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Hotel Okura
is a luxury hotel opened in 1962 in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It is operated by Okura Hotels and was a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. The historic main wing was demolished in 2015, with a modern replacement on the site opened in 2019, rebranded as The Okura Tokyo. History Designed by Yoshiro Taniguchi, the historic 408-room Main Wing opened on May 20, 1962, while the 380-room South Wing opened on November 26, 1973. The hotel is located near the United States Embassy in the Akasaka area, and hosted every President of the United States since Richard Nixon, as well as numerous other foreign heads of state. The South Wing can be cut off from the rest of the building to serve as lodging for reporters and logistics aides, while using the penthouse "Imperial Suite" as high-security VIP lodging. The hotel became a member of Pan Am's Intercontinental Hotels division on June 1, 1964, and would remain part of the chain until 1972, though it was never branded as an Intercontine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 million residents ; the city proper has a population of 13.99 million people. Located at the head of Tokyo Bay, the prefecture forms part of the Kantō region on the central coast of Honshu, Japan's largest island. Tokyo serves as Japan's economic center and is the seat of both the Japanese government and the Emperor of Japan. Originally a fishing village named Edo, the city became politically prominent in 1603, when it became the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate. By the mid-18th century, Edo was one of the most populous cities in the world with a population of over one million people. Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the imperial capital in Kyoto was moved to Edo, which was renamed "Tokyo" (). Tokyo was devastate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokugawa Clan
The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this clan remains a mystery. Members of the clan ruled Japan as ''shōguns'' during the Edo Period from 1603 to 1867. History Minamoto no Yoshishige (1135–1202), grandson of Minamoto no Yoshiie (1041–1108), was the first to take the name of Nitta. He sided with his cousin Minamoto no Yoritomo against the Taira clan (1180) and accompanied him to Kamakura. Nitta Yoshisue, 4th son of Yoshishige, settled at Tokugawa (Kozuke province) and took the name of that place. Their provincial history book did not mention Minamoto clan or Nitta clan. The nominal originator of the Matsudaira clan was reportedly Matsudaira Chikauji, who was originally a poor Buddhist monk. He reportedly descended from Nitta Yoshisue in the 8th generation and witnessed the ruin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cary Grant
Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one of classic Hollywood's definitive leading men from the 1930s until the mid-1960s. Grant was born and brought up in Bristol, England. He became attracted to theater at a young age when he visited the Bristol Hippodrome. At 16, he went as a stage performer with the Pender Troupe for a tour of the US. After a series of successful performances in New York City, he decided to stay there. He established a name for himself in vaudeville in the 1920s and toured the United States before moving to Hollywood in the early 1930s. Grant initially appeared in crime films and dramas such as ''Blonde Venus'' (1932) with Marlene Dietrich and '' She Done Him Wrong'' (1933) with Mae West, but later gained renown for his performances in romantic screwball ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walk, Don't Run
''Walk, Don't Run'' is a 1966 American comedy film directed by Charles Walters and starring Cary Grant, Samantha Eggar, and Jim Hutton. The film, which was Grant's last film role, is set during the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. It is a remake of the 1943 film ''The More the Merrier''. The title stems from the basic rule of racewalking, racewalking: that competitors must not run at any point (both feet leaving the ground). Plot In 1964, important British businessman Sir William Rutland arrives two days early in Tokyo and encounters a housing shortage caused by the 1964 Summer Olympics. While at the British Embassy seeking help, he spots an advertisement for a roommate and soon finds himself at the residence of Christine Easton, who insists it would be improper to take him in as a housemate. Easton had forgotten to advertise that she wanted to sublet to a woman, but eventually, lets Rutland stay. Rutland then sublets half of his space to American Olympic competitor Steve Davis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zero Sum
Zero-sum game is a mathematical representation in game theory and economic theory of a situation which involves two sides, where the result is an advantage for one side and an equivalent loss for the other. In other words, player one's gain is equivalent to player two's loss, therefore the net improvement in benefit of the game is zero. If the total gains of the participants are added up, and the total losses are subtracted, they will sum to zero. Thus, cutting a cake, where taking a more significant piece reduces the amount of cake available for others as much as it increases the amount available for that taker, is a zero-sum game if all participants value each unit of cake equally. Other examples of zero-sum games in daily life include games like poker, chess, and bridge where one person gains and another person loses, which results in a zero-net benefit for every player. In the markets and financial instruments, futures contracts and options are zero-sum games as well. In c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barry Eisler
Barry Mark Eisler (born 1964) is a best-selling American novelist. He is the author of two thriller series, the first featuring anti-hero John Rain, a half-Japanese, half-American former soldier turned freelance assassin, and a second featuring black ops soldier Ben Treven. Eisler also writes about politics and language on his blog ''Heart of the Matter'', and at the blogs ''CHUD, Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, MichaelMoore.com, The Smirking Chimp, and Truthout''. Early life Eisler was born in New Jersey, his father was a wholesale office supplier, and his mother an environmental activist. Eisler graduated from Cornell Law School in 1989. Early career After completing law school, Eisler joined the CIA, where he trained for three years afterward and held a covert position with the Directorate of Operations. In 1992, he resigned and joined the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges. In 1994, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to work for the firm's technology licensing divisio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
