1921 (Taisho 10) Tuesday, October 25 Tokuma Yasuyoshi, the founder of Tokuma Shoten, was born in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture. After graduating from local Zushi Kaisei Junior High School, he entered Waseda University’s Faculty of Commerce. He joined the Japanese Communist Party in his youth. In 1943 (Showa 18), he graduated from Waseda University and joined the Yomiuri Shimbun. However, immediately after the end of the war, he left the company due to the Yomiuri Dispute, which occurred twice. In 1948 (Showa 23), the company went bankrupt, and after that, Tatsuhiko Nakano became a senior managing director of “Shinzenmi-sha”, but this also went bankrupt soon. In 1953 (Showa 28), he...

1921 (Taisho 10) Saturday, October 22 Toshio Miyoshi, also known as the “Emperor of MEW,” was born in Neyagawa City, Osaka Prefecture. MEW stands for Matsushita Electric Works Co., Ltd. After graduating from Kobe University of Economics (now the Faculty of Economics, Kobe University), Toshio Miyoshi taught as a professor at Matsuyama College of Economics (now Matsuyama University) for 4 years from 1946 to 1950. At MEW, he was in charge of accounting, his own field of specialization, as well as planning and promotion. While he was working, MEW grew rapidly, and Toshio Miyoshi became president in 1988, and 3 years later, MEW grew into a 1 trillion yen company...

1921 (Taisho 10) Wednesday, October 19 KAMIKAZE Shoichi, a sumo commentator, was born in Sambommatsu-cho, Okawa-gun, Kagawa Prefecture (present-day Higashikagawa City). His real name was Shoichi Akazawa. Since my elementary school days, I have been so healthy that I was selected as one of the healthiest children by the Asahi Shimbun. Yokozuna Tamanishiki, who learned of the boy’s existence through newspaper reports, came to solicit him and entered Nishonoseki stable. In 1937 (Showa 12), he graduated from Tokyo Municipal Ueno Junior High School (now Tokyo Municipal Ueno High School) under the old system and debuted in the May tournament. 1942 (Showa 17): He joined the Shogunate at the January Tournament....

1921 (Taisho 10) Sunday, October 16 Capy Harada was born near Santa Maria, California. Capy Harada was a Japanese American who played an important role as a bridge between Japanese and American baseball after the war. His real name was Tsuneo HARADA. His father Joemon Harada and his mother Kuni were immigrants who moved from Wakayama Prefecture to California in 1904 (Meiji 37). My parents worked hard as vegetable farmers and became wealthy enough to buy a car, but their fortunes changed with the advent of the Great Depression. When his mother, Kuni, died in 1934, his father, Joemon, judged that it was impossible to raise 7 brothers by a...

1921 (Taisho 10) Monday, October 10 Novelist James Clavell was born in Sydney, Australia. His father was Richard Charles Clavell, a British naval officer stationed in Australia. When my father’s mission to Australia was completed in 1922, I returned home with my family. James received his childhood education in Portsmouth, home to the British Navy, but later returned to Australia where he served in the Royal Artillery Corps and fought the Japanese during the Pacific War from 1941. However, during the Singapore war, he was captured by the Japanese army and imprisoned in Changi Prison. Originally built in 1936 by the British Straits Colony Administration as a prison with a...