1921 (Taisho 10) Sunday, August 7 The flamenco guitarist Manitas de Plata was born in a Gypsy Caravan in southern France. His real name was Ricardo Barriardo. “Manitas de Plata” means “a small silver hand” in Spanish, and the artist’s name is derived from the nickname that praises his guitar skills in his words. Manitas de Plata is 11 years older than Jango Reinhardt, who is said to be the top gypsy guitarist in the world. Manitas de Plata inherited the craftsmanship of Jango Reinhardt and has been in the limelight since Jango’s death in 1953. In 1964, I was invited to Pablo Picasso’s atelier in southern France where I...

1921 (Taisho 10) Monday, July 25 Model railway researcher Yamazaki Kiyo (alias Yamazaki Yoshiaki) was born in Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture. Yamazaki has had a strong interest in railways since he was a child. Before the war, he won the Model Railway Speed Competition and the Traction Competition sponsored by the magazine “Science of Children”. The “Science of Children” is still being published energetically, and in 2024 it will mark its 100 year anniversary. Yamazaki later graduated from the Faculty of Science at Tokyo Imperial University, and his passion for model trains grew rather stronger than subsiding as he grew older. At last, he launched the 1947 (Showa 22) magazine...

1921 (Taisho 10) On Friday, July 15, Sūn Wéishì was born in Nanxi County, Sichuan Province. His father was a revolutionary, Sūn Bíangwén. Mother is Yǔ Rénruì. Around the time when Sūn Wéishì was born, her father was the chief of the Sichuan Mint in the Republic of China, but in September 1922 he returned to Germany together with Zhū dé. Zhū is the father of the People’s Liberation Army. They met with Zhōu ēnái in Germany, who was also studying in Europe, and joined the Communist Party of China in Berlin. In April 1927, Chiang Kai-shek’s father, Sūn Bíangwén, was assassinated in the so-called 4.12 coup d’etat in Shanghai....

1921 (Taisho 10) On Monday, July 11, actor Yamanouchi Akira was born in Azabu, Tokyo. His father was Ichiro Yamano, born in what is now Tochio City, Niigata Prefecture, and his real name was Koichi Yamauchi. In 1942 (Showa 17), Akira YAMANOUCHI, who was the second son of Koichi, founded the theater company “Young Friends” while he was a student at Waseda University. While still a student, he signed a contract with Shochiku Uzumasa Studios, and the following year he was chosen for the lead role in the movie “Kaigun” (Navy), Masato Tani, which attracted attention. In the same year, he graduated from Waseda in advance as an exception during...

1921 (Taisho 10) Saturday, July 9: Sadanori YAMANAKA, a statesman, was born. He was born in Soogun Sueyoshi Village, Kagoshima Prefecture (present Soo City). After graduating from former Miyakonojo Junior High School (present-day Miyazaki Prefectural Miyakonojo Izumigaoka High School), Oshima moved to Taiwan and attended Taipei Second Normal School. While studying at Taipei Second Normal School, he met Tomonao YARA, who was a teacher at the school and later became a politician from Okinawa, which later became Yamanaka’s major political asset. After graduating from the school, Yamanaka worked as a teacher at a national school in Takaosu, but after serving in the Pacific War, he left for the front, and...

1921 (Taisho 10) Saturday, July 2: Mizuho Matsuda, the substantial founder of Yoshinoya, was born. He was a student at Chuo University’s Faculty of Law during World War II, but went to the front as a student. After the war, he was demobilized and took over the family business of beef bowl restaurant in Tsukiji Uogashi. It has rapidly expanded to a synonym of fast, easy and good. 1958 The Company became a joint-stock company and developed a nationwide chain using TV commercials. we aggressively expanded our business overseas, including in the United States. However, in order to rapidly expand the shops at that time, they used a lot of...

1921 (Taisho 10) On Monday, June 27, Ueshiba Kisshomaru, the second chief priest of Aikido, was born. He is the third son of Morihei Ueshiba, the founder and founder of aikido. Founder Morihei was a devout believer in Onizaburo Deguchi, who was the actual founder of the religious group Omoto, when Kisshomaru was born. He led his family and moved to Ayabe, Oomoto’s base in Kyoto Prefecture, and Kisshomaru was born there. After graduating from Waseda Senior High School, Kisshomaru entered Waseda University’s Faculty of Politics and Economics, and while working at ShinNihon Securities, he also served as the dojo manager of the Aikido Main School in place of his...

Thursday, June 16 1921 (Taisho 10): OSAKO Masatomi, the founder of Zenrin Co., Ltd., which is famous for its housing map, was born in Usa City, Oita Prefecture. After the war, Osako was demobilized from Manchuria and established the Huako Tourism Association in 1949 (Showa 24), which published a pamphlet for tourists titled “Nenkan Beppu”. The city map at the end of the book was well received. The following year, the company changed its name to Zenrin Publishing Co., Ltd., and began full-scale production of housing maps. The name Zenrin means to make friends with neighboring countries. Detailed maps are also military information, so if the world is not peaceful,...

1921 (Taisho 10) Sunday, June 12, Mary Agnes Ruggieri was born in San Francisco. Her name before marriage was Mary Kiddie. After completing a degree in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley in 1943, she continued on to pursue graduate studies in child welfare at the University of Minnesota. During the Pacific War, she volunteered to join the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) in 1944. During World War II, about 150,000 American women worked for WAC and Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps. These were the first women in American history to serve in the Army, with the exception of nurses. Mary arrived in Yokohama in October 1946. She lived in the...

1921 (Taisho 10) Saturday, June 11 Masatoshi Kusunoki, a later member of the House of Councilors, was born in Tokyo Prefecture. He graduated from the Philosophy Department, Faculty of Law and Letters, Nihon University early, and served in the Navy during World War II. After being demobilized, he worked for the Ministry of Education’s General Affairs Division, but when the Federation of New Religions Organizations in Japan (FNROJ) was formed in 1951 (Showa 26), he resigned from the Ministry of Education and took part in its establishment. Kusunoki later became executive director of FNROJ. In 1965 (Showa 40), he ran as a member recommended by the FNROJ in the national...