Noboru Yamaguchi (ヤマグチ ノボル, Yamaguchi Noboru; February 11, 1972 – April 4, 2013) was a Japanese light novel and game…Noboru Yamaguchi (ヤマグチ ノボル, Yamaguchi Noboru; February 11, 1972 – April 4, 2013) was a Japanese light novel and game scenario author from Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. He was well known for being the author of The Familiar of Zero light novels and visual novels by Frontwing.
Seiichi Hishikawa (菱川 勢一, Hishikawa Seiichi; born in 1969 in Tokyo) is a Japanese film maker, art director, and…Seiichi Hishikawa (菱川 勢一, Hishikawa Seiichi; born in 1969 in Tokyo) is a Japanese film maker, art director, and photographer who began his career in the music industry. He entered CBS/Sony Group in the General Affairs section, General Affairs division, and eventually moved on to the Sony Corporation. PR/Advertising division, overseeing a great number of events at the Ginza Sony Building etc. as an assistant producer. This was also the time that he began producing exhibitions for creators of contemporary art as well as artists. In 1991, Hishikawa moved to New York and moved from music to film, as an editing engineer as well as a cinematographer, gaining experience in media including TV and movies. After returning to Japan, he gained experience as a freelance set director, cinematographer, and theatre director before establishing Drawing and Manual, a company that does graphic design and film. That same year, he hosted a motion graphics exhibition at the Axis Gallery in Roppongi, leading the motion graphics movement and attracting a total of 45,000 visitors despite being self-hosted. Known as the founder of that movement, Hishikawa established his own design studio in 2003, Standard Series, Inc. Expanding on the cinema, web, and graphic design work he has done up until now, the company also provides brand design and design consultation services. In 2009, Hishikawa joined Drawing and Manual again, and he accepted a position to teach in the Department of Science of Design, Musashino Art University. He achieved the triple crown in 2011 after taking top honors in the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival for directing the NTT Docomo commercial “Xylophone.”
Fumio Takano (高野 史緒, Takano Fumio) is a Japanese writer from Ibaraki Prefecture. Her work has won the 58th Edogawa…Fumio Takano (高野 史緒, Takano Fumio) is a Japanese writer from Ibaraki Prefecture. Her work has won the 58th Edogawa Rampo Prize and she was a finalist for the 6th Japan Fantasy Novel Award. She won the 55th Seiun Award for Best Japanese Long Work for her novel Graf Zeppelin: The Airship of That Summer, which was also a finalist for the Nihon SF Taisho Award.
Shinji Higuchi (Japanese: 樋口 真嗣, Hepburn: Higuchi Shinji; born September 22, 1965) is a Japanese filmmaker. Known for…Shinji Higuchi (Japanese: 樋口 真嗣, Hepburn: Higuchi Shinji; born September 22, 1965) is a Japanese filmmaker. Known for his tokusatsu blockbusters, Higuchi is considered one of Japan's leading filmmakers of the 21st century. Higuchi became known for his work on Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, for which he won the Special Technology Award at the 19th Japan Academy Film Prize. In 2005, he made his feature directorial debut on Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean. His second feature film, Sinking of Japan (2006), was second place at the Bunshun Kiichigo Awards. His 2015 live-action two-part film adaptation of Hajime Isayama's manga series, Attack on Titan, won the Excellence in Theatrical Live Action Film award at the 2016 VFX-JAPAN Awards. In 2017, Higuchi and Hideaki Anno won the Director of the Year award at the 40th Japan Academy Film Prize for their work on the 2016 kaiju film Shin Godzilla. His 2022 film, Shin Ultraman, was a major success in Japan, and has received generally positive reviews from critics internationally.
Atsushi Koyano (小谷野 敦, Koyano Atsushi; 21 December 1962) is a Japanese scholar of comparative literature and critic. He…Atsushi Koyano (小谷野 敦, Koyano Atsushi; 21 December 1962) is a Japanese scholar of comparative literature and critic. He also has advanced degrees and pedagogy careers in Osaka University, Meiji University, Tokyo University.
Junichi Saga (佐賀 純一, Saga Jun'ichi; born 1941) is a Japanese countryside physician and writer whose work records…Junichi Saga (佐賀 純一, Saga Jun'ichi; born 1941) is a Japanese countryside physician and writer whose work records countryside experiences of numerous individuals (typically, his patients).
