Toshiko Shirasu-Aihara (白須-相原 俊子, Shirasu-Aihara Toshiko; born June 3, 1939) is a retired Japanese gymnast. She…Toshiko Shirasu-Aihara (白須-相原 俊子, Shirasu-Aihara Toshiko; born June 3, 1939) is a retired Japanese gymnast. She competed in all artistic gymnastics events at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won a team bronze medal in 1964. Her best individual achievements were fourth places on the vault and uneven bars in 1964. Born Toshiko Shirasu, she changed her last name after marrying Nobuyuki Aihara, a fellow Olympic gymnast. Their son Yutaka Aihara won a bronze medal in gymnastics at the 1992 Olympics.
Yoshihisa Taira (or Taïra) (平 義久, Taira Yoshihisa; 3 March 1937 – 13 March 2005) was a Japanese composer of…Yoshihisa Taira (or Taïra) (平 義久, Taira Yoshihisa; 3 March 1937 – 13 March 2005) was a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music primarily active in France. Grove Music Online remarks that "His treatment of time and space, sonority, poetic lyricism, silence [...] were derived from traditional Japanese music and art, and are compatible with a French modernist aesthetic".
Ben Wada (和田 勉 Wada Ben), born Tsutomu Wada, (June 3, 1930 – January 14, 2011) was a producer for the Japanese TV…Ben Wada (和田 勉 Wada Ben), born Tsutomu Wada, (June 3, 1930 – January 14, 2011) was a producer for the Japanese TV channel NHK. He was the husband of the costume designer Emi Wada.
Shinzo Maeda (前田真三, Maeda Shinzō; 1922–1998) was a Japanese photographer famous for landscape photographs and movies.…Shinzo Maeda (前田真三, Maeda Shinzō; 1922–1998) was a Japanese photographer famous for landscape photographs and movies. He published 46 photography books in Japan, and founded the Tankei Photo Agency Co. The Shinzo Maeda Photo Art Gallery in Biei, Hokkaidō, opened in 1987, and exhibits a number of his Hokkaidō photographs. One of his movies, Tower on the Hill of Japan's Biei region, is often shown in HDTV format.
Gengo Matsui ( 松井源吾, Matsui Gengo, 1920-1996) was a prominent Japanese structural engineer and professor at Waseda…Gengo Matsui ( 松井源吾, Matsui Gengo, 1920-1996) was a prominent Japanese structural engineer and professor at Waseda University. Throughout his career, he collaborated with several renowned Japanese architects including Kiyonori Kikutake (1928–2011), Kisho Kurokawa (1934–2007), Toyo Ito (born 1941), and Shigeru Ban (born 1957). Gengo Matsui was active both in academia and in practice through his research lab at Waseda University and through his structural design office O.R.S., namely. He is best known for the structural design of several iconic buildings of Japanese metabolism like the Nakagin Capsule Tower (1972), the Osaka Expo Tower (1970), and the Miyakonojo Civic Center (1966). The ability to work at different scales and using different materials allowed Matsui creating a dense network of interdisciplinary collaborations and a wide range of different projects. In the early 1960s, his experiments with reinforced concrete also in collaboration with the architect Kikutake led to the patenting of the void slab system in Japan, a novel cast-in-situ slab system still largely used today in Japan. Towards the end of his career, Matsui engaged with Shigeru Ban's paper architecture series, developing design solutions in such a way to activate cardboard elements as actual load-bearing elements. Matsui also engaged in research related to wood joinery and modular steel structures, such as Toyo Ito's Silver Hut or Kikutake's Osaka Expo Tower. Among architects and collaborators, Matsui was known for consistently using photoelasticity to understand and explain the behavior of structures. He used photoelastic experiments both as a visual tool to investigate force flows within structural members as well as a tool to communicate structural design ideas to architects. After Matsui retired from Waseda University, the Matsui Gengo Prize for structural design was established. A total of 15 honorable contributions to the field of structural design were awarded with the Matsui Gengo Prize between 1991 and 2005. Among the winners were the Irish structural engineer Peter Rice for his work on the Kansai International Airport (awarded in 1995) and the British Sri Lankan engineer Cecil Balmond for his work on the Ito-Balmond Serpentine Pavilion (awarded in 2003).
