Kojiro Shiraishi (白石 康次郎, Shiraishi Kōjirō) is a Japanese sailor who holds the record as the youngest sailor ever to…Kojiro Shiraishi (白石 康次郎, Shiraishi Kōjirō) is a Japanese sailor who holds the record as the youngest sailor ever to circumnavigate the globe in a 176-day continuous, single-handed, unassisted journey in 1994.
Hyōichi Kōno (河野 兵市, Kōno Hyōichi; April 12, 1958 – May 17, 2001) was a Japanese adventurer, best known for circling…Hyōichi Kōno (河野 兵市, Kōno Hyōichi; April 12, 1958 – May 17, 2001) was a Japanese adventurer, best known for circling Japan on bicycle and traveling to the North Pole. He was born in the town of Ikata, Ehime, Japan. Kōno died in 2001 while attempting to walk from the North Pole back to his hometown. Kono went missing in the Canadian Arctic, and was found in the Arctic Ocean. A memorial display entitled "Reaching Home" was erected at the Seto Agriculture Park in Ikata to honor him. It includes a signpost noting the names, dates, and distances of locations he traveled to. It reads as follows:
Shinji Kazama (born 26 September 1950) is a Japanese motorcyclist who rode to the North and South Poles on motorcycles.…Shinji Kazama (born 26 September 1950) is a Japanese motorcyclist who rode to the North and South Poles on motorcycles. He is shown in the documentary television series Pole to Pole (1992), presented by Michael Palin, when he and Palin happened to be on the same flight to Patriot Hills Base Camp. As of 2010, Kazama was the only person to have reached both poles on a motorcycle. He reached the North Pole on 21 April 1987, and the South Pole on 3 January 1992. Kazama's trip to the South Pole set an overland speed record for the journey (24 days) which stood until 2005. He also set records for elevations reached on Mount Everest (5,880 metres (19,290 ft) in 1985, 6,005 metres (19,701 ft) in 1986), Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Fuji by motorcycle. In 1982, Kazama became the first Japanese national to finish the Dakar Rally. He won the Dakar Rally in the 500cc class in 1984. In 1987 he won the Rallye des Pharaons in the 250cc class. In 2004, while again participating in the Dakar Rally, Kazama was struck by a big rig, mangling his left leg. He was flown to a hospital in Paris, where the leg was saved, but Kazama was left reliant on a cane to walk. In 2007, Kazama was appointed a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations World Health Organization "Bone and Joint Decade" (2000-2010). In the same year, Kazama undertook The Trans Eurasian Continent Tour, covering 11,250 miles (18,110 km) (from Vladivostok to Cabo da Roca, Portugal) in 52 days. In 2008 and 2009, Kazama drove a Subaru Forester from Alexandria, Egypt, to Cape Town, South Africa, to promote the Bone and Joint Decade. In 2009, he traversed Australia. From May to September 2010, Kazama and three other physically disabled riders journeyed from the South Pole to the North Pole using motorcycles, bicycles, dog sleds and boats, starting off from the southern tip of Chile and finishing in Lund, Sweden.
Norio Suzuki (鈴木 紀夫, Suzuki Norio; April 1949 – November 1986) was a Japanese explorer and adventurer. In 1974 he…Norio Suzuki (鈴木 紀夫, Suzuki Norio; April 1949 – November 1986) was a Japanese explorer and adventurer. In 1974 he searched for and found Hiroo Onoda, one of the last remaining Japanese holdouts who had refused to surrender after the end of World War II. Suzuki died in November 1986 in an avalanche while searching for the yeti.
Naomi Uemura (植村 直己, Uemura Naomi; February 12, 1941 – disappeared February 13, 1984) was a Japanese adventurer who was…Naomi Uemura (植村 直己, Uemura Naomi; February 12, 1941 – disappeared February 13, 1984) was a Japanese adventurer who was known particularly for his solo accomplishments. He was the first person to reach the North Pole solo, the first person to raft the Amazon River solo, and the first person to climb Denali solo. Before his 30th birthday, Uemura had solo-climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Mont Blanc, and the Matterhorn; had walked the length of Japan; had summited during the first (1970) Japanese expedition to climb Mount Everest; took part in the subsequent disastrous 1971 International Everest Expedition. Naomi Uemura was a licensed radio amateur operator, signed as JG1QFW. He used amateur radio communication during his expeditions.
Hiroaki Aoki (青木 廣彰, Aoki Hiroaki; October 9, 1938 – July 10, 2008), better known as Rocky Aoki, was a…Hiroaki Aoki (青木 廣彰, Aoki Hiroaki; October 9, 1938 – July 10, 2008), better known as Rocky Aoki, was a Japanese-American restaurateur, professional offshore powerboat racer and amateur wrestler. He was the founder of the Japanese cuisine restaurant chain Benihana and Genesis magazine. He was also the father of musician Steve Aoki and model and actress Devon Aoki.
Kenichi Horie (堀江 謙一, Horie Ken'ichi; born September 8, 1938 in Osaka) is a Japanese solo yachtsman. In 1962 he became…Kenichi Horie (堀江 謙一, Horie Ken'ichi; born September 8, 1938 in Osaka) is a Japanese solo yachtsman. In 1962 he became the first person to sail solo and non-stop across the Pacific Ocean. He has made other significant solo voyages, usually involving boats exhibiting some sort of environmentally friendly theme, including his 2008 voyage across the Western Pacific Ocean in a wave-powered boat, the Suntory Mermaid II. In 2022, he became the oldest man to sail solo non-stop across the Pacific. He began his journey in San Francisco, USA on March 27, arriving in Japan on June 4.
Suiin Emi (江見 水蔭, Emi Suiin; 17 September 1869 – 3 November 1934), born Tadanori Emi (江見 忠功, Emi Tadanori), was a…Suiin Emi (江見 水蔭, Emi Suiin; 17 September 1869 – 3 November 1934), born Tadanori Emi (江見 忠功, Emi Tadanori), was a Japanese novelist and journalist. Born in Okayama into a shizoku (former samurai) family, he travelled to Tokyo to join the army but instead joined the Kenyūsha literary society and quickly became celebrated during the Sino-Japanese War for his patriotic stories in the newspaper Chūō Shinbun. A pillar of the Meiji-era literary establishment, and the editor of Kobe Shinbun and Taiheiyo as well as Senshibankō and Kozakuraodoshi, his writing is marred for modern readers by its imperialist outlook, one example being Osero, a new version of Othello commissioned for the Otojiro Kawakami troupe and set in the Taiwan of 1903, in which the Othello figure, the governor Lt. Gen. Muro Washirō, is a Japanese burakumin who has been sent to the island to suppress a rebellion. He was the first to refer to sumo as the national sport (kokugi), inspiring the name of the Ryōgoku Kokugikan stadium built in 1909. He died in Matsuyama.