Takashi Tachibana (立花 隆, Tachibana Takashi; 28 May 1940 – 30 April 2021, Nagasaki) was a Japanese journalist. He was…Takashi Tachibana (立花 隆, Tachibana Takashi; 28 May 1940 – 30 April 2021, Nagasaki) was a Japanese journalist. He was known for his articles on Japanese social problems.
Yoji Kondo (近藤 陽次, Kondō Yōji; May 26, 1933 – October 9, 2017) was a Japanese-born American astrophysicist who also…Yoji Kondo (近藤 陽次, Kondō Yōji; May 26, 1933 – October 9, 2017) was a Japanese-born American astrophysicist who also wrote science fiction under the pseudonym Eric Kotani. He edited Requiem: New Collected Works by Robert A. Heinlein and Tributes to the Grand Master (1992), and contributed to New Destinies, Vol. VI/Winter 1988—Robert A. Heinlein Memorial Issue (1988), after his friend, writer Robert A. Heinlein, died in 1988. Kondo also edited the non-fiction book Interstellar Travel & Multi-Generational Space Ships, part of the Apogee Books Space Series. For his work in the NASA Space program, Kondo was awarded the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement Yoji Kondo was also an accomplished teacher of Shodokan Aikido and judo.
Osamu Yatabe (Japanese: 矢田部理 Yatabe Osamu; 15 February 1932 – 5 December 2021) was a Japanese lawyer and politician. A…Osamu Yatabe (Japanese: 矢田部理 Yatabe Osamu; 15 February 1932 – 5 December 2021) was a Japanese lawyer and politician. A member of the Japan Socialist Party and later the New Socialist Party of Japan, he served in the House of Councillors from 1974 to 1998.
Michiko Nagai (永井路子, Nagai Michiko); (March 31, 1925 – January 27, 2023) was a Japanese historical fiction writer. Her…Michiko Nagai (永井路子, Nagai Michiko); (March 31, 1925 – January 27, 2023) was a Japanese historical fiction writer. Her real name is Hiroko Kuroita (黒板擴子, Kuroita Hiroko).
Takashi Nagatsuka (長塚 節, Nagatsuka Takashi; April 3, 1879–February 8, 1915) was a Japanese poet and novelist. According…Takashi Nagatsuka (長塚 節, Nagatsuka Takashi; April 3, 1879–February 8, 1915) was a Japanese poet and novelist. According to prominent historian Ann Waswo, Nagatsuka Takashi was born into a landowning family. Nagatsuka was born in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan in Kosshō Village (国生村), itself in Ishige Town (石下町), which forms modern day Joso City (常総市). In 1896, poor health forced him to stop his middle-school education in Mito. In accordance with his duties as eldest son, he assisted his mother Taka in managing their six acres of arable land. He started experimenting in 1905 with different fertilizers, crop-rotation, charcoal-production, and commercial-grade bamboo-production. These are just some of his attempts to save the family's finances from the political career of his father Genjiro (who was elected during the late 1880s to the prefectural assembly), since he tended to absorb other people's debts. In Tokyo, he studied poetry with Masaoka Shiki from 1900 until 1902, when Shiki died of tuberculosis. His only novel The Soil ("土;" "Tsuchi") was published in 151-installment series from June–November of 1910 in the Tokyo Asahi Shimbun (東京朝日新聞), which eventually became today's Asahi Shimbun. Two years after its newspaper serialization, The Soil was published as a complete work in book form in 1912. The novel depicts life in rural Japan and in Kosshō Village. The characters are based on actual people, although their names are altered. The novel's copyright expired in the mid-1960s. He died of laryngeal tuberculosis on February 8, 1915.
Hiroshi Koike (小池博史 Koike Hiroshi born on 25 January 1956, in Japan) is a Japanese director, playwright and…Hiroshi Koike (小池博史 Koike Hiroshi born on 25 January 1956, in Japan) is a Japanese director, playwright and choreographer. After his former performing arts company Pappa TARAHUMARA was dissolved in 2012, he formed the Hiroshi Koike Bridge Project (HKBP). In June, 2023, they added the word, Odyssey, to the organization's name to reflect the director's vision of creating art - Hiroshi Koike Bridge Project -Odyssey. He has conducted physical acting training workshops based on his original method titled “slow movement” all over the world. Up to date, Hiroshi Koike has directed 55 works with Pappa TARAHUMARA and 36 works with Hiroshi Koike Bridge Project -Odyssey.
