Birth Name: Isoroku Takano

Mini Biography:

Isoroku Yamamoto was born on April 4, 1884, in Nagoka, Japan, the last of seven children. His first name “Isoroku” translates into the number “56″, which was his father’s age when he was born. He lived near Nagaoka, entered the Imperial Naval School at age 16 and was an ensign on a cruiser during the Battle of Tshushima on May 27, 1905, during the Russo-Japanese war, in which he lost two fingers on his left hand. He was adopted by the Yamamoto family and took their name. He was promoted to commander and transferred to Tokyo naval headquarters, and soon afterwards he married. He traveled to the US to study economics at Harvard and to also learn about petroleum. During World War I he discovered the importance of military aviation. He was fond of playing Go and Shogi, and was a guest at many dinner parties, picking up an aptitude for bridge and especially poker, at which he became extremely skillful. In 1923 he was appointed head of the air training base at Kasumiguara and became a naval attaché in Washington, DC. He returned to Japan a few years later and became Vice-Minister of the Navy. Favoring air power as a basis for war, Yamamoto championed new aircraft carriers for Japan’s navy but opposed the Tripartite Pact of 1939, which formed an alliance among militarist Japan, Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. In August 1939 he was promoted to full admiral and became the commander-in-chief of Japan’s Combined Naval Fleet. He did not wish to go to war with the US, knowing well the full industrial might and will of the Americans, who he believed would prevail in a war against Japan if only by attrition. However, once the military leaders decided on a war, Yamamoto devoted himself, albeit reluctantly, to the task of giving Japan the upper hand by masterminding the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, which officially brought both Japan and the US into World War II. Having seen the Japanese defeat in the Battle of Midway in 1942, Yamamoto knew that Japan’s chance of winning the war was lost. In 1943 he toured the Solomon Islands during the Battle of Guadalcanal, and took over naval operations. On April 18, 1943, American intelligence, which had been tracking Yamamoto’s movements and looking for an opportunity to eliminate him, discovered that he was in a plane flying near the island of Bougainville. A squadron of fighters was quickly dispatched to intercept it, with orders to shoot it down at all costs. The fighters swarmed over Yamamoto’s aircraft, and it was soon shot out of the sky, crashing in flames on the island and killing all aboard, including Yamamoto. He was 59 years old.

Trivia:

The plot to kill Yamamoto by the United States Army Air Corps was given the codename Operation Dillinger.
There has been some dispute as to who the pilot was that shot down Yamamoto. For years it was agreed Lt. Thomas Lanphier was the pilot, but recently credit has been given to Lt. Rex Barber. Ultimately the Air Force gave credit to both pilots, who later became aces with five confirmed kills.
He had such a great knowledge on the petroleum industry that he was offered many lucrative jobs with US petroleum companies after he graduated from Harvard.
Planned most of his future battles with the US according to poker strategy and percentage play.
Was a comedian and the center of attention of many parties.
Was against war with the US and until recent years, was largely misunderstood and misjudged by historians.
Was an expert poker player. In fact, he was so good that a lot of future US military officers (many of whom he’d later fight in WWII) invited him to their all-night poker games. Many of them even became personal friends with him which eventually ended with the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Personal Quotes:

“I will run wild for the first year. After that, I cannot promise anything.” – talking with Japanese leaders about war with the United States.
“I’m afraid all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.” – about the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Mini Biography:

Graduated in the Kyôto Prefecture. After several years working as animator in Ryûichi Yokoyama’s animation Studio Otogi, Yamamoto joined Osamu Tezuka to found Mushi Production in 1961 and since until 1973 worked as producer, supervising director or director of a dozen of animation productions from this company. The first short film of the company was “The Male” (1962) and the next year Yamamoto collaborated as executive director in the first TV series of the company, “Iron Arm Atom” (“Astro Boy”). After supervising the theatrical re-edited versions of the latter and “Jungle Great Emperor” (1966), Yamamoto officially debuted in a full-length feature with “1001 Arabian Nights” in 1969. He also directed the last film of Mushi, “Belladonna” (1973). After that he joined Toei and directed and supervised the first TV series and films of “Space Battleship Yamato”. He retired from the animation industry in 1991.

