Princess Mikasa
(born ; 4 June 1923), is a member of the Imperial House of Japan as the widow of Takahito, Prince Mikasa, the fourth son of Emperor Taishō and Empress Teimei. The Princess is the last surviving paternal great-aunt-in-law of Emperor Naruhito, and currently is the oldest member of the Imperial Family, and the only living member who was born in the Taishō period. Early life Princess Mikasa was born on 4 June 1923 at Takagi's family house in Tokyo. She is the second daughter of Viscount Masanari Takagi (1894–1948) and Kuniko Irie (1901–1988). Her father was a member of the Takagi clan, formerly lords of the small feudal domain of Tan'an; through her father, she is a great-great-granddaughter of Hotta Masayoshi, a prominent ''rōjū'', or shōgunal minister, during the Bakumatsu period. Her mother was descended from the noble Yanagihara clan, and was a second cousin of Emperor Shōwa; the Emperor's grandmother, Lady Yanagiwara Naruko, was Kuniko's great-aunt. Yuriko graduated f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Takahito, Prince Mikasa
was a Japanese prince, the youngest of the four sons of Emperor Taishō (Yoshihito) and Empress Teimei (Sadako). He was their last surviving child. His eldest brother was Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito). After serving as a junior cavalry officer in the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II, Prince Mikasa embarked upon a post-war career as a scholar and part-time lecturer in Middle Eastern studies and Semitic languages, he was especially interested in Jewish studies. Prince Mikasa married Yuriko Takagi in 1941, and they had three sons and two daughters. Prince and Princess Mikasa outlived all three of their sons. With the death of his sister-in-law Kikuko, Princess Takamatsu, on 17 December 2004, Prince Mikasa became the oldest living member of the Imperial House of Japan. He remained active until a few months before his death at the age of 100. At the time of his death, Prince Mikasa was the oldest living royal. Early life Prince Takahito was born at the Tokyo Imperial Pal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Emperor Shōwa
Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was succeeded by his fifth child and eldest son, Akihito. By 1979, Hirohito was the only monarch in the world with the title "emperor". He was the longest-reigning historical Japanese emperor and one of the longest-reigning monarchs in the world. Hirohito was the head of state under the Meiji Constitution during Japan's imperial expansion, militarization, and involvement in World War II. Japan waged a war across Asia in the 1930s and 40s in the name of Hirohito, who was revered as a god. After Japan's surrender, he was not prosecuted for war crimes, as General Douglas MacArthur thought that an ostensibly cooperative emperor would help establish a peaceful Allied occupation, and help the U.S. achieve their postwar objectives. His role durin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Urasenke
is one of the main schools of Japanese tea ceremony. Along with and , it is one of the three lines of the family descending from , which together are known as the - or the "three houses/families" (). The name , literally meaning "rear house/family", came into existence due to the location of the homestead of this line of the family in relation to what was originally the frontmost house (the ) of the estate. The other main schools of Japanese tea ceremony, and , also follow this naming convention, with the former meaning "front house/family", and the latter derived from the street name of the family's homestead, . History The three houses derive from descendants of , who was active during the period and is the most historically important figure within Japanese tea ceremony. 's hometown was , in the province of (in present-day Osaka prefecture). However, as his activities became centered in Kyoto, he kept a house in Kyoto. He also had his adopted son-in-law, , who was ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Iemoto
is a Japanese term used to refer to the founder or current Grand Master of a certain school of traditional Japanese art. It is used synonymously with the term when it refers to the family or house that the iemoto is head of and represents. The word is also used to describe a system of familial generations in traditional Japanese arts such as tea ceremony (including ), , Noh, calligraphy, traditional Japanese dance, traditional Japanese music, the Japanese art of incense appreciation (), and Japanese martial arts. and Go once used the system as well. The system is characterized by a hierarchical structure and the supreme authority of the , who has inherited the secret traditions of the school from the previous . Titles An may be addressed by the title or , or by the title or . In English, is often translated as "Grand Master". The 's main roles are to lead the school and protect its traditions, to be the final authority on matters concerning the school, to issue or a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sen Sōshitsu XV
is the 15th-generation Grand Master (''iemoto'') of Urasenke, which is one of the most widely known schools of Japanese tea, and served in official capacity from 1964 to 2002. In 1949, he received the Zen title Hōunsai (鵬雲斎). Following his retirement, he has adopted the name Sen Genshitsu (玄室), with the honorary title Daisosho, in order to distinguish him from his son and successor, Sen Sōshitsu XVI. For over seven decades, Dr. Sen Genshitsu has traveled across the world in order to promote the ethos of "Peacefulness through a Bowl of Tea". Early life Sen Genshitsu was born in Kyoto on 19 April 1923, the first son of the 14th-generation Urasenke iemoto (Sen Sōshitsu XIV, Mugensai Sekiso Sōshitsu (Tantansai), 1893-1964) and his wife, Kayoko (''née'' Ito Kayoko). Prior to his birth, Mugensai and Kayoko were already the parents of two daughters, Yaeko and Yoshiko. The birth of their first son, who would eventually become Mugensai's successor, occasioned much jubi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shigeru Yoshida
