Incumbents

• Emperor
  Emperor of Japan
  The Emperor of Japan is, according to the 1947 Constitution of Japan, "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." He is a ceremonial figurehead under a form of constitutional monarchy and is head of the Japanese Imperial Family with functions as head of state. He is also the highest...
  
  : Hirohito
  Hirohito
  , posthumously in Japan officially called Emperor Shōwa or , was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death in 1989. Although better known outside of Japan by his personal name Hirohito, in Japan he is now referred to...
  
   (Emperor Shōwa)
• Prime Minister
  Prime Minister of Japan
  The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
  
  : Zenko Suzuki
  Zenko Suzuki
  was a Japanese politician and the 70th Prime Minister of Japan from July 17, 1980 to November 27, 1982.Suzuki graduated from Tokyo University of Fisheries in 1935...
  
  

Arts and entertainment

In film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

, Station

Station (film)

is a 1981 Japanese film directed by Yasuo Furuhata. Among many awards, it was chosen as Best Film at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony.-Cast:* Ken Takakura: Eiji Mikami* Chieko Baisho: Kiriko Michio* Ayumi Ishida: Naoko Mikami...

by Yasuo Furuhata

Yasuo Furuhata

Yasuo Furuhata is a Japanese film director. He won the 2000 Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year for Poppoya.-Filmography:* Eki * Izakaya Chōji...

 won the Best film award at the Japan Academy Prize, Enrai

Enrai

or Distant Thunder is a 1981 Japanese film directed by Kichitaro Negishi.-Synopsis:Enrai is a low-key study of a farmer, Mitsuo Wada, in 1980s Japan when modernization and urbanization were threatening rural areas...

by Kichitaro Negishi

Kichitaro Negishi

is a Japanese film director. Although his films are admired by critics in Japan for their intelligence, Negishi has received little international recognition for his work. He has not been credited with a distinctive style but he has been called a subtle director who often elicits strong...

 won Best film at the Hochi Film Awards, Muddy River

Muddy River (film)

Muddy River is a 1981 Japanese film directed by Kôhei Oguri. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.-External links:...

by Kôhei Oguri

Kôhei Oguri

is a Japanese film director and screenwriter.-Career:Born in Gunma, Oguri first became a freelance assistant director after graduating from Waseda University. He made his directorial debut in 1981 with Muddy River, which earned him both a Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year and a citation...

 won Best film at the Blue Ribbon Awards

Blue Ribbon Awards

The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by movie critics and writers in Tokyo, Japan.The awards were established in 1950 by which is composed of film correspondents from seven Tokyo-based sports newspapers...

 and Something Like It

Something Like It

is a 1981 Japanese film directed by Yoshimitsu Morita.-Awards and nominations:3rd Yokohama Film Festival* Won: Best Film* Won: Best New Director - Yoshimitsu Morita-References:...

by Yoshimitsu Morita won Best film at the Yokohama Film Festival

Yokohama Film Festival

The is a noticed yearly awards ceremony held in Japan. The festival was started as a small affair by fans and film critics, and first held on February 3, 1980. Ten films are chosen as the best of the year, and various awards are given to personnel...

. For a list of Japanese films released in 1981 see Japanese films of 1981

Japanese films of 1981

A list of films released in Japan in 1981 .-1981:-External links:* at the Internet Movie Database...

.

In manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

, the winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award

Shogakukan Manga Award

The is one of Japan's major manga awards, sponsored by Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga since 1955 and features candidates from a number of publishers.The current award categories are:...

 were Sunset on Third Street

Sunset on Third Street

is a Japanese manga series by Ryōhei Saigan. As of 2009, 56 volumes of the manga have been published. It was also a short-lived anime series from 1990 to 1991 and a pair of films: Always Sanchōme no Yūhi and Always Zoku Sanchōme no Yūhi were based on stories and characters from the manga...

by Ryōhei Saigan (general), Dr. Slump

Dr. Slump

is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was serialized in Shueisha's anthology comic Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1980 to 1984 which were collected into 18 tankōbon volumes...

by Akira Toriyama

Akira Toriyama

is a Japanese manga artist and game artist known mostly for his creation of Dragon Ball in 1984. Toriyama admires Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy and was impressed by Walt Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians, which he remembers for the great art...

