all religions including Buddhism, Shinto, Christianity, Islam, and Confucianism.
Shigehiko Hasumi (Japanese: 蓮實重彥, also romanized Shiguéhiko; born 29 April 1936) is a Japanese literary critic, film…
Shigehiko Hasumi (Japanese: 蓮實重彥, also romanized Shiguéhiko; born 29 April 1936) is a Japanese literary critic, film critic, French literature scholar, and novelist. He was a professor at the University of Tokyo (Cultural Studies, or the Study of Culture and Representation), dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and the 26th President (1997-2001). Hasumi started his academic career as a Gustave Flaubert scholar, and played a central role in the early introduction of the contemporary French philosophy, such as Gilles Deleuze and Michel Foucault, into Japan in the 1970s. He is known as one of the most prolific Japanese reviewers of modern literature and film. Since the 1980s, Hasumi has been active in introducing the French New Wave filmmakers' thought and Hollywood B-films. His method of viewing and writing about film, inspired by the 1950s French film criticism appearing in Cahiers du Cinéma, played a major role in Japanese film culture in the late 20th century. His influential work includes Directed by Yasujiro Ozu (1983). Reflecting on Hasumi, Kiyoshi Kurosawa noted, "The international recognition of Yasujiro Ozu and Mikio Naruse would never have been achieved without Hasumi. Even the popularity of Clint Eastwood and Wim Wenders in Japan owes much to his influence. And as for myself—there’s no doubt that I’m only able to be here, doing what I do, all thanks to the good fortune of having met Shiguéhiko Hasumi." He is married to Chantal Van Melkebeke, the daughter of the Belgian painter, journalist, and writer Jacques Van Melkebeke, who is known for having been the first chief editor of Tintin magazine. They had one son, Shigeomi Hasumi. In 1970, the French Broadcasting and Television Office interviewed him, his wife and his son in French in Tokyo for 20 minutes. Hasumi curated a film series entitled Shiguéhiko Hasumi: Another History of the Movie in America and Japan for Japan Society in 2025, including works by Richard Fleischer, Michael Mann and Makoto Sato. Director Sho Miyake attended, presenting his collaboration with Hasumi—the montage film John Ford and Throwing.
Toshio Naka (中 利夫, Naka Toshio; 28 April 1936 – 10 October 2023) was a Japanese baseball outfielder and manager. Naka…
Toshio Naka (中 利夫, Naka Toshio; 28 April 1936 – 10 October 2023) was a Japanese baseball outfielder and manager. Naka played with the Chunichi Dragons from 1955 to 1972, and later managed the team from 1978 to 1980. He led the Central League with a .343 batting average in 1967.
Naoki Tanemura (種村 直樹, Tanemura Naoki; March 7, 1936 – November 6, 2014) was a Japanese writer, essayist and critic. He…
Naoki Tanemura (種村 直樹, Tanemura Naoki; March 7, 1936 – November 6, 2014) was a Japanese writer, essayist and critic. He called himself a "railway writer". He had published commentaries on railways and travel writings including mysteries. He came from Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture. He graduated from Shiga Prefectural Zeze High School and then the Department of Law of Kyoto University. He became a journalist of the Mainichi Shimbun, and became independent afterwards. Tanemura was well informed about the railways in Japan. His travel style in his book called "Kimagure Ressha" (capricious train) influenced a lot of young people. Tanemura had a fan club. Writers in Japan who have their own fan club is considerably few. He traveled with the members of the fan club and he often wrote about them in his works. Tanemura was an authority of a hobby named "travel savings" (旅行貯金, ryokō chokin), where participants around the country deposit a small amount of money at post offices (and Japan Post Bank) to collect the rubber stamps of the post offices.
Norihiko Matsumoto (松本 徳彦, Matsumoto Norihiko; born 1936) is a Japanese photographer and photography writer.
Takao Iwami (岩見隆夫, Iwami Takao; October 6, 1935 – January 18, 2014) was a Japanese political pundit and journalist.