Aaron I. Yamamoto was born on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. He was voted “Most Likely To Succeed” from the Kapaa High School graduating class of 1983. He attended Chaminade University in Honolulu and the University of Hawaii, Manoa before transferring to the prestigious film production program at the USC School of Cinema/Television, where he graduated Cum Laude with both Bachelors and Masters Degrees. At USC, Yamamoto’s student films garnered many accolades such as a Student Academy Award and Cine Golden Eagle Award as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary, short subject.Since then, he has become a Feature Film Editor working on a mix of big-budget studio films as well as various award-winning independent feature films.Yamamoto resides in West Los Angeles with his wife, Maureen, son, Evan, and big fat cat, Cotton. He is also developing various feature film projects which will serve as his feature directorial debut. (Feb. 2008)

Nickname: The Judy Garland of Japan

Mini Biography:

Shirley Yamaguchi was born to Japanese parents in Manchuria in 1920. She used the Chinese name Li Xianglan (Ri Koran in Japanese) and made pro-Japanese films in Japanese-occupied areas in China. She also was a popular singer and some of her hits, including “fragrance of the night” (Ye Lai Xiang), remain popular even today. After the Japanese surrendered she escaped treason and possible execution by revealing her Japanese heritage.

Spouse:

Hiroshi Otaka (1958 – 2001) (his death)
Isamu Noguchi (1952 – 1957) (divorced)

Trivia:

After her marriage to famed Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi, they moved into a house in Kita-Kamakura provided by Japanese potter and epicure Kitaoji Rosanjin.
She was elected to the first of several terms in the House of Councillors, the upper body of Japan’s parliament in 1974. Her life story has been made into a musical that has appeared on Tokyo stages.
Ian Buruma’s novel, “The China Lover,” is a fictional recreation of Shirley Yamaguchi’s life and career.

Mini Biography:

Momoe Yamaguchi was born January 17, 1959 in Ebisu, Shibuya-ku Tokyo Japan. Her mother named her Momoe which means 100 blessings, wishing her that she will live a fortunate life. For the first four years of her life, she was brought up by her grandparents and she still has fond memories of them. She has one younger sister born in 1964 named Toshie. That year her parents separated. In 1966 she, her mother and sister moved to Yokosuka-shi where she attended primary and secondary school. In 1972, Momoe entered a TV talent search program called “Star Tanjou”. She finished as a runner up to the grand champion, but 11 record companies expressed their desire to sign her up. Momoe signed up with Hori Production – a talent agency specializing in young singers and TV personalities. She moved to Tokyo to attend singing lessons and attend middle school. The singing teacher at the time, Shunichi Tokura, initially had doubts about her talent as a singer as she kept on missing notes. She made her record debut in April 14, 1973 with a song “Toshigoro”, but her big break came with her second single “Aoi Kajitsu” which was composed by her teacher Shunichi Tokura, and lyricist Kazuya Senke. She became a nationally celebrated star throughout the ’70s. In 1974, she met her future husband, Tomokazu Miura, who was a budding actor of 22, at the time in a location shooting for a commercial. Her career and popularity grew as she produced one hit single after another and starred in a TV drama franchise now known as “Akai (which means red in Japanese) series” due to all the title of the series starts with “Akai …”. In 1979 Tomokazu Miura popped a question to marry him in Hawaii. Momoe accepted and told him that she would retire from business after they got married. In October 1980, Momoe had her farewell concert in Budokan arena. She was married to Tomokazu Miura in Reinan Church in Akasaka Tokyo in November 19, 1980. Momoe now lives with her husband Tomokazu and two sons in Tokyo. She has retired from show business since 1980 and has not had any movie or TV drama series appearances since then.

Spouse:

Tomokazu Miura (19 November 1980 – present) 2 children

Birth Name: Kristine Tsuya Yamaguchi

Nickname: Yama

Height: 5′ 1″ (1.55 m)

Mini Biography:

Kristi was the Gold Medalist in figure skating at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. She was World Champion twice, in 1991 and 1992, and U. S. National Champion in 1992. Kristi was also U.S. National Pairs Champion twi ce, in 1989 and 1990, before deciding to focus on singles. In 1988, she won the Wo rld Juniors Championships in both singles and pairs.

Spouse:

Bret Hedican (8 July 2000 – present) 2 children

Trivia:

Skated pairs with Rudy Galindo
Husband Bret Hedican is a National Hockey League defenseman (2001-Present) with the Carolina Hurricanes. He was a member of the 2005-2006 team that won the Stanley Cup. Hedican also was a member of the 2006 USA Olympic Men’s Hockey Team.
1986 Junior U.S. pairs national champ. with Rudi Galindo
1989 & 1990 U.S. pairs national champ.
1987 Junior Worlds pairs bronze medalist
Hallmark made a snowglobe with a figurine of Kristi in it
Hallmark crafted a Christmas tree ornament figurine of her as part of their Olympic Medalist series.
Measurements: 33-22-34 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
Welcomed her first child, daughter Keara Kiyomi, with husband Bret Hedican (01 October 2003)
Both she and Bret own homes in Raleigh, North Carolina, Fremont, California and Brainerd, Minnesota.
Inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2005.
Welcomed 2nd daughter, Emma Yoshiko, on Wednesday, 16 November 2005.
Attended Mission San Jose High School in Fremont, California.

