Osamu Suzuki (鈴木 治, Suzuki Osamu) (1926-2001) was a Japanese ceramicist and one of the co-founders of the artist group…
Osamu Suzuki (鈴木 治, Suzuki Osamu) (1926-2001) was a Japanese ceramicist and one of the co-founders of the artist group Sōdeisha (eng. "Crawling through Mud Association"), a Japanese avant-garde ceramics movement that arose following the end of the Second World War and served as a counter to the traditional forms and styles in modern Japanese ceramics, such as Mingei. Working in both iron-rich stoneware and porcelain, Suzuki developed his style considerably over the course of his career, beginning with functional vessels in his early work, and spanning to fully sculptural works (which he called "clay images") in the latter half of his career. Suzuki has been described by The Japan Times as "one of Japan's most important ceramic artists of the 20th century."
Famous People Born on December 1
December 1: 72 people
Atsuko Nambu is a Japanese athlete. She won a gold medal in the individual 100 metres and silver medals in the 4 × 100…
Atsuko Nambu is a Japanese athlete. She won a gold medal in the individual 100 metres and silver medals in the 4 × 100 m relay, individual 200 metres and long jump in the 1954 Asian Games. Her deportment at the Asian Games helped to prevent disruption by Filipino spectators still seething from the brutal massacre by Japanese military forces in Manila during the last days of the occupation of the Philippines just nine years before. For her action, she was dubbed by Filipinos “sweetheart of the Games”.
Fujiko Fujio (藤子 不二雄) was a manga writing duo formed by Japanese manga artists Hiroshi Fujimoto (藤本 弘, Fujimoto…
Fujiko Fujio (藤子 不二雄) was a manga writing duo formed by Japanese manga artists Hiroshi Fujimoto (藤本 弘, Fujimoto Hiroshi; December 1, 1933 – September 23, 1996) and Motoo Abiko (安孫子 素雄, Abiko Motoo; March 10, 1934 – April 6, 2022). They debuted in 1951 as a duo under their real names. The Fujiko Fujio name was used for their respective works from 1953 until 1987, when Fujimoto became too ill to work consistently. The pair was best known for their popular children's manga series, including Obake no Q-Tarō, Ninja Hattori-kun, Kaibutsu-kun, Perman, Kiteretsu Daihyakka and Doraemon. Some of their influences include Osamu Tezuka as well as international cartoons and comic books. Both artists base their writing style on a mix of morals with a subversive and wry sense of humor; their styles would evolve to the point of diversion, where Fujimoto focused on speculative science fiction in addition to children's works, while Abiko leaned towards the surreal and black comedy. Their work received critical acclaim and, on Fujimoto's part, universal recognition, with Doraemon being officially recognized as a cultural icon of modern Japan.
Toshifumi Suzuki (鈴木 敏文, Suzuki Toshifumi; 1 December 1932 – 18 May 2026) was a Japanese businessman best known as the…
Toshifumi Suzuki (鈴木 敏文, Suzuki Toshifumi; 1 December 1932 – 18 May 2026) was a Japanese businessman best known as the founder of Seven-Eleven Japan and widely regarded as the father of Japan’s convenience store industry. He was known as an innovator who introduced many features now considered a staple of the Japanese convenience store, such as in-store banking, ready-to-eat meals, fresh-brewed coffee and a data-driven business model. Suzuki had been a businessman since the early 1970s, during which he brought the 7-Eleven franchise to Japan, and was the acting chairperson before his promotion to CEO and president.
Tomoko Naraoka (奈良岡 朋子, Naraoka Tomoko; December 1, 1929 – March 23, 2023) was a Japanese actress and narrator. The…
Tomoko Naraoka (奈良岡 朋子, Naraoka Tomoko; December 1, 1929 – March 23, 2023) was a Japanese actress and narrator. The daughter of a painter, she was born in Komagome, Hongō (present-day Bunkyo), in the city of Tokyo, Japan. She graduated from Joshibi University of Art and Design. Naraoka debuted as a cinema actress in the 1949 film Chijin no Ai, based on the novel Naomi. In 1981 she appeared in Rengō Kantai (lit. "Combined Fleet", United States title: The Imperial Navy). She also appeared in Tora-san's Salad-Day Memorial (a 1988 movie in the long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series) as well as eight films in the Tsuribaka Nisshi series. Naraoka has appeared in several NHK Taiga dramas. Her first was the 1969 Ten to Chi to, in the role of the wife of Uesugi Sadazane. She portrayed Kita no Mandokoro (the wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi) in Haru no Sakamichi (1971). Her next Taiga drama appearance was in 1976 in Kaze to Kumo to Niji to. She narrated the 1986 Inochi and 1989 Kasuga no Tsubone. She is the narrator of the 2008 drama Atsuhime. Other noteworthy narration roles include the 1983 serialized morning television drama Oshin. She also narrated Onna wa Dokyō (1992) and Haru Yo Koi (1994–1995). A nonfiction voice role was in the series Kiwameru: Nihon no Bi to Kokoro. Naraoka died from pneumonia on March 23, 2023, at the age of 93.
