Historical figures in Tokyo
The atlas holds 86 people and 194 moments here, from 1590 to 2026. The most recorded lives are Matsuo Bashō, Hirohito and Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. Among them Writers, Political Leaders and Performers, across the Space Age and the Cold War.
Notable people
Matsuo Bashō
from 1672 to 1693
10 moments here
Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694) was a Japanese poet of the Edo period, renowned for haikai and for travel writing including Oku no Hosomichi.…
Maurice Wilkins
in 1982
1 moment here
New Zealand-born British physicist and biophysicist whose career ran from solid-state physics and wartime atomic research to X-ray diffraction…
Mikhail Gorbachev
in 1991
1 moment here
Soviet and Russian politician who led the Soviet Union from 1985 until its dissolution in 1991.…
Miyamoto Musashi
from 1608 to 1623
3 moments here
Japanese swordsman, strategist, artist, and writer. His early biography and several event dates are disputed or preserved in later accounts; this…
Momoko Kōchi
from 1932 to 1998
7 moments here
Japanese film, stage, and television actress, born Momoko Ōkōchi. She became widely known for playing Emiko Yamane in Godzilla (1954), later worked…
Muammar Gaddafi
in 2009
1 moment here
Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician, and political theorist who ruled Libya from the 1969 coup until his overthrow and killing during…
Muhammad Ali
in 1976
1 moment here
Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.) was an American boxer, activist, humanitarian, and global cultural figure.…
Ngô Đình Diệm
in 1950
1 moment here
Ngô Đình Diệm was a Vietnamese civil servant, nationalist politician, prime minister of the State of Vietnam, and first president of the Republic of…
Nguyễn Phú Trọng
in 2015
1 moment here
Vietnamese politician and political theorist who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam from 2011 until his death in 2024, and…
Octavio Paz
in 1952
1 moment here
Mexican poet, essayist, editor, and diplomat whose international postings and teaching appointments connected Mexico City, the United States, Europe,…
Olav V
in 1983
1 moment here
Olav V of Norway (born Prince Alexander of Denmark) was King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991.…
Olivia de Havilland
in 1916
1 moment here
Olivia de Havilland was a British-American-French actress whose career ranged from California community theatre and Warner Bros.…
Park Chung Hee
in 1961
1 moment here
Park Chung-hee was a South Korean army officer and politician who led the May 16 coup in 1961 and served as president from 1963 until his…
P. Ramlee
in 1963
1 moment here
Teuku Zakaria bin Teuku Nyak Puteh, known as P. Ramlee, was a Malaysian actor, singer, composer, and filmmaker.…
Prince
in 1990
1 moment here
Prince Rogers Nelson was an American singer, songwriter, musician, producer, actor, and filmmaker associated with the Minneapolis sound.…
Puyi
in 1946
1 moment here
Puyi (1906–1967), the Xuantong Emperor, was the last emperor of Qing China and later the Kangde Emperor of Japanese-controlled Manchukuo.…
Rabindranath Tagore
in 1924
1 moment here
Bengali poet, novelist, dramatist, composer, painter, philosopher, social reformer, and educationist.…
Rajendra Prasad
in 1958
1 moment here
Indian lawyer, independence leader, journalist and statesman who became the first President of India, serving from 1950 to 1962.…
Rajiv Gandhi
in 1985
1 moment here
Rajiv Gandhi was an Indian aircraft pilot and politician who served as prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989.…
Ronald Reagan
from 1983 to 1989
3 moments here
American broadcaster, actor, labor leader, governor of California, and 40th president of the United States.…
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
from 1892 to 1927
9 moments here
Japanese short-story writer of the Taishō period, born Ryūnosuke Niihara in Tokyo and adopted into the Akutagawa family.…
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
in 1956
3 moments here
Indian philosopher, academic, diplomat, and statesman. Radhakrishnan taught at leading Indian and British universities, served as vice-chancellor of…
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
in 1973
1 moment here
Bangladeshi political leader, founding president of Bangladesh, and prime minister. His documented life moved from childhood and schooling in Bengal…
Shinzo Abe
from 1954 to 2020
7 moments here
Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2006 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2020.…
Moments
- 1952 Chargé d'affaires in Tokyo Octavio Paz
- 1952 Peace-treaty anniversary ceremony Hirohito
- 1953 Seven Samurai production at Toho Studios Akira Kurosawa
- 1953 First move to Tokyo Kenzaburō Ōe
- 1953 Arrival for Japan tour Louis Armstrong
- 1954 French-literature studies at the University of Tokyo Kenzaburō Ōe
- 1954 Stayed at Tokyo's Imperial Hotel Marilyn Monroe
- 1954 Birth in Shinjuku Shinzo Abe
- 1955 Tokyo arrival during Japanese cultural mission William Faulkner
- 1955 Japan trip for National Museum project Le Corbusier
- 1956 Arrival at Haneda Airport Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
- 1956 Inaugural lecture in Tokyo Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
- 1956 Meeting at Tokyo Imperial Palace Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
- 1957 Welcoming address at International PEN Congress Yasunari Kawabata
- 1957 Visit to Tokyo Jawaharlal Nehru
- 1958 Studies at Showa Women's University Junko Tabei
- 1958 State visit to Japan Rajendra Prasad
- 1961 State dinner in Tokyo Park Chung Hee
- 1963 Receives Asian Film Festival honours in Tokyo P. Ramlee
- 1963 State visit to Japan Bhumibol Adulyadej
- 1964 Jazz-café contest victory Ichirou Mizuki
- 1964 Second Olympic marathon gold Abebe Bikila
- 1965 Lectures in Tokyo Dorothy Hodgkin
- 1968 A Doll's House at Sabo Kaikan Hall Momoko Kōchi
- 1969 Tokyo University Zenkyōtō debate Yukio Mishima
- 1970 Mishima Incident at Camp Ichigaya Yukio Mishima
- 1972 Return to Setagaya home Eisaku Satō
- 1972 First exile in Tokyo Kim Dae-jung
- 1973 Return to Tokyo Yayoi Kusama
- 1973 Kidnapped from Hotel Grand Palace Kim Dae-jung
- 1973 State visit to Tokyo Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
- 1974 Japan state visit Gerald Ford
- 1975 Lecture and meeting at Tokyo Institute of Technology Alan MacDiarmid
- 1975 World tour in Japan Freddie Mercury
- 1975 Dinner at Shikiraku in Tsukiji Eisaku Satō
- 1975 Death at Jikei University Medical Center Eisaku Satō
- 1976 Antonio Inoki exhibition Muhammad Ali
- 1976 Tokyo after China visit Gough Whitlam
- 1977 Seikei University graduation Shinzo Abe
- 1977 Permanent residence at Seiwa Hospital Yayoi Kusama
- 1977 Tokyo press conference John Lennon
- 1979 Tokyo and Shimoda visit Jimmy Carter
- 1979 World Youth Championship final Diego Maradona
- 1982 Nuclear-disarmament lecture tour of Japan Maurice Wilkins
- 1982 Address to the United Nations Association of Japan Javier Pérez de Cuéllar
- 1983 State visit to Japan Olav V
- 1983 Makes Tokyo state visit Ronald Reagan
- 1985 Last solo concert before semi-retirement Teresa Teng
- 1985 Brighton Beach Memoirs at PARCO Theatre Momoko Kōchi
- 1985 Speech to Japan's National Diet Rajiv Gandhi