 (shōnen or shōjo) and Doraemon

Doraemon

is a Japanese manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio which later became an anime series and an Asian franchise...

by Fujiko Fujio

Fujiko Fujio

was a nom de plume of a manga writing duo formed by two Japanese manga artists. Their real names are and . They formed their partnership in 1951, and used the Fujiko Fujio name from 1954 until dissolution of the partnership in 1987....

 (children). Sanshirō of 1, 2 by Makoto Kobayashi

Makoto Kobayashi

Makoto Kobayashi is a Japanese manga artist that is best known for his unusual drawing style. One of his most well known manga is What's Michael?, a manga about a curious orange cat and his many adventures that is often compared with Garfield. His earliest work is Grapple Three Brothers, which...

 (shōnen) and Ohayō! Spank

Ohayo! Spank

is a Japanese shōjo manga written by Shun'ichi Yukimuro and drawn by Shizue Takanashi. The series has been adapted as an anime television series, broadcast in Japan from 1981 to 1982, and a theatrical movie released in 1982...

by Shun'ichi Yukimuro

Shun'ichi Yukimuro

Shun'ichi Yukimuro is a veteran screenwriter for television anime series. During a career spanning some four decades, Yukimuro has written over 3,000 TV anime scenarios, including episodes of many classic series produced by the Toei Animation studio...

 and Shizue Takanashi

Shizue Takanashi

is a Japanese manga artist known for illustrating the manga series of the girls' anime Ojamajo Doremi. In 1981, she won the Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo for Ohayō! Spank.- External links :...

 (shōjo) won the Kodansha Manga Award

Kodansha Manga Award

is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in four categories: children's, shōnen, shōjo, and general. The awards began in 1977, initially with categories for shōnen and shōjo. The first award for the...

. Kibun wa mou sensou by Katsuhiro Otomo

Katsuhiro Otomo

is a Japanese comic book creator, screenwriter and film director. He is best known as the creator of the manga Akira and its animated film adaptation. Otomo has also directed several live-action films, such as the 2006 feature film adaptation of the manga Mushishi.-Biography:Katsuhiro Otomo was...

 won the Seiun Award

Seiun Award

The is a Japanese science fiction award for the best science fiction published in Japan during the preceding year, as voted by attendees of the Japan Science Fiction Convention. "Seiun" is the Japanese word for "nebula", but the award is not related to the American Nebula Award. It was named after...

 for Best Comic of the Year. For a list of manga released in 1981 see :Category:Manga of 1981.

In music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

, the 32nd Kōhaku Uta Gassen

Kohaku Uta Gassen

, more commonly known as simply Kōhaku, is an annual music show on New Year's Eve produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK and broadcast on both television and radio, nationally and internationally by NHK's networks and some overseas broadcasters which bought the program...

 was won by the White Team (men). Akira Terao

Akira Terao

is Japanese musician and movie actor.-Career:In 1966, he debuted as a bassist of Group Sounds band, The Savage. As an actor, he debuted as Kenichi in Chikadô no taiyô made, a film directed by Kei Kumai in 1968....

 won the FNS Music Festival

FNS Music Festival

is an annual music show on the produced by Fuji Network System and Fuji Television.- Grand Prix Winners :- International guests :*a-ha*Sting*Jackie Chan*Destiny's Child*Kenny Loggins*Daniel Powter-References :...

.

In television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

, see: 1981 in Japanese television

1981 in Japanese television

Events in 1981 in Japanese television.-Debuts:* Ai no Gakko Cuore Monogatari, anime * Beast King GoLion, anime * Braiger, anime * Golden Warrior Gold Lightan, anime * GoShogun, anime...

.

Sports

In athletics, Japan hosted the 1981 Asian Athletics Championships where it ranked 1st with 18 gold medals.

In football (soccer), Japan hosted the 1981 Intercontinental Cup

1981 Intercontinental Cup

The 1981 Intercontinental Cup was a football match played on December 13, 1981 between Liverpool, winners of the 1980-81 European Cup, and Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, winners of the 1981 Copa Libertadores. The match was played at the National Stadium in Tokyo in front of 62,000 fans...

