Category: History

“The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido” is an outstanding ukiyo-e artwork that is well-known globally and one of the most enduring masterpieces ever.

“The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido” is an outstanding ukiyo-e artwork that is well-known globally and one of the most enduring masterpieces ever.

Shibasaburō Kitasato on the New ¥1,000 Bill in 2024
Father of Modern Japanese Medicine: Developing Countermeasures Against Infectious Diseases

Sugihara saved the lives of over 6,000 Jewish people from the Holocaust, which was a state-sponsored, systematic genocide and persecution of Jewish people committed by the Nazi regime and its collaborators between 1939 and 1945.

Tsuda Umeko, selected for the new banknotes, founded the Women’s Institute for English Studies, “Joshi Eigaku Juku,” now known as Tsuda University. She dedicated her life to the education of Japanese women. Let’s take a closer look at her life and the environment in which Japanese women lived during that time.

Katsushika Hokusai was a prominent Japanese ukiyo-e artist active in the late Edo period. He lived to the age of 90 during the Edo period (1600-1860), a time when the average life expectancy was less than 50 years, and created approximately 30,000 works before his passing. Many of his works, produced over about 70 years, continue to be highly acclaimed even 170 years after his death.

Hanaoka Seishu was a doctor active during the Edo period. While studying Chinese herbal medicine, he also mastered Dutch-style surgery and other cutting-edge medical techniques. After repeatedly mixing various medicinal herbs, he perfected the anesthetic “Tsusensan,” composed mainly of mandarage (datura alba) berries and other ingredients.

Ino Tadataka was the first person to complete a map of Japan, and his map was so highly accurate that it was used for 100 years after its completion.

The Life of a Man Devoted to the Future of Japan, and His Unfortunate Death Before He Saw the Meiji Era

There are four major Ukiyo-e artists: Sharaku for kabuki actor portraits, Hiroshige for landscapes, Hokusai for the world, and Utamaro for paintings of beautiful women.