Tadashi Sugiura (杉浦 忠, Sugiura Tadashi; September 17, 1935 – November 11, 2001) was a Japanese Nippon Professional…
Tadashi Sugiura (杉浦 忠, Sugiura Tadashi; September 17, 1935 – November 11, 2001) was a Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball player with the Nankai Hawks. He debuted in the 1958 and went on to join the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame for his skills as a pitcher. He won the Japanese Triple Crown in (1959)
Taeko Tomioka (富岡 多恵子, Tomioka Taeko; July 28, 1935 – April 6, 2023) was a Japanese writer. She was born in Osaka, was…
Taeko Tomioka (富岡 多恵子, Tomioka Taeko; July 28, 1935 – April 6, 2023) was a Japanese writer. She was born in Osaka, was educated at Osaka Women's College, worked as a high school English teacher and moved to Tokyo in 1960. Tomioka visited New York City in 1964 and returned home to Japan in 1966. In 1969, she married Suga Kishio. Tomioka published several collections of poems. Henrei (1958) won the Mr. H Prize (H-shi Shō), awarded by the Association of Contemporary Japanese Poets. Monogatari no akuru hi (1961) received the 'Muro Saisei Prize. Tomioka also wrote a poetical drama Matsuri (1959) and a screenplay Shinju ten no Amijima (Double suicide, 1968). In 1971, she published the novel Oka ni mukatte hito wa narabu (Facing the Hills they stand). In 1974, Tomioka wrote Shokubutsu sai, which received the Tamura Toshiko Prize. In 1974, she published Meido no kazoku (Family in hell), which received the Women's Literature Prize. Her 1983 novel Namiutsu tochi was published in English as Building Waves (2012: ISBN 9781564787156). Tomioka also translated some English works by authors such as Gertrude Stein into Japanese. She has also produced essays on literature from a feminist viewpoint. In 1993, she published Nobuyoshi Araki: Akt-Tokyo, 1971-1991, a book of erotic photography. In 1997, Tomioka wrote Hiberunia kikō (A journey to Ireland), which received the Noma Literary Prize. In 2000, The Funeral of a Giraffe: Seven Stories, a collection of her stories translated from Japanese to English, was published. Tomioka died on April 6, 2023, at the age of 87.
Kanji Nishio (西尾 幹二, Nishio Kanji; July 20, 1935 – November 1, 2024) was a Japanese intellectual and professor emeritus…
Kanji Nishio (西尾 幹二, Nishio Kanji; July 20, 1935 – November 1, 2024) was a Japanese intellectual and professor emeritus of literature at the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo, Japan.
Kotaro Ikeguchi (13 July 1935 – 8 February 2019), known by his pen name Taichi Sakaiya, was a Japanese economist and…
Kotaro Ikeguchi (13 July 1935 – 8 February 2019), known by his pen name Taichi Sakaiya, was a Japanese economist and author.
Mutsuo Minagawa (皆川 睦夫, July 3, 1935 – February 6, 2005) was a Japanese professional baseball pitcher. Listed at 5' 10"…
Mutsuo Minagawa (皆川 睦夫, July 3, 1935 – February 6, 2005) was a Japanese professional baseball pitcher. Listed at 5' 10" [1.82 m], 162 lb. [73 k.], Minagawa batted and threw right handed. He was born in Yonezawa, Yamagata. A tough three quarters, side arm pitcher, Minagawa spent 18 seasons in the Pacific Coast League during three different decades spanning 1954–1971, all of them with the Nankai Hawks, which is currently known as the Softbank Hawks. By using a wide array of breaking pitches, his command of sliders and screwballs secured him double-digit victories during 11 seasons, including eight consecutive years from 1956 through 1963. A six-time All-Star, Minagawa also received Best Nine Award honors and was a member of Hawks teams that won six pennant titles and two Japan Series championships. Overall, he posted a career 221-139 record highlighted by a 31-win season in 1968. Since then there has been no other pitchers in the Nippon Professional Baseball who won 30 or more games in a regular season.