You Only Live Twice (novel)
''You Only Live Twice'' is the eleventh novel and twelfth book in Ian Fleming's James Bond series of stories. It was first published by Jonathan Cape in the United Kingdom on 26 March 1964 and sold out quickly. It was the last Fleming novel published in his lifetime. It is the concluding chapter in what is known as the "Blofeld Trilogy" after '' Thunderball'' and '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service''. The story starts eight months after the murder of Tracy Bond, which occurred at the end of the previous novel, ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service''. James Bond is drinking and gambling heavily and making mistakes on his assignments when, as a last resort, he is sent to Japan on a semi-diplomatic mission. Whilst there he is challenged by the head of the Japanese Secret Service to kill Dr. Guntram Shatterhand. Bond realises that Shatterhand is Ernst Stavro Blofeld and sets out on a revenge mission to kill him and his wife, Irma Bunt. The novel deals on a personal level with the chang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his father was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Henley from 1910 until his death on the Western Front in 1917. Educated at Eton, Sandhurst, and, briefly, the universities of Munich and Geneva, Fleming moved through several jobs before he started writing. While working for Britain's Naval Intelligence Division during the Second World War, Fleming was involved in planning Operation Goldeneye and in the planning and oversight of two intelligence units, 30 Assault Unit and T-Force. He drew from his wartime service and his career as a journalist for much of the background, detail, and depth of his James Bond novels. Fleming wrote his first Bond novel, '' Casino Royale'', in 1952. It was a success, with three print runs being commissio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Ninja (novel)
''The Ninja'' novel was written in 1980 by Eric Van Lustbader and is a tale of revenge, love and murder. The author blends a number of known themes together: crime, suspense and Japanese martial arts mysticism. The book is divided into five parts, called "rings," as an apparent homage to Miyamoto Musashi's ''The Book of Five Rings''. The book became a ''New York Times'' Best Seller. In North America, it contributed to the popularization of ninjas in popular culture. Plot summary It is initially set in Japan following the end of World War II and follows the story of Lustbader's hero Nicholas Linnear, a man raised by Anglo-Chinese parents. As a youth, Linnear is introduced to the world of ''aikido'', ''kenjutsu'', and '' iai-jutsu'' at a local ''dojo'' of the Itto Ryu also attended by his cruel and violent older cousin Saigō. Linnear is a natural and soon becomes adept, much to the annoyance of Saigō. During a training exercise Nicholas and Saigō duel and Nicholas defeats h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eric Van Lustbader
Eric Van Lustbader (born December 24, 1946) is an American author of thriller and fantasy novels. He has published as Eric Lustbader, Eric V. Lustbader, and Eric Van Lustbader. He is a graduate of New York's Stuyvesant High School and Columbia College, with a degree in sociology, and he has a second-level Reiki degree. He is married to Victoria Lustbader (née Schochet), who is also an author, as well as an editor. Biography Lustbader was born and raised in Greenwich Village, where he developed interests in art and writing. He lived downstairs from actress Lauren Bacall, and built orange-crate racers in Washington Square Park with actors Keith and David Carradine. He is a graduate of Columbia College, with a degree in sociology. Before turning to writing full-time, he was employed by the New York City public school system, where he holds licenses in both elementary and early childhood education, and in the music business, where he worked for Elektra Records and CBS Records. W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1Q84
is a novel written by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, first published in three volumes in Japan in 2009–10. It covers a fictionalized year of 1984 in parallel with a "real" one. The novel is a story of how a woman named Aomame begins to notice strange changes occurring in the world. She is quickly caught up in a plot involving Sakigake, a religious cult, and her childhood love, Tengo, and embarks on a journey to discover what is "real". The novel's first printing sold out on the day it was released and sales reached a million within a month. The English-language edition of all three volumes, with the first two volumes translated by Jay Rubin and the third by Philip Gabriel, was released in North America and the United Kingdom on October 25, 2011. An excerpt from the novel appeared in the September 5, 2011 issue of ''The New Yorker'' magazine as "Town of Cats". The first chapter of ''1Q84'' had also been read as an excerpt in the Selected Shorts series at Symphony Space in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haruki Murakami
is a Japanese writer. His novels, essays, and short stories have been bestsellers in Japan and internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and having sold millions of copies outside Japan. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Gunzou Prize for New Writers, the World Fantasy Award, the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, the Franz Kafka Prize, and the Jerusalem Prize. Growing up in Kobe before moving to Tokyo to attend Waseda University, he published his first novel ''Hear the Wind Sing'' (1979) after working as the owner of a small jazz bar for seven years. His notable works include the novels '' Norwegian Wood'' (1987), ''The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle'' (1994–95), ''Kafka on the Shore'' (2002), and '' 1Q84'' (2009–10), with ''1Q84'' ranked as the best work of Japan's Heisei era (1989–2019) by the national newspaper ''Asahi Shimbun'' survey of literary experts. His work spans genres including science fiction, fantasy, and crim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