. Fujita Engineering

Shonan Bellmare

are a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J. League Division 2. The team is located in Hiratsuka, in the west of Kanagawa Prefecture; their home stadium is Hiratsuka Athletics Stadium in Hiratsuka. The name Bellmare is derived from the Latin "bellum" for "war" and "mare"...

 won the Japan Soccer League. For the champions of the regional leagues

Japanese Regional Leagues

Japanese Regional Leagues are a group of parallel association football leagues in Japan that are organized on the regional basis...

 see: 1981 Japanese Regional Leagues.

In tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

, Japan hosted the Federation Cup, won by the United States.

Births

• January 4: Hitomi Sakamoto
  Hitomi Sakamoto
  Hitomi Sakamoto is a female wrestler from Japan.-External links:*...
  
  , wrestler
• January 10: Kumiko Ikeda
  Kumiko Ikeda
  is a Japanese long jumper.She won bronze medals at the 2000 World Junior Championships and the 2001 Summer Universiade, and finished eleventh at the 2001 World Championships. On the regional level she won a bronze medal at the 2005 Asian Championships and gold at the 2006 Asian Games.Her personal...
  
  , long jumper
• January 18: Naoyuki Daigo
  Naoyuki Daigo
  is a male high jumper from Japan. His personal best jump is 2.33 metres, achieved in July 2006 in Kobe.-Achievements:-References:...
  
  , athlete
• February 2: Milk Ichigo
  Milk Ichigo
  , also often billed as Miruku Ichigo, is an award-winning Japanese adult video actress who has had an exceptionally long career.-Life and career:...
  
  , AV actress
• February 10: Yasuyuki Muneta, judoka
• February 12: Takashi Takusagawa, football player
• February 18: Ami Ayukawa
  Ami Ayukawa
  is a Japanese AV Idol who worked for both "pro" studios such as Alice Japan and h.m.p., and also for independent companies like Moodyz and Wanz Factory.-Life and career:...
  
  , AV idol
• February 21: Jun Kaname
  Jun Kaname
  is a Japanese actor. He was born in Mitoyo, Kagawa. He made his drama debut as an actor in 2001 in the Tokusatsu Series "Kamen Rider Agito". He appears not only in TV dramas but also in movies, commercial messages, variety TV programs, plays, and music videos.-TV:...
  
  , actor
• March 6: Masakazu Fujiwara
  Masakazu Fujiwara
  Masakazu Fujiwara , in Japanese 藤原正和, is Japanese long-distance runner, who specializes in the marathon. He trains at Honda Sports team....
  
  , long-distance runner
• March 6: Mizuki Watanabe, J-pop and rock singer
• March 23: Takeshi Honda
  Takeshi Honda
  in Kōriyama, Fukushima is a Japanese retired competitive figure skater. He is a two-time World bronze medalist , two-time Four Continents champion , and six-time Japan national champion.-Biography:...
  
  , figure skater
• March 31: Ryōko Shintani
  Ryoko Shintani
  is a voice actress and singer from Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan. She is under the Lantis and Vi-vo Recording Label and famous as the voice of Milfeulle Sakuraba in the Galaxy Angel Series...
  
  , voice actress and singer
• April 7: Kazuki Watanabe, musician (d. 2000
  2000 in Japan
  Events in the year 2000 in Japan.-Incumbents:* Emperor: Akihito* Prime Minister: Keizo Obuchi, Yoshiro Mori* Chief Cabinet Secretary: Mikio Aoki, Hidenao Nakagawa, Yasuo Fukuda* Governor of Tokyo: Shintaro Ishihara-Events:...
  
  )
• April 15: Kyoko Ayana
  Kyoko Ayana
  , born April 15, 1981 in Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture, is a Japanese AV Idol who debuted in 2001. According to Peter Payne, founder of the Japanese popular culture site, J-List, Ayana had "claimed Japan's top big breast idol spot."-Life and career:...
  
  , AV idol
• April 18: Mai Hoshimura
  Mai Hoshimura
  is a Japanese singer and songwriter. She writes and composes all of her music. She is known for her famous standing crouched stance while playing the piano.She is a graduate of Shobi University.On May 31, 2009, her contract with Sony ended.- Biography:...
  
  , musician
• April 19: Kazuhiro Maeda
  Kazuhiro Maeda
  Kazuhiro Maeda is a Japanese long-distance runner.He made his international debut at the 2000 World Junior Championships in Athletics, where he ran in the heats of the 5000 metres. He won the Karatsu 10-Miler in 2003. He was part of the Japanese men's team for the short race at the 2006 IAAF World...
  
  , long-distance runner
• April 23: Megu Hirose
  Megu Hirose
  is a Japanese softball player who won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.-References:...
  
  , softball player
• May 8: Yasuko Tajima
  Yasuko Tajima
  is a former medley swimmer from Japan. She won the silver medal in the 400m Individual Medley at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.-References:* *...
  
  , medley swimmer
• May 12: Naohiro Ishikawa
  Naohiro Ishikawa
  Naohiro Ishikawa is a Japanese footballer who plays for F.C. Tokyo.He was part of the Japanese 2004 Olympic football team, who exited in the first round, having finished fourth in group B, below group winners Paraguay, Italy and Ghana.-Club career:...
  
  , footballer
• May 13: Hidenori Kato, footballer
• May 22: Fumina Hara
  Fumina Hara
  is a Japanese actress and idol. She has played the role of Usagi Tsukino in the Sailor Moon musicals, and has gone on to a varied career. She has played the love interest in Aishiteruze Baby.-Filmography:*"Gun Crazy 4" *Maiko Haaaan!!!...
  
  , actress and idol
• May 23: Ema Tōyama
  Ema Toyama
  is a female Japanese manga artist. She made her debut in September 2003 in the monthly manga magazine Nakayoshi with her story, Tenshi no Tamago . Tokyopop has licenced it under the title Pixie Pop...
  
  , manga artist
• May 24: Sayaka Ando
  Sayaka Ando
  is a former Japanese gravure idol. She is also a former Race queen. She made her debut in Eternal in 2004, aged 23.She is a graduate of Miyagi Gakuin Women's University.- DVDs :* [2004.12.24] Eternal* [2005.03.25] Lesson 2* [2005.06.20] Healing Venus...
  
  , gravure idol
• June 6: Daisuke Miyazaki
  Daisuke Miyazaki
  is a Japanese handball player. He played for BM Alcobendas in 09/10 season, currently plays for Osaki Osol.He has competed in Pro Sportsman No. 1 five times. He has won three times in 2006, 2008 and 2009. He came close in 2007, resulting in 4th place, with Paul Terek as the winner, and in 2010 he...
  
  , handball player
• July 27: Mari Hoshino
  Mari Hoshino
  Mari Hoshino is a Japanese actress and singer. She graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University. Most well known for her lead role as Otome Sakamoto in T.B.S. drama, Kinpachi-sensei, Hoshino has starred in several dramas in recent years...
  
  , actress and singer
• August 4: Ayumi Tanimoto
  Ayumi Tanimoto
  born August 4, 1981 in Anjo, Aichi, is a Japanese female judoka. She was coached by Toshihiko Koga, who is a gold medalist at the BarcelonaOlympics and a silver medalist at the Atlanta Olympics Men's Judo....
  
  , judoka
• August 5: Kou Shibasaki
  Kou Shibasaki
  , born Yukie Yamamura, on August 5, 1981 in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan is a Japanese singer and actress.-Music career:Shibasaki made her debut in the music industry in 2002 with her first single Trust My Feelings, but she became recognized for her second single Tsuki no shizuku which was used for the...
  
  , singer and actress
• August 10: Natsumi Abe
  Natsumi Abe
  is a Japanese singer and actress, a former member of Morning Musume, and currently a member of Dream Morning Musume.-Career:On August 13, 2003, she released her first single, "22 Sai no Watashi," which means "Me, 22 years old," just a few days after her 22nd birthday...
  
  , singer and actress
• August 15: Yoshiko Fujinaga
  Yoshiko Fujinaga
  Yoshiko Fujinaga is a female long-distance runner from Japan, who won the 2009 edition of the annual Nagoya Marathon on March 1, 2009, clocking a total time of 2:28:13. She is a one-time national champion in the women's 5,000 metres....
  