Katsuya Nomura (野村 克也, Nomura Katsuya; June 29, 1935 – February 11, 2020) was a Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball…
Katsuya Nomura (野村 克也, Nomura Katsuya; June 29, 1935 – February 11, 2020) was a Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) catcher and manager. During his over 26-season playing career mostly spent with the Nankai Hawks (now the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks), he became one of NPB's greatest offensive catchers. He was awarded the Pacific League MVP Award five times, became the first NPB batter to win the Triple Crown in 1965, and holds the record for second-most home runs and RBIs in NPB history. Nomura was a player-manager for the last eight years he was with the Hawks, leading them to the Pacific League title in 1973. After playing, he became a full-time manager and led the Yakult Swallows to four league titles and three Japan Series championships from 1990 to 1998. Later, he managed the Hanshin Tigers for three seasons and the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles for four seasons until his retirement in 2009. As a manager, Nomura recorded 1,565 wins, the fifth-most wins of any manager in NPB history. He was elected to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989.
Hisako Matsubara (松原 久子, Matsubara Hisako; May 21, 1935 in Kyoto) is a Japanese novelist who has published works in…
Hisako Matsubara (松原 久子, Matsubara Hisako; May 21, 1935 in Kyoto) is a Japanese novelist who has published works in German, English and Japanese. Born as the daughter of a prominent Shinto priest, Matsubara grew up at the Kenkun Shrine in the northern part of Kyoto. She graduated from high school in Kyoto, then attended Tokyo's International Christian University, where she studied comparative religion and literature. After receiving a BA, she moved to the United States to study theater arts at Pennsylvania State University, from which she graduated with a MA. She worked for a while as an editor in the US before moving to Germany in 1962. She lived in Marburg and Göttingen, where she attended the university and perfected her German language skills. She then settled in Cologne, and in 1970, obtained her PhD in philosophy jointly from the Ruhr University of Bochum and the University of Göttingen. In 1967 Matsubara started to write a regular column at the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit. This work turned into a collection of short stories and essays, Blick aus Mandelaugen, 1968, through which she entered the German literary scene. In 1969, Matsubara published a German translation of the ancient Japanese tale Taketori-monogatari. She worked on documentaries of the major German TV stations ARD and ZDF. She published several novels in German (Brokatrausch 1978, Samurai 1979, Glückspforte 1980, Abendkranich 1981, Brückenbogen 1986,Karpfentanz 1994, Himmelszeichen 1998,) which were quite successful in Germany and internationally as well. Her novels are set during recent Japanese history addressing changes in Japanese culture relating to modernization and western influences. Matsubara also wrote non-fiction books (Weg zu Japan 1983, and Raumschiff Japan 1989) highlighting contrasts between Japanese history and European history over the past five centuries. She moved back to the US in the mid 1980s, where she was a scholar at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. In recent years, she has published mostly in Japanese, both fiction and non-fiction. Currently she lives with her family in Los Altos. Hisako Matsubara is a member of the German PEN since 1971 and since 1985 a member of the American Art Directors Club. She received the New York Critics Award in 1985 and in 1987 she was the Writer in residence at the East West Center in Manoa, Hawaii. Matsubara is married to the German solid state physicist Friedemann Freund. Their son, the physicist Minoru Freund (1962-2012), died of brain tumor (glioblastoma) in early 2012. The woodcut artist Naoko Matsubara is her younger sister.
Ritsuo Horimoto (堀本律雄, Horimoto Ritsuo; January 20, 1935 – January 14, 2012) was a Japanese baseball pitcher. He played…
Ritsuo Horimoto (堀本律雄, Horimoto Ritsuo; January 20, 1935 – January 14, 2012) was a Japanese baseball pitcher. He played for the Yomiuri Giants from 1960 to 1962, winning both the Central League Rookie of the Year Award and the Eiji Sawamura Award in his first season. The Giants won the Japan Series the next year, and traded him for Toshio Yanagida at the end of the 1962 season. Horimoto closed his playing career with the Orions franchise, and coached the Yokohama Taiyo Whales in two stints from 1977 to 1978 and 1991 to 1992. He then joined the Nippon Ham Fighters coaching staff for two seasons, 1993 and 1994, followed by a return to coaching in 1997 with the Uni-President Lions, a Chinese Professional Baseball League team. Horimoto died of pneumonia in Yokohama on January 14, 2012, at the age of 76.