(22 September 1878 – 20 October 1967) was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1946 to 1947 and from 1948 to 1954. Yoshida was one of the longest-serving Japanese prime ministers, and is the third-longest serving prime minister of post-occupation Japan. Early life and education Yoshida was born on 22 September 1878, in Kanda-Surugadai, Tokyo, the fifth son of political activist and former samurai Tsuna Takeuchi. Tsuna was a devout supporter of Itagaki Taisuke and would later serve in the first National Diet in 1890. Yoshida's biological mother's identity is not known. Shortly before his birth, his biological father was arrested for anti-government conspiracy, and his mother gave birth to him at the house of Kenzō Yoshida, a friend of his father. As young samurai, Tsuna and Kenzō had made a name amidst the decades of unrest around the time of Meiji Restoration. In August 1881, Yoshida was adopted by Kenzō Yoshida and his wife Kotoko ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Princess Tomohito Of Mikasa
(born ; 9 April 1955) is a member of the Japanese Imperial Family as the widow of Prince Tomohito of Mikasa. Background and education Nobuko, a Catholic, was born on 9 April 1955 in Tokyo. She is the third daughter and youngest child of , the chairman of the Aso Company (best known originally for its activities in the development of coal mines and metallurgy, but today mainly specializing in cement making, as well as being in the medical, environmental and real estate business) and a member of the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1955. He was also a close associate of Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka. Her mother, , was the daughter of Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida. Her elder brother is the former Prime Minister Tarō Asō. Through her paternal grandmother, she descends from a younger branch of the feudal Ichinomiya clan. She is the great-granddaughter of the diplomat Count and the great-great-granddaughter of the samurai Ōkubo Toshimichi, famous for having been the cause o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Japanese Red Cross
The is the Japanese affiliate of the International Red Cross. The Imperial Family of Japan traditionally has supported the society, with the Empress as Honorary President and other imperial family members as vice presidents. Its headquarters is located in Tokyo and local chapters are set up in all 47 prefectures. 9,610,000 individual and 120,000 corporate members belong to the society, which operates 92 Red Cross hospitals and 79 blood centers all over the country. The Japanese Red Cross Society conducts relief activities when major disasters take place. Large earthquakes which frequently occur in Japan (such as the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami) are an area of work for the society. History Count Sano Tsunetami founded the , a relief organization for the injured of the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877; a modified version of the Japanese flag was used by the organization until 1887. Its name was changed ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fumimaro Konoe
Prince was a Japanese politician and prime minister. During his tenure, he presided over the Japanese invasion of China in 1937 and the breakdown in relations with the United States, which ultimately culminated in Japan's entry into World War II. He also played a central role in transforming his country into a totalitarian state by passing the National Mobilization Law and founding the Imperial Rule Assistance Association. Despite Konoe's attempts to resolve tensions with the United States, the rigid timetable imposed on negotiations by the military and his own government's inflexibility regarding a diplomatic resolution set Japan on the path to war. Upon failing to reach a peace agreement, Konoe resigned as Prime Minister on 18 October 1941, prior to the outbreak of hostilities. However, he remained a close advisor to the Emperor until the end of World War II. Following the end of the war, he committed suicide on 16 December 1945. Early life Fumimaro Konoe was born in To ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Morihiro Hosokawa
is a Japanese politician and Nobility, noble who was Prime Minister of Japan from 1993 to 1994, leading a coalition government which was the first non-Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) government of Japan since 1955. After a funding scandal in early 1994, he was forced to resign. He later ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for Governor of Tokyo in the 2014 Tokyo gubernatorial election, February 2014 gubernatorial election as an independent supported by the Democratic Party of Japan. He has been, since 2005, the head of the Hosokawa clan, Kumamoto-Hosokawa clan, one of the noble families of Japan. Early life Morihiro Hosokawa was born in Tokyo as the eldest grandson of Moritatsu, 3rd Marquess Hosokawa, and head of the Hosokawa clan. His maternal grandfather is the pre-war prime minister Prince Fumimaro Konoe. As a great-great-grandson of Prince Kuni Asahiko, he is a third cousin of the present emperor, Naruhito. He is also a descendant of Christian h ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tadateru Konoe
is the former president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Tadateru Konoe is the 50th Head of the Konoe family. President of Japanese Red Cross Society since 2005, Tadateru Konoe has dedicated his entire professional career to domestic and international Red Cross Red Crescent activities. In 2009 and again in 2013, Konoe was elected President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. He was replaced as President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) by Francesco Rocca on 6 November 2017. Family He was born with the name and his paternal ancestry can be traced back to the Japanese Imperial Family since the Hosokawa clan is a branch of Seiwa Genji, a branch of the Minamoto clan. His mother, , was the second daughter of Fumimaro Konoe. As his maternal uncle died childless in the Soviet Union in 1956 as a prisoner of war, Tadateru became the heir of his maternal grand ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |