A U.S. Marine patrol crosses the Matanikau River on Guadalcanal in September 1942
The Actions along the Matanikau were the two most prominent engagements across the Matanikau River in Guadalcanal during World War II. In the first of these separate but related actions (23–27 September 1942), elements of three U.S. Marinebattalions attacked Japanese troop concentrations around the river. The attack was intended to destroy any Japanese forces in the area and to disrupt their attempts to use Point Cruz peninsula, the village of Kokumbona, and a series of ridges and ravines stretching inland from the coast to stage attacks on the Marine's defenses at Lunga Point. The Japanese repulsed this attack. In the second action (6–9 October), a larger force of Marines crossed the river and inflicted heavy casualties on an infantry regiment. This forced the Japanese to retreat from their positions east of the Matanikau and hindered their preparations for a planned major offensive on the U.S. Lunga defenses set for later in October. (Full article...)
Several inscriptions on the series of torii, the defining feature of Fushimi Inari-taisha, a Shintoshrine dedicated to the spirit Inari in Kyoto, Japan. The thousands of vermilion gates are all donations from individuals, families or companies.
The siege of Osaka was a series of battles undertaken by the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate against the Toyotomi clan, and ending in the clan's dissolution. Divided into two stages (the winter campaign and the summer campaign), and lasting from 1614 to 1615, the siege put an end to the last major armed opposition to the shogunate's establishment. This eight-metre-long (26 ft) painting, titled The Summer Battle of Osaka Castle and executed on a Japanese folding screen, illustrates Osaka Castle under siege, and was commissioned by the daimyoKuroda Nagamasa, who took a team of painters with him to the battlefield to record the event. The painting depicts 5071 people and 21 generals, and is held in the collection of Osaka Castle.
Before the outbreak of World War I, German naval ships were located in the Pacific; Tsingtao developed into a major seaport while the surrounding Kiautschou Bay area was leased to Germany since 1898. During the war, Japanese and British Allied troops besieged the port in 1914 before capturing it from the German and Austro-Hungarian Central Powers, occupying the city and the surrounding region. It served as a base for the exploitation of the natural resources of Shandong province and northern China, and a "New City District" was established to furnish the Japanese colonists with commercial sections and living quarters. Tsingtao eventually reverted to Chinese rule by 1922.
The Japanese government-issued dollar was a form of currency issued between 1942 and 1945 for use within the territories of Singapore, Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei, under occupation by Imperial Japan during World War II. The currency, informally referred to as "banana money", was released solely in the form of banknotes, as metals were considered essential to the war effort. The languages used on the notes were reduced to English and Japanese. Each note bears a different obverse and reverse design, but all have a similar layout, and were marked with stamped block letters that begin with "M" for "Malaya". This 1942 one-cent Japanese-issued banknote is part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.
Other denominations: '"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000010-QINU`"'
Banknotes: Empire of Japan. Reproduction: National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution
The Japanese-issued Netherlands Indies gulden was the currency issued by the Japanese Empire when it occupied the Dutch East Indies during World War II. Following the Dutch capitulation in March 1942, the Japanese closed all banks, seized assets and currency, and assumed control of the economy in the territory. They began issuing military banknotes, as had previously been done in other occupied territories. These were printed in Japan, but retained the name of the pre-war currency and replaced the Dutch gulden at par. From 1943 the military banknotes were replaced by identical bank-issued notes printed within the territory, and the currency was renamed the roepiah from 1944. The currency was replaced by the Indonesian rupiah in 1946, one year after the Japanese surrender and the country's independence.
This note, denominated ten cents, is part of the 1942 series.
A registration card for Louis Wijnhamer (1904–1975), an ethnic Dutch humanitarian who was captured soon after the Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies in March 1942. Prior to the occupation, many ethnic Europeans had refused to leave, expecting the Japanese occupation government to keep a Dutch administration in place. When Japanese troops took control of government infrastructure and services such as ports and postal services, 100,000 European (and some Chinese) civilians were interned in prisoner-of-war camps where the death rates were between 13 and 30 per cent. Wijnhamer was interned in a series of camps throughout Southeast Asia and, after the surrender of Japan, returned to what was now Indonesia, where he lived until his death.
Asahi Breweries is a Japanese global beer, spirits, soft drinks and food business group. This photograph, taken during the blue hour with a full moon, shows the headquarters of Asahi Breweries in Sumida, Tokyo, as viewed from the wharf on the Sumida River near Azuma Bridge. The Asahi Beer Hall, topped by the Asahi Flame, designed by Philippe Starck, is visible on the right, with the Tokyo Skytree in the background on the left.
