Fusa Tatsumi (April 25, 1907 – December 12, 2023) was a celebrated Japanese supercentenarian. Holding the title of the oldest living person in Japan from April 19, 2022, until her death, Tatsumi’s remarkable longevity captured the hearts and interest of many in Japan and around the world. Born in the late Meiji era, Tatsumi witnessed over a century of profound changes in Japanese history, including major historical events such as World War II, the economic miracle post-World War II, and the transition into the Reiwa era. She was born in Yao Town, which is now part of Yao City in Osaka Prefecture, as the second daughter in a family of...

In 1987, Japan launched its largest domestic bicycle road race, the “Tour de Hokkaido,” which recently experienced an unprecedented fatal accident. On the first day of the race, a Chuo University cyclist collided head-on with a car on a curved road in Kamifurano, Hokkaido. The impact was severe, shattering the car’s windshield and tragically leading to the cyclist’s death the following day. The race, known for its high-speed biking through narrow mountain roads, continued to allow general traffic in the opposite lane, a practice unique to the Tour de Hokkaido. Organizers, the Tour de Hokkaido Association, only secured permission to use one lane for cyclists, leaving the other lane under...

1921 (Taisho 10) Thursday, December 1 Matsukiya Gofukuten, the first department store in central Aomori, opened. The founder was Isaburo KANNO. The capital was 1 million yen, which was huge at that time. Built at the intersection of Shinmachi and Yanagimachi, the three-story, 380 tsubo wooden department store has long been a popular landmark of Aomori City. It was forced to close during World War II, but was revived in 1951 as a three-story reinforced concrete store. In 1966, it was added to a four-story reinforced concrete building, and in 1970, it was added to a six-story building with an observation deck. In addition, we expanded to Mutsu City in...

On Thursday, November 10, 1921, Crown Prince Hirohito played golf with his aides at Shinjuku Gyoen. The Emperor Showa Jitsuroku mentions the following in the article of May 9 of the previous year, 1920. He seems to have deepened his interest in golf since he turned 19. May 9 , 1920 (Taisho 9) At 10:00 AM, the Emperor visits the Odemon Gate and the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden to play golf. 3:45 PM returned to the temple. Around this time, the Crown Prince became more interested in golf and often practiced it during breaks and after school at the Gogakumonjo.During his European tour in 1920, Prince Hirohito played golf with...

1921 (Taisho 10) Tuesday, November 8 Kawabata Yasunari (22) received a letter from his fiancee Ito Imai (15) stating that he had unilaterally broken his engagement. The couple got engaged the previous month at Shoushukan on the banks of the Nagara River River in Gifu-shi. Yasunari Kawabata was 11 years older than him, and the author Kan Kikuchi (23) had promised that the newlyweds would be able to use Kikuchi’s house while he was away on a trip abroad. He was also supposed to receive 50 yen a month in living expenses from Kikuchi, who was already a popular writer and published “Madame Pearl” in the Tokyo Nichinichi Newspaper. Kawabata...

1921 (Taisho 10) Tuesday, November 1 Today is the opening day of nationwide liquor store “Kaku-Yasu” in Japan. The founder of the store is Yasuzo Sato. First store was opened 100 years ago today in Toshima Ward, Tokyo. The name “Kaku-Yasu” is a combination of Kaku and Yasu. Kaku means Kaku-Masu, which is the name of a Japanese-Style wooden cup for drinking sake. Yasu means the founder Yasuzou. “Kakuyasu” has long been a small local sake shop, but under the leadership of its third generation president Junichi Sato, the company achieved rapid growth in the late 1990s by shifting its business strategy from wholesale to home delivery. President Sato may...

1921 (Taisho 10) Sunday, October 30 Kabuki-za Theater in Kobikicho, Kyobashi-ku was burnt down by a fire caused by a short circuit. It was in the same location as Ginza 4-chome where the present Kabukiza is located, and it was a building called the second Kabukiza which was renovated in 1911 (Meiji 44). 10 years had passed since it was built. On the way, in 1913, Takejiro Otani of Shochiku became an affiliate. The fire broke out at 7:20 AM on October 30. Many workers have been working overnight since the 28th in preparation for the November performance, which will soon begin on November 3. More than a dozen stagehands...

1921 (Taisho 10) Sunday, October 9 Denemon Ito (60) and his wife, Akiko Yanagihara (35), who were called “Chikuho’s Coal King”, left their home in Fukuoka and headed for Tokyo. At that time, her husband Denemon had no idea but Hakuren made up his mind to leave Denemon, finished cleaning up all the clothes and furniture given to him by his husband over the past 10 years, and secretly carried jewelry back to him from Tokyo. Byakuren Yanagihara (real name: Akiko Yanagihara) is the second daughter of Count Sakimitsu Yanagihara. Naruko YANAGIHARA, the real mother of Emperor Taisho, was her aunt. She and Emperor Taisho are cousins. After graduating from...

1921 (Taisho 10) Saturday, October 8 Yasunari Kawabata (22) and Hatsuyo Itoh (15) got engaged at Shoshukan on the Nagara River River. I had high expectations last night that Haruki Murakami would win the Nobel Prize in Literature, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen again this year. Only 2 Japanese have won the Nobel Prize. In 1968 (Showa 43), Yasunari KAWABATA. And Kenzaburo Oe in 1994. Exactly 100 years ago today, Kawabata Yasunari experienced a turning point in his life and an event that greatly influenced his literary style. It can be said that it was the event that brought the Nobel Prize in Literature to Yasunari Kawabata. Yasunari Kawabata was...

1921 (Taisho 10) Tuesday, October 4 Tokyo Prefectural Sixth Junior High School (present Tokyo Metropolitan Shinjuku High School) opened. At the time the school opened, the school did not have its own premises and school buildings in place, so we rented space for classes at a nearby junior high school, Tokyo Prefectural Fourth Junior High School (now Tokyo Metropolitan Toyama High School). In the following year, 1922 (Taisho 11), a modern reinforced concrete school building was completed at a corner of Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. The time bell of the battleship Mikasa was called “the bell that established the nation”. After the war, it became one of the most advanced...