Hidesaburo Hanafusa (花房 秀三郎, Hanafusa Hidesaburō; December 1, 1929 – March 15, 2009) was a Japanese virologist. He…
Hidesaburo Hanafusa (花房 秀三郎, Hanafusa Hidesaburō; December 1, 1929 – March 15, 2009) was a Japanese virologist. He shared the 1982 Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research with Harold E. Varmus and J. Michael Bishop for demonstrating how RNA tumor viruses cause cancer, and elucidating their role in combining, rescuing and maintaining oncogenes in the viral genome.
Ichirō Hariu (針生 一郎, Hariu Ichirō; December 1, 1925–May 26, 2010), was a Japanese art critic and literary critic…
Ichirō Hariu (針生 一郎, Hariu Ichirō; December 1, 1925–May 26, 2010), was a Japanese art critic and literary critic, remembered as one of the "Big Three" art critics of postwar Japan (alongside Yoshiaki Tōno and Yūsuke Nakahara).
Katsumi Nomizu (野水 克己, Nomizu Katsumi; December 1, 1924 – November 5, 2008) was a Japanese-American mathematician known…
Katsumi Nomizu (野水 克己, Nomizu Katsumi; December 1, 1924 – November 5, 2008) was a Japanese-American mathematician known for his work in differential geometry.
Masao Horiba (堀場 雅夫, Horiba Masao; December 1, 1924 – July 14, 2015) was a Japanese businessman who was the founder of…
Masao Horiba (堀場 雅夫, Horiba Masao; December 1, 1924 – July 14, 2015) was a Japanese businessman who was the founder of Horiba Ltd., a manufacturer of advanced analytical and measurement technology. He founded the company as Horiba Radio Laboratory in 1945. Masao Horiba received several awards from the Japanese government including a national Blue Ribbon Medal, and was the first non-American to receive the Pittcon Heritage Award.
Peter Baptist Tadamaro Ishigami, OFMCap (Japanese: ペトロ・バプティスタ石神忠真郎; December 1, 1920 – October 25, 2014) was a Japanese…
Peter Baptist Tadamaro Ishigami, OFMCap (Japanese: ペトロ・バプティスタ石神忠真郎; December 1, 1920 – October 25, 2014) was a Japanese prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Ishigami was born in Kasari, Japan and ordained a priest on September 6, 1952 for the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. Ishigami was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Naha on December 18, 1972 where served until his retirement on January 24, 1997.
Shunpei Uto (鵜藤 俊平, Utō Shunpei; born 1 December 1918, date of death unknown) was a Japanese freestyle swimmer who won…
Shunpei Uto (鵜藤 俊平, Utō Shunpei; born 1 December 1918, date of death unknown) was a Japanese freestyle swimmer who won two medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Masako Nakata (中田 正子, Nakata Masako; née Tanaka (田中); December 1, 1910 – October 15, 2002) was one of Japan's first…
Masako Nakata (中田 正子, Nakata Masako; née Tanaka (田中); December 1, 1910 – October 15, 2002) was one of Japan's first female lawyers.
Hideo Sekigawa (関 川 秀雄, Sekigawa Hideo; 1 December 1908 – 16 December 1977) was a Japanese film director known mainly…
Hideo Sekigawa (関 川 秀雄, Sekigawa Hideo; 1 December 1908 – 16 December 1977) was a Japanese film director known mainly for films with a left-wing agenda made in the late 1940s and early 1950s. His most noted works are the anti-war films Listen to the Voices of the Sea (1950) and Hiroshima (1953).
Takiji Kobayashi (小林 多喜二, Kobayashi Takiji; October 13, 1903 – February 20, 1933) was a Japanese writer of proletarian…
Takiji Kobayashi (小林 多喜二, Kobayashi Takiji; October 13, 1903 – February 20, 1933) was a Japanese writer of proletarian literature. He is best known for his short novel Kani Kōsen, or Crab Cannery Ship, published in 1929. It tells the story of the hard life of cannery workers, fishermen and seamen on board a cannery ship and the beginning of their revolt against the company and its managers. Kobayashi died due to violent torture after being arrested by the Special Higher Police two years later, at the age of 29.
Masaji Tabata (Japanese: 田畑政治) (December 1, 1898 – August 25, 1984) was a Japanese educator, journalist, and swimming…
Masaji Tabata (Japanese: 田畑政治) (December 1, 1898 – August 25, 1984) was a Japanese educator, journalist, and swimming coach. He was a key figure in Tokyo's successful bid to host the 1964 Summer Olympics. He served as the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee from 1973 to 1977.
The Most Venerable Etai Yamada (山田 恵諦, Yamada Etai; 1 December 1895– 22 February 1994) was the 253rd head priest of the…
The Most Venerable Etai Yamada (山田 恵諦, Yamada Etai; 1 December 1895– 22 February 1994) was the 253rd head priest of the Japanese Tendai school of Mahayana Buddhism. In 1986, Yamada was invited by Pope John Paul II to be one of the few non-Christian religious leaders to attend the World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi, Italy. In 1987, he held a religious summit meeting on Mount Hiei near Kyoto. This event has been held annually to the present day, inviting religious leaders to gather to pray for worldwide peace and reconciliation. Yamada conducted ecumenical dialogues with religious leaders around the world based on his interpretation of the Lotus Sutra which culminated in a 1987 summit. He also used the Lotus Sutra to move his sect from a "temple Buddhism" perspective to one based on social engagement. Yamada received the Niwano Peace Prize in 1989, to date he is the only Japanese recipient of the award.
Eitaro Ishigaki (石垣 栄太郎, Ishigaki Eitarō; December 1, 1893 - January 23, 1958) was a Japanese-born American painter. He…
Eitaro Ishigaki (石垣 栄太郎, Ishigaki Eitarō; December 1, 1893 - January 23, 1958) was a Japanese-born American painter. He lived and worked in the United States between 1909 and 1952. Ishigaki, who came to the US as a migrant worker in the early 20th century, depicted the contradictions of American society from the perspective of a minority person. Ishigaki was also a founding member of progressive and politically active organizations, including the John Reed Clubs (JRC) in 1929 and the American Artists' Congress in 1936. Ishigaki was a committed leftist throughout his life and career, "whose canvases and murals depicted social injustices and urban life." His one of best known works, The Bonus March (1932), depicts a critical moment in WWI veterans' famous march into Washington, D.C., in 1932. Ishigaki's work is held by the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1997 and 2013, the Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama held commemorative exhibitions of his works. His work is also located in the Ishigaki Eitaro Memorial Museum in Wakayama, Japan.
Shizuo Yokoyama (横山 静雄, Yokoyama Shizuo; 1 December 1890 – 6 January 1961) was a lieutenant general in the Imperial…
Shizuo Yokoyama (横山 静雄, Yokoyama Shizuo; 1 December 1890 – 6 January 1961) was a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II, who is noted for his role in the Battle of Manila, the single largest urban battle ever fought by American forces, during the final days of World War II.
Kiichi Matsuda (松田 喜一, Matsuda Kiichi; December 1, 1887 – July 30, 1968) was a Japanese professor of agriculture who…
Kiichi Matsuda (松田 喜一, Matsuda Kiichi; December 1, 1887 – July 30, 1968) was a Japanese professor of agriculture who lived in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, during the Taishō and Shōwa periods. Over 48 years, he taught farming techniques to 3,600 students at Matsuda Farm, his private school, and forty thousand people attended his lectures during that time.
Rokuzan Ogiwara (荻原 碌山, Ogiwara Rokuzan; 1 December 1879 – 22 April 1910) was a sculptor active in Meiji period Japan.…
Rokuzan Ogiwara (荻原 碌山, Ogiwara Rokuzan; 1 December 1879 – 22 April 1910) was a sculptor active in Meiji period Japan. His real name was Morie Ogiwara (荻原 守衛, Ogiwara Morie). He is regarded as one of the pioneers of modern western-style bronze sculpture in Japan.
Shinpei Mykawa (前川 真平, Maekawa Shinpei; December 1, 1874 in Aichi, Japan – April 24, 1906 in Erin Station, Texas) was a…
Shinpei Mykawa (前川 真平, Maekawa Shinpei; December 1, 1874 in Aichi, Japan – April 24, 1906 in Erin Station, Texas) was a Japanese rice farmer who introduced the cultivation of rice in parts of southeast Texas. The community of Mykawa and Mykawa Road in Houston are named after him.
Marshal Admiral Viscount Inoue Yoshika (井上 良馨, Yoshika Inoue; 1 December 1845 – 22 March 1929) was a career naval…
Marshal Admiral Viscount Inoue Yoshika (井上 良馨, Yoshika Inoue; 1 December 1845 – 22 March 1929) was a career naval officer and admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during Meiji-period Japan.