A geisha at work lighting a client's cigar. Geisha are often hired to attend parties and gatherings, traditionally at tea houses or at traditional Japanese restaurants.
1959 - Emperor Shōwa attends the first ever baseball game attended by an emperor, the Tokyo Giants against the Hanshin Tigers. With the game tied four to four at the bottom of the ninth, Nagashima Shigeo of the Giants (later a Giants coach) hits a sayonara homerun to win the game.
Ayumi Hamasaki (浜崎あゆみ, Hamasaki Ayumi; born October 2, 1978) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and producer. Nicknamed the "Empress of Pop" on account of her influence throughout Asia, she is widely recognized for her versatile music production, songwriting, and live performances. Hamasaki is the best-selling solo artist in Japan, and a cultural icon of the Heisei era.
Born and raised in Fukuoka, Hamasaki moved to Tokyo in 1993 to pursue a career in modeling and acting. In 1998, Hamasaki released her debut single "Poker Face" and debut major-label album A Song for ××. The album debuted at the top of the Oricon charts and remained there for five weeks, selling over a million copies. This rapid rise to fame was attributed to her lyrics, listeners praising her insight and relatability. Her next ten albums shipped over a million copies in Japan, with her third, Duty, selling nearly three million. A Best, her first compilation album, further established her position as a crowning artist with more than four million copies sold in Japan. It was at this time that she represented more than 40% of her record label's income. (Full article...)
Tokushima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on Shikokuisland. The capital is the city of Tokushima. Long ago, the city of Tokushima belonged to a region known as Myodo-gun. During the first wave of government consolidation following the abolishment of the fiefdom system and creation of prefectures in 1871, it became known by the name of Myodo Prefecture. At the time, it included not only the Awa region to the south, but the Awaji and Awaji Island regions as well. In 1873, it further incorporated the region currently occupied by Kagawa Prefecture. During the second wave of government consolidation on September 5, 1875, the Sanuki Region separated to form modern day Kagawa Prefecture. Then, on August 21, 1876, Awaji Island separated to join Hyogo Prefecture and the Awa region separated to form Kōchi Prefecture. Finally, on March 2, 1880, Myodo Prefecture fully separated from Kōchi Prefecture and became Tokushima Prefecture. Tokushima has many agricultural resources and is the site of large-scale production of many different types of vegetables. The plains north of the Yoshino River are particularly fertile, and the produce here is often shipped to across to mainland Japan in the area around Kobe, Osaka and Kyoto. Produce from Tokushima often claims top shares in markets in the Kansai region. Naruto sweet potatoes, the citrus fruit sudachi, lotus roots and strawberries are particularly prominent.
Image 3Samurai could kill a commoner for the slightest insult and were widely feared by the Japanese population. Edo period, 1798 (from History of Japan)
Image 4Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder of the Kamakura shogunate in 1192. This was the first military government in which the shogun with the samurai were the de facto rulers of Japan. (from History of Japan)
Image 6A social hierarchy chart based on old academic theories. Such hierarchical diagrams were removed from Japanese textbooks after various studies in the 1990s revealed that peasants, craftsmen, and merchants were in fact equal and merely social categories. Successive shoguns held the highest or near-highest court ranks, higher than most court nobles. (from History of Japan)
Image 8The Kuril Islands, with their Russian names. The borders of the Treaty of Shimoda (1855) and the Treaty of St. Petersburg (1875) are shown in red. Currently, all islands northeast of Hokkaido are administered by Russia. (from Geography of Japan)
Image 12Buddhist temple of Hōryū-ji is the oldest wooden structure in the world. It was commissioned by Prince Shotoku and represents the beginning of Buddhism in Japan. However, this was built by ancient Korean architects dispatched from Baekje. (from History of Japan)
Image 30Relief map of the land and the seabed of Japan. It shows the surface and underwater terrain of the Japanese archipelago. (from Geography of Japan)
Image 47Mount Aso 4 pyroclastic flow and the spread of Aso 4 tephra (90,000 to 85,000 years ago). The pyroclastic flow reached almost the whole area of Kyushu, and volcanic ash was deposited of 15 cm in a wide area from Kyushu to southern Hokkaido. (from Geography of Japan)
Image 48Emperor Shōwa was in power during World War II (from History of Japan)
Image 53Japanese experts inspect the scene of the alleged railway sabotage on South Manchurian Railway that led to the Mukden Incident and the Japanese occupation of Manchuria. (from History of Japan)
Image 54The Black Ship Portuguese traders that came from Goa and Macau once a year (from History of Japan)
This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk·contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Japan}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.