  , long-distance runner
• August 28: Aira Yuhki, J-pop singer
• August 31: Yuria Kato
  Yuria Kato
  is a Japanese adult actress, AV idol, and photo model from Tokyo, Japan. She usually plays passive roles. Her AV debut was with the Cher label in the November 2001 release Love Berry....
  
  , actress, AV idol, and photo model
• September 1: Chisato Morishita
  Chisato Morishita
  is a Japanese idol, tarento, actress, and former race queen.-Films:* *...
  
  , idol, tarento, actress, and former race queen
• September 22: Hiromitsu Miura
  Hiromitsu Miura
  Hiromitsu Miura is a Japanese Boxer and former mixed martial artist who competed in the welterweight division in MMA and now competes in the light heavyweight division in boxing.-Career:...
  
  , Boxer and former mixed martial artist
• September 23: Hiroka Yaginuma
  Hiroka Yaginuma
  Hiroka Yaginuma is a Japanese born professional wrestler. She is best known for her work in the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre . Yaginuma has worked under the ring names Hiroka Yaginuma and "Raven Hiroka" but is now billed simply as Hiroka. She is a former...
  
  , wrestler
• October 6: Chiharu Icho
  Chiharu Icho
  is aJapanese wrestler who competed in the 48 kg weight class at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, wining the silver medal at both Games....
  
  , wrestler
• October 17: Tsubasa Imai, singer, actor, and dancer
• October 30: Ayaka Kimura
  Ayaka Kimura
  , currently known by her stage name as Ayaka Nagate , is an actress currently signed to Tristone Entertainment...
  
  , actress and J-pop singer
• October 30: Eri Sendai
  Eri Sendai
  is a Japanese female voice actress who is represented by Production Baobab.-TV animation:*Atsuko Hongō - Yomigaeru Sora - RESCUE WINGS -*Arika - Medabots*Ayaka - xxxHolic*Ayumu Oume - Best Student Council*Furfur - Umineko no Naku Koro ni...
  
  , voice actress
• November 3: Ayako Shoda
  Ayako Shoda
  Ayako Shoda is a female wrestler from Japan.-External links:*...
  
  , wrestler
• November 7: Nana Katase
  Nana Katase
  is a Japanese actress.Katase portrayed Kiyomi Takada in Death Note: The Last Name. She also released a number of albums. "Fantasy" was one of her songs and it was in the third intro of Hikaru no Go. It was part of the "Galaxy, Telepathy, and Fantasy" album and after "Necessary" was made as her single...
  
  , actress
• November 7: Rina Uchiyama
  Rina Uchiyama
  is a Japanese actress and idol.-Filmography:* Bus Stop * Strawberry on the Shortcake * Wedding Planner * Musashi * Good Luck!! * Moto Kare...
  
  , actress and idol
• November 11: Manami Yoshii
  Manami Yoshii
  is a well-known Japanese adult film actress.-Life and career:Yoshii's first AV was the November 2000 release, Growing Up Journal. Water Fruit was Yoshii's second adult video. Like her first release, it was made for the KUKI studio...
  
  , adult film actress
• December 8: Naoyuki Kotani
  Naoyuki Kotani
  Naoyuki Kotani is a Japanese mixed martial artist, who competes in the lightweight division. He has fought in a number of different organizations including the Pride Fighting Championships and the Ultimate Fighting Championship....
  
  , mixed martial artist
• December 19: Eriko Sato
  Eriko Sato
  , originally a glamour model, is a Japanese actress.She was born in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and raised in Tokyo. She was given the Best Actress award at the 2008 Yokohama Film Festival....
  
  , actress and model
• December 29: Shizuka Arakawa
  Shizuka Arakawa
  is a Japanese figure skater.She is the 2006 Olympic Champion in Ladies Singles and the 2004 World Champion. Arakawa is the first Japanese skater to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating and the second Japanese skater to win any Olympic medal in figure skating, after Midori Ito, who won silver...
  
  , figure skater

Deaths

• January 8: Shigeru Egami
  Shigeru Egami
  was a pioneering Japanese master of Shotokan karate who founded the Shōtōkai style. He was a student of Gichin Funakoshi, who is widely recognized as the founder of modern karate.-Early life:...
  
