Seijun Suzuki (鈴木 清順, Suzuki Seijun), born Seitaro Suzuki (鈴木 清太郎, Suzuki Seitarō) (24 May 1923 – 13 February 2017)…Seijun Suzuki (鈴木 清順, Suzuki Seijun), born Seitaro Suzuki (鈴木 清太郎, Suzuki Seitarō) (24 May 1923 – 13 February 2017), was a Japanese filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. His films are known for their florid visual style, absurd humour, and a playful rejection of traditional film grammar. He made 40 predominately B-movies for the Nikkatsu Company between 1956 and 1967, working most prolifically in the yakuza genre. His increasingly surreal style began to draw the ire of the studio in 1963 and culminated in his ultimate dismissal for what is now regarded as his magnum opus, Branded to Kill (1967), starring notable collaborator Joe Shishido. Suzuki successfully sued the studio for wrongful dismissal, but he was blacklisted for 10 years after that. As an independent filmmaker, he won critical acclaim and a Japanese Academy Award for his Taishō trilogy, Zigeunerweisen (1980), Kagero-za (1981) and Yumeji (1991). His films remained widely unknown outside Japan until a series of theatrical retrospectives beginning in the mid-1980s, home video releases of key films such as Branded to Kill and Tokyo Drifter in the late 1990s and tributes by such acclaimed filmmakers as Jim Jarmusch, Takeshi Kitano, Wong Kar-wai and Quentin Tarantino signaled his international discovery. Suzuki continued making films, albeit sporadically, until the early 2000s.
Murasaki Fujima (藤間紫, Fujima Murasaki; 24 May 1923 – 27 March 2009) was a Japanese actress and dancer who appeared in…Murasaki Fujima (藤間紫, Fujima Murasaki; 24 May 1923 – 27 March 2009) was a Japanese actress and dancer who appeared in more than 75 films.
Sadao Bekku (別宮貞雄, Bekku Sadao; May 24, 1922, in Tokyo – January 12, 2012, in Mitaka, Tokyo) was a Japanese classical…Sadao Bekku (別宮貞雄, Bekku Sadao; May 24, 1922, in Tokyo – January 12, 2012, in Mitaka, Tokyo) was a Japanese classical composer. His works include five symphonies, film scores, a flute sonata, a piano concerto, choral work and art songs, and the opera, Prince Arima. His work took strong influence from jazz. His best-known works include the film score Matango (1963).
Yoshiko Kawashima (川島 芳子, Kawashima Yoshiko; 24 May 1907 – 25 March 1948), born Aisin Gioro Xianzi (愛新覺羅 · 顯㺭), was a…Yoshiko Kawashima (川島 芳子, Kawashima Yoshiko; 24 May 1907 – 25 March 1948), born Aisin Gioro Xianzi (愛新覺羅 · 顯㺭), was a Qing dynasty royal, part of the Aisin Gioro clan. Kawashima was raised in Japan and served as a spy for the Japanese Kwantung Army and Manchukuo during the Second Sino-Japanese War, and is sometimes known in fiction under the pseudonym "Eastern Mata Hari". After the war, Kawashima was captured, sentenced, and executed as a traitor by the Nationalist government of the Republic of China. Kawashima is also a notable descendant of Hooge, eldest son of Hong Taiji.
Chūhei Nambu (南部 忠平, Nanbu Chūhei; May 27, 1904 – July 23, 1997) was a Japanese track and field athlete. As of 2024, he…Chūhei Nambu (南部 忠平, Nanbu Chūhei; May 27, 1904 – July 23, 1997) was a Japanese track and field athlete. As of 2024, he is the only person to have held world records in both the long jump and the triple jump.
Seishi Yokomizo (Japanese: 横溝 正史, Hepburn: Yokomizo Seishi; 24 May 1902 – 28 December 1981) was a Japanese mystery…Seishi Yokomizo (Japanese: 横溝 正史, Hepburn: Yokomizo Seishi; 24 May 1902 – 28 December 1981) was a Japanese mystery novelist, known for creating the fictional detective Kosuke Kindaichi.
Hisashi Asō (麻生 久, Asō Hisashi; 24 May 1891 – 6 September 1940), pen name Asayama Kaikei (麻山 改介), was a Japanese…Hisashi Asō (麻生 久, Asō Hisashi; 24 May 1891 – 6 September 1940), pen name Asayama Kaikei (麻山 改介), was a Japanese socialist politician and trade unionist active in the Taishō and early Shōwa periods. A graduate of Tokyo Imperial University, he rose in the labour movement through the Yūaikai and as founder of the All Japan Miners' Federation, leading major strikes before helping establish successive centrist proletarian parties. He served as secretary-general and later chairman of the Social Mass Party (Shakai Taishūtō), was elected to the House of Representatives for Tokyo's 5th district in 1936 and 1937, and subsequently advocated collaboration with right-wing renovationist elements and the military, dissolving the party in July 1940 to support Fumimaro Konoe's New Order movement. He was a mentor to Inejirō Asanuma, the future chairman of the Japan Socialist Party.
Toyotarō Yūki (結城 豊太郎, Yūki Toyotarō; 24 May 1877 – 1 August 1951) was a central banker in the Empire of Japan, serving…Toyotarō Yūki (結城 豊太郎, Yūki Toyotarō; 24 May 1877 – 1 August 1951) was a central banker in the Empire of Japan, serving as the 15th Governor of the Bank of Japan and twice as a cabinet minister.