Personal Quotes:

“Figure skaters have awful perceptions of hockey players, and I thought, ‘This guy’s a little different.’” – on meeting her husband, NHL defenseman Bret Hedican

Nickname: Yama-Chan

Height: 5′ 7″ (1.70 m)

Mini Biography:

Yamadera is a famous Japanese voice artist and actor, born 17 June 1961 in Miyagi, Japan. A graduate from Tohoku Gakuin University’s economics school, he is affiliated with Across Entertainment. Before that, he was affiliated with the Tokyo Actor’s Consumer’s Cooperative Society.He is very prolific voice artist that specializes in video games, television, animation theater and others.He was the manager of the Tagajo Senior High School basketball team before he started a voice over career. His voice-acting debut was the OVA Megazone 23 (1985) as the motorcycle-riding Shinji Nakagawa, while his television debut was the anime Bosco Adventure (1986) as the cowardly, but friendly Otter. Yamadera’s break-out role as an voice artist was the anime Ranma 1/2 (1989), in which he played the dual role of Hibiki Ryoga and the Jusenkyo Guide. The same year, he voiced Shaman in giant robot anime TV series Granzort (1989). In 1991, Yamadera joined forces with Toshihiko Seki and Noriko Hidaka to form the acting unit Banana Fritters, which disbanded in 1995.On the October of 1997, Yamadera became a host on the TV Tokyo children’s variety show Oha Suta. In 1994 Yamadera married Mika Kanai and they stayed married for twelve years until divorcing on the spring of 2006. Their divorce was revealed in 2007. Today, Kanai lives in 4-story house, while Yamadera lives in apartment in Tokyo.Yamadera is best known for his roles in Kaiketsu Zorori (Zorori), the Japanese dub of Full House (Joey Gladstone), Ranma 1/2 (Ryoga Hibiki/P-Chan, Jusenkyo Guide), Soreike! Anpanman (Cheese, Kabao, Kamameshidon), Brave Exkaiser (Osamu Tokuda),in highly popular Ghost in the Shell (1995)/Ghost in the Shell: Innocence (2004) (Togusa), Neon Genesis Evangelion (Ryoji Kaji), Cowboy Bebop (Spike Spiegel), the Yatterman remake (Narrator, Yatter-Wan, Odatebuta), Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack (Gyunei Guss), Paprika (2006) as Osanai Morio and in highly popular Vampire Hunter D – Bloodlust (2000) as Meier Link.He is also known for dubbing such actors as Jim Carrey and Eddie Murphy in foreign language films.

Spouse:

Mika Kanai (1994 – 2006) (divorced)

Trivia:

Yamadera and his wife, Mika Kanai, work together providing voice talent for the long running Japanese cartoon, “Soreike! Anpanman” (1988).
Prolific Japanese voice artist and actor. He is very active in television animation, OVA, theater animation, video games, television drama, variety shows, Tokusatsu, Radio, Drama CDs, Audio CDs and commercials.
He has appeared in anime alongside Megumi Hayashibara, who had roles in Neon Genesis Evangelion (Rei Ayanami, Yui Ikari), Wataru (Himiko Shinobibe), Ranma (Ranma Saotome (female)), Donkey Kong Country (Diddy Kong), and Cowboy Bebop (Faye Valentine).
He has appeared in every Pokémon film thus far, playing a different role each time. However, he rarely stars in the television series itself. Coincidentally, Megumi Hayashibara has also appeared in every Pokemon movie as Musashi (Jessie).
He, alongside dancer Hisako Oshima, was the champion of the second season of Shall We Dance?, the Japanese version of Dancing with the Stars.
He was considered for the role of Sheriff Woody in the Japanese dub of Toy Story before Toshiaki Karasawa was cast.
He received the Kei Tomiyama Award in the Third Seiyu Awards.
Known for dubbing over live-action actors including Eddie Murphy, Stephen Chow, Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, Brad Pitt, and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
He has dubbed over Disney roles such as Donald Duck, Beast, Genie, Mushu, Stitch, and Sebastian.

Height: 5′ 3″ (1.60 m)

Mini Biography:

Born and raised in Japan, Oorala Yamada came to the U.S. to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. After graduating from Pepperdine University, she was a talent agent at the West Coast commercial division of J. Michael Bloom at Ford Models. She then worked in development at Fireworks Entertainment and now works in production for films and television, as well as writing for magazines.

Trivia:

Assisted Gail Zappa for a short time in 1999.
Thought about turning pro in tennis in high school.