  , master of Shotokan karate
• February 11: Fusae Ichikawa
  Fusae Ichikawa
  was a Japanese feminist, politician and women's suffrage leader. Ichikawa was a key supporter of Women's Suffrage in Japan, and her activism was partially responsible for the extension of the franchise to women in 1945.- Early life :...
  
  , feminist, politician and women's suffrage leader
• February 25: Gunichi Mikawa
  Gunichi Mikawa
  was a Vice-Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.Mikawa was the commander of a heavy cruiser force that carried out spectacular I.J.N. victory over the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Navy at the Battle of Savo Island in Ironbottom Sound on the night of August 1942. In...
  
  , Vice-Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy
• April 9: Ichiro Nakayama
  Ichiro Nakayama
  was a Japanese economist. He graduated from The Tokyo University of Commerce in 1926, and then studied under Joseph Schumpeter in Germany. He was a pioneer of mathematical economics in Japan. After serving as assistant at The Tokyo University of Commerce, he became an assistant professor in 1933,...
  
  , economist
• April 12: Prince Asaka Yasuhiko, founder of a collateral branch of the Japanese imperial family
• April 27: Koji Sone
  Koji Sone
  was a Japanese judoka and world champion.He was born in the city Chichibu, Saitama and started judo in his childhood. His father was a 6th Dan in judo and his uncle a 9th Dan. Sone is a university-trained judoka from Meiji University...
  
  , judoka
• May 7: Hiromichi Yahara
  Hiromichi Yahara
  Colonel Hiromichi Yahara was the senior staff officer in charge of operations of the 32nd Japanese Army at Okinawa during the American invasion of that island during World War II.- Defense of Okinawa :...
  
  , senior staff officer
• July 4: Isao Kimura
  Isao Kimura
  , also known as Ko Kimura, was a Japanese actor. He appeared in several films directed by Akira Kurosawa. The first was Stray Dog as Yusa the criminal...
  
  , actor
• July 19: Daisuke Itō
  Daisuke Itō (film director)
  was a Japanese film director and screenwriter who played a central role in the development of the modern jidaigeki and samurai cinema.-Career:Born in Ehime Prefecture, Itō joined the actors school at Shōchiku in 1920, but soon began writing screenplays under the recommendation of Kaoru Osanai. He...
  
  , film director and screenwriter
• July 23: Kazuo Taoka
  Kazuo Taoka
  was one of the most prominent yakuza Godfathers.Known as the "Godfather of Godfathers", Taoka was third kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza organization, from 1946 to 1981....
  
  , one of the yakuza
  Yakuza
  , also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
  
   Godfathers
• September 8: Hideki Yukawa
  Hideki Yukawa
  né , was a Japanese theoretical physicist and the first Japanese Nobel laureate.-Biography:Yukawa was born in Tokyo and grew up in Kyoto. In 1929, after receiving his degree from Kyoto Imperial University, he stayed on as a lecturer for four years. After graduation, he was interested in...
  
  , physicist
• September 14: Yasuji Kiyose
  Yasuji Kiyose
  Yasuji Kiyose was a Japanese composer. He studied composition privately with Kōsaku Yamada and Kōsuke Komatsu and in 1930, took an active part in organizing the Shinkō Sakkyokuka Renmei, .In 1948, Kiyose took on Hiroyoshi Suzuki and Tōru Takemitsu for a brief period as...
  
  , composer
• September 16: Akira Iwasaki
  Akira Iwasaki
  was a prominent left-wing Japanese film critic, historian, and producer. Born in Tokyo, he became interested in film from his student days at Tokyo University. Early on, he helped introduce German experimental film in Japan, and was instrumental in getting Teinosuke Kinugasa's masterpiece A Page of...
  
  , film critic, historian, and producer
• December 28: Seishi Yokomizo
  Seishi Yokomizo
  was a novelist in Shōwa period Japan.-Early life:Yokomizo was born in the city of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. He read detective stories as a boy and in 1921, while employed by the Daiichi Bank, published his first story in the popular magazine Shin Seinen...
  
  , author