Masayoshi Ochiai (3 June 1910 – December 1939) was a Japanese track and field athlete. He competed in the men's hammer…Masayoshi Ochiai (3 June 1910 – December 1939) was a Japanese track and field athlete. He competed in the men's hammer throw at the 1932 Summer Olympics. He was killed in action during World War II.
Ichiro Hatta (八田一朗, Hatta Ichirō; 3 June 1906 – 15 April 1983) was a Japanese judoka and wrestler. He was instrumental…Ichiro Hatta (八田一朗, Hatta Ichirō; 3 June 1906 – 15 April 1983) was a Japanese judoka and wrestler. He was instrumental in founding the Japanese Amateur Wrestling Association and bringing the 1964 Olympics to Japan.
Fuyuhiko Kitagawa (北川 冬彦, Kitagawa Fuyuhiko) (3 July 1900 – 12 April 1990) was a Japanese poet and film critic. His…Fuyuhiko Kitagawa (北川 冬彦, Kitagawa Fuyuhiko) (3 July 1900 – 12 April 1990) was a Japanese poet and film critic. His real name was Tadahiko Taguro (田畔 忠彦, Taguro Tadahiko). While born in Shiga Prefecture, he was raised in Manchukuo in China due to his father's work on the South Manchurian Railway, and then graduated from Tokyo University. He began publishing his own poetry in Manchukuo in 1924 and his work was influenced by that colonial context. His work was praised by Riichi Yokomitsu, and he became a prominent figure in modernist poetry in Japan, pursuing especially prose poetry. Culver describes Kitagawa as instrumental in the early history of Surrealism in Japan through his Japanese translation of Andre Breton's first Manifesto of Surrealism, which appeared in 1929 in Shi to shiron (詩と詩論), nos. 4–5. Kitagawa was also a well-known film critic, one who especially praised the work of Mansaku Itami (the father of Juzo Itami), calling it a new, realistic "prose cinema" (sanbun eiga) in opposition to the old "poetic cinema" (inbun eiga) of Sadao Yamanaka, Daisuke Itō, and others. He was a champion of neorealism in the postwar era. He was a standard-bearer of the Scenario-Literature-Movement. He, Shuzo Takiguchi, Akira Asano and other members formed a group called 'Ten Scenario-Researchers'. They advocated the movement from a standpoint considering a scenario a literary genre.
Okamura Fuku (Japanese: 岡村ふく; June 3, 1899 – April 26, 1982), also known as Mother Helen Theresia, was a Japanese Roman…Okamura Fuku (Japanese: 岡村ふく; June 3, 1899 – April 26, 1982), also known as Mother Helen Theresia, was a Japanese Roman Catholic nun born in the Empire of Japan. In 1944 she was the co-founder, with Fr. Vincent Totsuka Bunkyō (1892–1939, Bunkei Totsuka in some sources), of the Missionary Sisters of St. John the Evangelist, and Sakuramachi hospital. She was listed as the director in the early 1970s. Louis Massignon reported meeting her and her congregation in 1959 when he visited Sakuramachi hospital in Tokyo, and she is listed in his correspondence. In 1963, when she was mother superior, she received a national medal for her work with developmentally disabled people, and her role in founding Sakuramachi hospital with Fr. Totsuka.
Yasujirō Shimazu (島津 保次郎, Shimazu Yasujirō; 3 June 1897 – 18 September 1945) was a Japanese film director and…Yasujirō Shimazu (島津 保次郎, Shimazu Yasujirō; 3 June 1897 – 18 September 1945) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, and a pioneer of the shōshimin-eiga (common people drama) genre at the Shōchiku studios in pre-World War II Japan.
Otojirô Itô (伊藤音次郎, Itô Otojirô) (June 3, 1891 – December 26, 1971) was an early pioneer in Japanese civil aviation. He…Otojirô Itô (伊藤音次郎, Itô Otojirô) (June 3, 1891 – December 26, 1971) was an early pioneer in Japanese civil aviation. He is known for establishing the Ito Aircraft Research Center, training a number of new pilots, and for the development of Japanese-made aircraft.
Taizō Ishizaka (石坂 泰三, Ishizaka Taizō; June 3, 1886 – March 6, 1975) was a leading Japanese businessman and President…Taizō Ishizaka (石坂 泰三, Ishizaka Taizō; June 3, 1886 – March 6, 1975) was a leading Japanese businessman and President of the Japanese Federation of Economic Organizations (now the Japan Business Federation) who served as Chairman of the National Board of the Boy Scouts of Japan.