Hideo Osabe (長部日出雄, Osabe Hideo; 3 September 1934 – 18 October 2018) was a Japanese essayist and novelist. His work…
Hideo Osabe (長部日出雄, Osabe Hideo; 3 September 1934 – 18 October 2018) was a Japanese essayist and novelist. His work focused on movies and Osamu Dazai. He was born in Aomori Prefecture, where Dazai was also born. He also once directed a movie. He won the Naoki Prize in 1973 for Tsugaru jongara bushi and Tsugaru yosare bushi. He was awarded a Medal of Honor (with Purple Ribbon, for contributions to education and culture) from the Japanese government in 2002.
Masayoshi Takemura (武村 正義, Takemura Masayoshi; 26 August 1934 – 28 September 2022) was a Japanese politician. Elected…
Masayoshi Takemura (武村 正義, Takemura Masayoshi; 26 August 1934 – 28 September 2022) was a Japanese politician. Elected as a representative of the Liberal Democratic Party, in 1993 he broke away to form New Party Sakigake, before joining the newly formed Democratic Party of Japan in 1998. He served as Chief Cabinet Secretary and then finance minister in the Murayama Cabinet of the mid-1990s.
Masaaki Koyama (小山 正明, Koyama Masaaki; July 28, 1934 – April 18, 2025) was a Japanese professional baseball pitcher in…
Masaaki Koyama (小山 正明, Koyama Masaaki; July 28, 1934 – April 18, 2025) was a Japanese professional baseball pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He played for the Osaka / Hanshin Tigers from 1953 to 1963, the Tokyo / Lotte Orions from 1964 to 1972, and the Taiyo Whales in 1973. He is a member of the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame. A right-handed pitcher, Koyama threw hard and was known for his effective slider and pinpoint control. He ranks third all-time in the NPB in wins (320), strikeouts (3,159), innings pitched (4,899), and shutouts (74). He won 20 or more games 7 separate times, was selected to eleven All-Star teams, and won the 1962 Eiji Sawamura Award.
Soichiro Tahara (田原 総一朗, Tahara Sōichirō; born 15 April 1934) is a Japanese political journalist, best known for…
Soichiro Tahara (田原 総一朗, Tahara Sōichirō; born 15 April 1934) is a Japanese political journalist, best known for hosting TV Asahi's Sunday Project program.
Masakazu Yamazaki (山崎 正和, Yamazaki Masakazu; 26 March 1934 – 19 August 2020) was a Japanese writer, literary critic…
Masakazu Yamazaki (山崎 正和, Yamazaki Masakazu; 26 March 1934 – 19 August 2020) was a Japanese writer, literary critic, and philosopher.
Masaichi Kaneda (金田 正一, Kaneda Masaichi; 1 August 1933 – 6 October 2019) was a Japanese professional baseball pitcher…
Masaichi Kaneda (金田 正一, Kaneda Masaichi; 1 August 1933 – 6 October 2019) was a Japanese professional baseball pitcher of Zainichi Korean origin, one of the best-known pitchers in Japanese baseball history, and is the only Japanese pitcher to have won 400 games. He was inducted in the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988. Nicknamed "The Emperor" because he was the most dominant pitcher in Japan during his prime, Kaneda holds numerous Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) career records. He won 400 games despite being on an extremely weak team, the Kokutetsu Swallows, for most of his career. About 90% of his 400 career wins came with the Swallows. He left for the Yomiuri Giants in 1965. In five seasons with the team, he won the Japan Series each time before retiring in 1969. Kaneda batted and threw left-handed. After his playing career ended, he became a manager for the Lotte Orions, where he managed in two different stints that saw him win the Japan Series in 1974.
Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男, Yoshida Yoshio; July 26, 1933 – February 3, 2025) was a Japanese professional baseball player…
Yoshio Yoshida (吉田 義男, Yoshida Yoshio; July 26, 1933 – February 3, 2025) was a Japanese professional baseball player and manager who spent his entire career with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). His number 23 was retired by the Tigers. He worked for the Asahi Broadcasting Corporation as a live radio and television baseball commentator. Yoshida died of a stroke on February 3, 2025, at the age of 91.
Sumiko Takahara (16 June 1933 – 19 August 2001) was an economist, Japanese Ambassador (to Finland, 1995–1998), chief of…
Sumiko Takahara (16 June 1933 – 19 August 2001) was an economist, Japanese Ambassador (to Finland, 1995–1998), chief of the now-defunct Economic Planning Agency, and the first female president of Japanese baseball’s Central League (March 1998 – December 2000).
Yoshio Aramaki (荒巻義雄, Aramaki Yoshio, born 12 April 1933) is a Japanese science fiction and mystery writer, critic and…
Yoshio Aramaki (荒巻義雄, Aramaki Yoshio, born 12 April 1933) is a Japanese science fiction and mystery writer, critic and art collector. His original given name was Kunio Aramaki (荒巻邦夫, Aramaki Kunio). He has changed his name to Yoshimasa Aramaki (荒巻義雅). Aramaki is well known by his so-called "Meta-SF" works which are characterized by their speculative and fantastic themes and depictions. He is also famous for his various series of "imaginary battle" novels and alternate history novels such as Konpeki no Kantai series. He is a member of the Japan Writers’ Association, and of the SFWJ (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan), and of the Contemporary Haiku Association. He was also a professor in the Seishū Women's University (now, Sapporo International University) from 1993 to 1997.
Suehiro Tanemura (種村 季弘, Tanemura Suehiro; 21 March 1933 – 29 August 2004) was a translator (from German into Japanese)…
Suehiro Tanemura (種村 季弘, Tanemura Suehiro; 21 March 1933 – 29 August 2004) was a translator (from German into Japanese) and critic. Tanemura was born in Toshima, Tokyo in 1933. His mother died in 1946. He became interested in German while still a teenager, and entered the University of Tokyo in 1951. He first majored in aesthetics but switched to German literature, graduating in 1957 and for a short time thereafter working in Kōbunsha in editing the women's magazine Josei Jishin. From 1963 until 1968, Tanemura taught as an adjunct lecturer at Komazawa University. In 1968 he obtained a tenured post at Tokyo Metropolitan University, but he resigned in 1971 and went to Europe, where he spent much time until 1978, when he took another tenured post at Kokugakuin University, where he would teach until December 2002. At around this time he was diagnosed with cancer, from which he died in 2004. Tanemura was a prolific translator from German, writer and anthologizer of others' writings, with a certain tendency toward subjects like vampires and Sacher-Masoch. His own writings were first collected in a ten-volume set in 1979; two decades later this was supplemented by an eight-volume set.
Atsuo Egashira (江頭 淳夫, Egashira Atsuo; 25 December 1932 – 21 July 1999), known by his pen name Jun Etō (江藤 淳, Etō Jun)…
Atsuo Egashira (江頭 淳夫, Egashira Atsuo; 25 December 1932 – 21 July 1999), known by his pen name Jun Etō (江藤 淳, Etō Jun), was a Japanese writer and literary critic active in the Shōwa and early Heisei periods.
Higuchi Keiko (樋口 恵子; born May 4, 1932) is a Japanese activist, journalist and writer. She teaches as professor in…
Higuchi Keiko (樋口 恵子; born May 4, 1932) is a Japanese activist, journalist and writer. She teaches as professor in faculty of letters of Tokyo Kasei University. As an activist she has been known as feminist, but since the 1980s active on warfare around aged people and their families. She is the Representative Secretary General of a Japan-based NPO, Women's Association for the Better Aging Society (WABAS). She was graduated at Faculty of Letters in University of Tokyo in 1956. While she was officially at the seminar of Aesthetics and Art History, she studied journalism in the Institute of Newspaper Researches, an institute of the university. She worked for Jiji Press, Gakken and Canon respectively. Since 1971 she has been a freelance writer and critic, mainly concerning feminism, warfare and education. She contributed the piece "The sun and the shadow" to the 1984 anthology Sisterhood Is Global: The International Women's Movement Anthology, edited by Robin Morgan. She ran for the governor of Tokyo in 2003 as an independent candidate and lost.
