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Takashi Shimura
was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 200 films between 1934 and 1981. He appeared in 21 of Akira Kurosawa's 30 films (more than any other actor), including as a lead actor in '' Drunken Angel'' (1948), ''Rashomon'' (1950), ''Ikiru'' (1952) and ''Seven Samurai'' (1954). He played Professor Kyohei Yamane in Ishirō Honda's original ''Godzilla'' (1954). For his contributions to the arts, the Japanese government decorated Shimura with the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1974 and the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette in 1980. Early life Shimura was born in Ikuno, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. His birth-name was Shimazaki Shōji (島崎捷爾). His forebears were members of the samurai class: in 1868 his grandfather took part in the Battle of Toba–Fushimi during the Boshin War. Shimura entered Ikuno Primary School in 1911 and Kobe First Middle School in 1917. He missed two years of schooling because of a mild case of tuberculosis, and subsequently moved to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ikuno, Hyōgo
was a town located in Asago District, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 4,872 and a density of 43.50 persons per km2. The total area was 112.01 km2. On April 1, 2005, Ikuno, along with the towns of Asago (former), Santō and Wadayama (all from Asago District), was merged to create the city of Asago and no longer exists as an independent municipality. It is the smallest town of the Asago District. Geography Ikuno is located at the geographical center of Hyogo prefecture. It borders the Harima district and Kamikawa town. Ikuno is elevated 300 meters above sea level and surrounded by mountains which composes 90% of the area. Maruyama river starts here and flows north into the Sea of Japan. Ichikawa river, which originates in Kurogawa (north-east Ikuno) flows through the town centre towards the inland sea. Climate The township of Ikuno is located in a basin. During the summer months it remains relatively hot with high humi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in which case it is known as latent tuberculosis. Around 10% of latent infections progress to active disease which, if left untreated, kill about half of those affected. Typical symptoms of active TB are chronic cough with blood-containing mucus, fever, night sweats, and weight loss. It was historically referred to as consumption due to the weight loss associated with the disease. Infection of other organs can cause a wide range of symptoms. Tuberculosis is spread from one person to the next through the air when people who have active TB in their lungs cough, spit, speak, or sneeze. People with Latent TB do not spread the disease. Active infection occurs more often in people with HIV/AIDS and in those who smoke. Diagnosis of active ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokubetsu Kōtō Keisatsu
The , often abbreviated , was a Japanese policing organization, established within the Home Ministry in 1911, for the purpose of carrying out high policing, domestic criminal investigations, and control of political groups and ideologies deemed to threaten the public order of the Empire of Japan.W. G. Beasley, ''The Rise of Modern Japan'', p. 184, . As the civilian counterpart to the military police forces of the ''Kenpeitai'' (army) and of the '' Tokkeitai'' (navy), the Tokkō's functions were criminal investigation and counter-espionage. The Tokubetsu Kōtō Keisatsu was also known by various nicknames such as the and as the . History The High Treason Incident of 1910 was the stimulus for the establishment of the Tokkō under the aegis of the Home Ministry. With the Russian Revolution, unrest at home due to the Rice Riots of 1918, increase in strikes and labor unrest from the labor movement, and Samil Uprising in Korea, the Tokkō was greatly expanded under the administratio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Singing Lovebirds
is a 1939 Japanese film directed by Masahiro Makino. It is a musical comedy. Fulfilling his reputation as a fast worker, Makino made the film in only two weeks when an opening was created in the production schedule of another film, ''Yaji Kita Dōchūki'', after its star, Chiezō Kataoka, came down with appendicitis (Kataoka's scenes in ''Singing Lovebirds'' were filmed in only a few hours). The film, however, has become "the most frequently revived Japanese prewar musical film," featuring music ranging from jazz to jōruri, and music stars like Dick Mine. Makino made other musicals like ''Hanako-san'' (1943) and was known for his rhythmic style. ''Singing Lovebirds'' also features Takashi Shimura, most famous as the lead samurai in Akira Kurosawa's ''Seven Samurai'', in a singing role. Plot Oharu is the daughter of Kyōsai Shimura, a rōnin who now makes his living making umbrellas. She is in love with another rōnin, Reisaburō Asai, who lives next door, but he is being pursue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kanjūrō Arashi
was a Japanese film actor. His nickname was "Arakan." He is famous for playing the role of '' Kurama Tengu'' sereies. He entered the film industry in 1927 and came to fame playing Kurama Tengu, a character in the Bakumatsu era created by Jirō Osaragi in his novels. In the 1950s he portrayed the Emperor Meiji in several hit films and appeared in yakuza films in the 1960s. He won Mainichi Film Award for Best Supporting Actor award for his role in '' The Profound Desire of the Gods''. Filmography His filmography includes over 300 films: accessed 27 May 2009 * '' Kurama Tengu'' (鞍馬天狗, Kurama Tengu) (1928) * '' [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nikkatsu
is a Japanese entertainment company known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio, founded in 1912 during the silent film era. The name ''Nikkatsu'' amalgamates the words Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Motion Pictures". Shareholders are Nippon Television Holdings (35%) and SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation (28.4%). History Founding in 1912 Nikkatsu was founded on September 10, 1912, when several production companies and theater chains, Yoshizawa Shōten, Yokota Shōkai, Fukuhōdō and M. Pathe, consolidated under the name Nippon Katsudō Shashin. The company enjoyed its share of success. It employed such notable film directors as Shozo Makino and his son Masahiro Makino. During World War II, the government ordered the ten film companies that had formed by 1941 to consolidate into two. Masaichi Nagata, founder of Daiei Film and a former Nikkatsu employee, counter-proposed that three companies be formed and the suggestion was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ikiru 1
is a 1952 Japanese drama film directed and co-written (with Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni) by Akira Kurosawa. The film examines the struggles of a terminally ill Tokyo bureaucrat (played by Takashi Shimura) and his final quest for meaning. The screenplay was partly inspired by Leo Tolstoy's 1886 novella '' The Death of Ivan Ilyich''. The major themes of the film include learning how to live, the inefficiency of bureaucracy, and decaying family life in Japan, which have been the subject of analysis by academics and critics. ''Ikiru'' has received widespread critical acclaim, and won awards for Best Film at the Kinema Junpo and Mainichi Film Awards. It was remade as a television film in 2007. Plot Kanji Watanabe has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for thirty years and is near his retirement. His wife is dead and his son and daughter-in-law, who live with him, seem to care mainly about Watanabe's pension and their future inheritance. At work, he's a party t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mizoguchi Kenji
was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, who directed about one hundred films during his career between 1923 and 1956. His most acclaimed works include '' The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums'' (1939), ''The Life of Oharu'' (1952), ''Ugetsu'' (1953), and '' Sansho the Bailiff'' (1954), with the latter three all being awarded at the Venice International Film Festival. A recurring theme of his films was the oppression of women in historical and contemporary Japan. Together with Akira Kurosawa and Yasujirō Ozu, Mizoguchi is seen as a representative of the "golden age" of Japanese cinema. Biography Early years Mizoguchi was born in Hongō, Tokyo, as the second of three children, to Zentaro Miguchi, a roofing carpenter, and his wife Masa. The family's background was relatively humble until the father's failed business venture of selling raincoats to the Japanese troops during the Russo-Japanese War. The family was forced to move to the downtown district of Asakusa and gave M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mansaku Itami
Mansaku Itami (伊丹万作; real name Yoshitoyo Ikeuchi 池内義豊; 2 January 1900 – 21 September 1946) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter known for his critical, sometimes satirical portraits of Japan and its history. He is the father of the director Juzo Itami. Career Originally from Matsuyama, Ehime, Itami joined the Nikkatsu studio in 1927, but the very next year moved to the actor Chiezō Kataoka's company, Chiezō Productions, where he made his directorial debut with ''Adauchi Ruten''. His samurai films diverged from the norm in that they were not heroic epics of the sort which had by that time become formulaic, but rather satires that used the established symbols and iconography of the samurai culture to comment on both historical and modern society. His work was championed by the film critic Fuyuhiko Kitagawa. His most famous work is '' Akanishi Kakita'', which is based on a story by Naoya Shiga and still survives (unlike many of his other films ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shinkō Kinema
was a Japanese film studio active in the 1930s. Background Shinkō was established in September 1931 out of the remnants of the Teikoku Kinema studio with the help of Shōchiku capital. The historian Jun'ichirō Tanaka writes that the studio was part of Shōchiku's effort to monopolize the Japanese film industry, using Shinkō to control some of the independent production companies by distributing their films, and absorb rebellious talent who left rivals like Nikkatsu or Fuji Eiga. And in fact, Shinkō did distribute the films of jidaigeki stars like Tsumasaburō Bandō and Kanjūrō Arashi or gendaigeki stars such as Takako Irie. For a time, such directors as Kenji Mizoguchi, Tomu Uchida, Minoru Murata, Shigeyoshi Suzuki, and Yutaka Abe, as well as such stars as Tokihiko Okada, Isamu Kosugi, Eiji Nakano, Fumiko Yamaji and Mitsuko Mori made movies there. Masaichi Nagata became studio head at one point. Its main offices were located in Hatchōbori in Tokyo, and its studios in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the city had a population of 1.46 million. The city is the cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area known as Greater Kyoto, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 3.8 million people. Kyoto is one of the oldest municipalities in Japan, having been chosen in 794 as the new seat of Japan's imperial court by Emperor Kanmu. The original city, named Heian-kyō, was arranged in accordance with traditional Chinese feng shui following the model of the ancient Chinese capital of Chang'an/Luoyang. The emperors of Japan ruled from Kyoto in the following eleven centuries until 1869. It was the scene of several key events of the Muromachi period, Sengoku period, and the Boshin War, such a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2.7 million in the 2020 census, it is also the largest component of the Keihanshin Metropolitan Area, which is the second-largest metropolitan area in Japan and the 10th largest urban area in the world with more than 19 million inhabitants. Osaka was traditionally considered Japan's economic hub. By the Kofun period (300–538) it had developed into an important regional port, and in the 7th and 8th centuries, it served briefly as the imperial capital. Osaka continued to flourish during the Edo period (1603–1867) and became known as a center of Japanese culture. Following the Meiji Restoration, Osaka greatly expanded in size and underwent rapid industrialization. In 1889, Osaka was officially established as a municipality. The cons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