Kazuhiro Yamauchi (山内 一弘, Yamauchi Kazuhiro; May 1, 1932 – February 2, 2009) was a Japanese baseball player and…
Kazuhiro Yamauchi (山内 一弘, Yamauchi Kazuhiro; May 1, 1932 – February 2, 2009) was a Japanese baseball player and manager. He played for the Mainichi Orions, the Hanshin Tigers and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp over the span of an 18 season-long career (1952–1970). Yamauchi was the first Japanese professional baseball player to hit 300 home runs, achieving that feat on July 4, 1963. Some of his career stats include 7,702 at bats, 1,218 runs, 2,271 hits, 396 home runs, 1,286 runs batted in, 118 stolen bases, 1,061 walks, and a batting average of .292. After retiring as a player in 1970, he went on to become an NPB manager and coach for nearly 30 years. He was a founding member of the Meikyukai ("The Golden Players Club") in 1978, and was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002. Yamauchi died of liver failure in a Tokyo hospital on February 2, 2009. He was 76.
Jun'ya Yano (矢野 絢也, Yano Junya; born 27 April 1932) is a retired Japanese politician and political commentator who…
Jun'ya Yano (矢野 絢也, Yano Junya; born 27 April 1932) is a retired Japanese politician and political commentator who served as the fourth leader of Komeito between 1986 and 1989. Over a decade after leaving politics, Yano has become a notable critic of the party and its religious partner Soka Gakkai.
Masaki Tsuji (辻 真先, Tsuji Masaki; born March 23, 1932 in Nagoya) is a Japanese anime screenwriter, mystery writer…
Masaki Tsuji (辻 真先, Tsuji Masaki; born March 23, 1932 in Nagoya) is a Japanese anime screenwriter, mystery writer, manga author, travel critic, essayist, professor as well as mystery fiction novels writer. Tsuji was most active in the business from the 1960s through the 1980s, and worked as a script writer on many popular anime television series for Mushi Production, Toei Animation, and Tokyo Movie Shinsha. He is well known for his association with the animated adaptations of the works of Osamu Tezuka and Go Nagai. In April 2007, Tsuji headed Japan's first international anime research lab as part of Digital Hollywood University. On December 4, 2007, Tsuji was given a lifetime achievement award at the 11th Japan Media Arts Festival. On September 24, 2008, Tsuji won a Special Award in the 13th Animation Kobe for his writing work.
Tatsuro Hirooka (広岡 達朗, Hirooka Tatsurō born February 9, 1932) is a Japanese retired professional baseball player and…
Tatsuro Hirooka (広岡 達朗, Hirooka Tatsurō born February 9, 1932) is a Japanese retired professional baseball player and manager. Hirooka played his entire career, from 1954 to 1966, for the Yomiuri Giants. He was awarded the Central League rookie of the year award in 1954. From 1961 to 1966, Hirooka was a player-coach for the Giants. As a manager for the Yakult Swallows (1976–1979) and then the Seibu Lions (1982–1985), Hirooka was known for his tough-love style. Nicknamed "The Iron Shogun", he thrice led his teams to the Japan Series championship — in 1978, 1982, and 1983. With his championships for Yakult and Seibu, he is the third and currently last manager to win the Japan Series with multiple teams. He won the Matsutaro Shoriki Award — presented to a person (a manager or player) who greatly contributes to the development of professional baseball — in 1978 and 1982. He was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992.
Shūji Takashina (Japanese: 高階 秀爾 Takashina Shūji; 5 February 1932 – 17 October 2024) was a Japanese art historian and…
Shūji Takashina (Japanese: 高階 秀爾 Takashina Shūji; 5 February 1932 – 17 October 2024) was a Japanese art historian and art critic.
Kazutami Watanabe (渡邊一民, Watanabe Kazutami; January 5, 1932 – December 21, 2013) was a Japanese scholar and translator…
Kazutami Watanabe (渡邊一民, Watanabe Kazutami; January 5, 1932 – December 21, 2013) was a Japanese scholar and translator of French literature. Watanabe, who was born in Tokyo, graduated from the Literature Department, School of French Studies of the University of Tokyo in 1955. After getting his Ph.D at the same university, he became a lecturer at Rikkyo University's General Education Department in 1960, and an assistant professor in 1963. In 1965, he became an assistant professor at the School of French Literature of the same university and in 1970 a full professor. From 1981 to 1983, he was the dean of the Literature Department. After his retirement in 1997, he was named professor emeritus. His wife, Hitomi, is the eldest daughter of Shūichi Sakō, a diplomat. Watanabe died at the age of 81 from sepsis in December 2013.
Hisato Aikura (相倉久人, 8 December 1931 in Tokyo – 8 July 2015) was a Japanese music critic and jazz presenter. He was…
Hisato Aikura (相倉久人, 8 December 1931 in Tokyo – 8 July 2015) was a Japanese music critic and jazz presenter. He was known for critique of musicians such as John Coltrane.
Ayako Sono (曽野 綾子, Sono Ayako; September 17, 1931 – February 28, 2025) was a Japanese writer. She published numerous…
Ayako Sono (曽野 綾子, Sono Ayako; September 17, 1931 – February 28, 2025) was a Japanese writer. She published numerous novels, essays and articles between the 1950s and the early 2020s. Sono was also considered to be nationalist and conservative. She provoked controversy for advocating a system similar to South Africa's apartheid for Japan's immigrants. She also advocated for women to quit their jobs after becoming pregnant.
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.
Motoshi Fujita (藤田 元司, Fujita Motoshi; (August 7, 1931 – February 9, 2006) was a Japanese professional baseball pitcher…
Motoshi Fujita (藤田 元司, Fujita Motoshi; (August 7, 1931 – February 9, 2006) was a Japanese professional baseball pitcher and manager. He spent his entire career with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball, winning two Japan Series titles as a player and two more as manager.
Makoto Ōoka (大岡 信, Ōoka Makoto; February 16, 1931, in Mishima, Shizuoka – April 5, 2017) was a Japanese poet and…
Makoto Ōoka (大岡 信, Ōoka Makoto; February 16, 1931, in Mishima, Shizuoka – April 5, 2017) was a Japanese poet and literary critic. He pioneered the collaborative poetic form renshi in the 1990s, in which he has collaborated with such well-known literary figures as Charles Tomlinson, James Lasdun, Joseph Stanton, Shuntarō Tanikawa and Mikirō Sasaki.
Makoto Moroi (諸井 誠, Moroi Makoto) (17 December 1930 – 2 September 2013) was a Japanese composer.
Tadao Satō (Japanese: 佐藤 忠男, Hepburn: Satō Tadao; 6 October 1930 – 17 March 2022) was a Japanese film critic, theorist…
Tadao Satō (Japanese: 佐藤 忠男, Hepburn: Satō Tadao; 6 October 1930 – 17 March 2022) was a Japanese film critic, theorist and historian. His real name was Tadao Iiri (飯利 忠男, Iiri Tadao).
Kyoji Watanabe (Japanese: 渡辺京二; 1 August 1930 – 25 December 2022) was a Japanese historian, literary critic and…
Kyoji Watanabe (Japanese: 渡辺京二; 1 August 1930 – 25 December 2022) was a Japanese historian, literary critic and essayist.
Toshiya Sukegawa (Japanese: 助川 敏弥, romanized: Sukegawa Toshiya; 15 July 1930 – 26 September 2015) was a Japanese…
Toshiya Sukegawa (Japanese: 助川 敏弥, romanized: Sukegawa Toshiya; 15 July 1930 – 26 September 2015) was a Japanese composer, music critic and magazine editor.
Shun Akiyama (秋山駿, Akiyama Shun; April 23, 1930 – October 2, 2013) was a Japanese literary critic and member of the…
Shun Akiyama (秋山駿, Akiyama Shun; April 23, 1930 – October 2, 2013) was a Japanese literary critic and member of the Japan Art Academy. He was born in Tokyo, and graduated from Waseda University in 1953 with a degree in French literature. Between 1979 and 1993 he was a professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, and from 1997 at Musashino University. He died, aged 83, in Tokyo.
Hisahiko Okazaki (岡崎 久彦, Okazaki Hisahiko) (April 8, 1930 – October 26, 2014) was a Japanese diplomat, political…
Hisahiko Okazaki (岡崎 久彦, Okazaki Hisahiko) (April 8, 1930 – October 26, 2014) was a Japanese diplomat, political commentator, and director of the Okazaki Institute in Tokyo.
Keizo Hino (日野 啓三, Hino Keizō; June 14, 1929 – October 14, 2002) was a Japanese author. He won the 1974 Akutagawa Prize…
Keizo Hino (日野 啓三, Hino Keizō; June 14, 1929 – October 14, 2002) was a Japanese author. He won the 1974 Akutagawa Prize for Ano yūhi (The Evening Sun) and the 22nd Tanizaki Prize for Sakyū ga ugoku yō ni (砂丘が動くように). Born in Tokyo, he accompanied his parents to Korea, when the country was still under Japanese colonial rule. After the war, he returned to Japan, graduating from the University of Tokyo and joining the staff of the Yomiuri Shimbun, a leading Japanese newspaper in 1952. He served as a foreign correspondent in South Korea and Vietnam before becoming a novelist. Though he is often described as an environmentalist author, the focus of much of his fiction is the urban physical environment. Hino's works are striking for being simultaneously autobiographical and surrealistic. His novel Yume no Shima has been translated into English by Charles de Wolf as Isle of Dreams, and into German by Jaqueline Berndt and Hiroshi Yamane as Trauminsel; a short story, Bokushikan, has been translated into English by Charles de Wolf as The Rectory; another short story, Hashigo no tatsu machi 梯の立つ街, has been translated by Lawrence Rogers as "Jacob's Tokyo Ladder" and printed in 2002's Tokyo stories: a literary stroll.
Nada Inada (なだ いなだ; 8 June 1929 – 6 June 2013) was the pen-name of a Japanese psychiatrist, writer and literary critic…
Nada Inada (なだ いなだ; 8 June 1929 – 6 June 2013) was the pen-name of a Japanese psychiatrist, writer and literary critic active in late Shōwa period and early Heisei period Japan. His pen name is from the Spanish language phrase "nada y nada".
Tadao Ogura (Japanese: 小倉 忠夫, Ogura Tadao, born March 22, 1929) is a Japanese art critic, known primarily for his work…
Tadao Ogura (Japanese: 小倉 忠夫, Ogura Tadao, born March 22, 1929) is a Japanese art critic, known primarily for his work in the fields of printmaking and Western-style painting. Active from the 1960s through the 1970s, he published numerous critiques that significantly influenced the postwar Japanese art scene. He was born in Takahashi City, Okayama Prefecture. His father was Gyoka Ogura (Japanese: 小倉 魚禾, Ogura Gyoka), a painter.
Masami Fukushima (福島 正実, Fukushima Masami; February 18, 1929, Sakhalin - April 9, 1976) was a Japanese science fiction…
Masami Fukushima (福島 正実, Fukushima Masami; February 18, 1929, Sakhalin - April 9, 1976) was a Japanese science fiction editor, author, critic, and translator. As the first chief editor of SF Magazine, he helped popularize science fiction in Japan and became known as the "Demon of SF". His real name is Masami Katō (加藤 正実, Katō Masami). He also used the pen name: Kyō Katō (加藤 喬, Katō Kyō).
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.