The World’s Greatest Japanese

In 2004, an inscription on a gravestone was found at Xi’an city in Shaanxi in China, site of Chang’an, the Tang Dynasty capital from 618-907. It is the oldest example of the written name of the country of Japan. Achievements of Japanese envoys to Tang China, Nakamaro Abe-no, Makibi Kibi-no and others, were additionally engraved on it. 171 characters of the seal-engraving style in 12 lines were carved on the monument of 40 centimeters square. Read More »

Goto Shinpei（後藤 新平） is considered to be the father of Taiwan’s modernization.

During the Japanese colonial period, Goto Shinpei was in charge of civil affairs at the Taiwan Governor’s Office between 1898 and 1906, during the rule of the fourth governor, Kodama Gentaro（児玉 源太郎）. He launched many innovative projects which would lead the way to Taiwanese economic independence from Japan. Read More »

In the early Meiji era, Gottfried Wagener, a foreign scientist hired by the Japanese government, noted in “Nippon no Kogyo no Hoshin” (The Policy on Japanese Industries):
“If Japan desires to compete with foreign nations in industrial fields, this country should enduringly preserve its unique sense of taste and artistic mentality. Never allow the Japanese people to forget this.” And he appreciated the Japanese aesthetic sense and technical capability.

When Einstein stayed in Japan for a lecture in 1922, he said, “During these several weeks, I have come not only to respect Japan as a scientific nation, but also love it from the standpoint of a human being. I have been in Japan for more than a month, and I have been specially impressed by how modest and sincere Japanese people are. Read More »

In 1890, Torajiro Yamada, 24 years old at the time, felt great sympathy for the Turkish ship in distress Ertugrul. He walked throughout Japan collecting donations which he took to Turkey. Read More »

Ataturk Mustafa Kemal (1881~1938) - The First President of Turkey Read More »

St. Francis Xavier, during his missionary in Asia, saw in Japan an impressive cultural, economic and social potential. He valued Japan more than any of the nations discovered. Read More »

Ethnologist Iwa Kusuma Sumantri has said that the Russo-Japanese War awakened the Asian people from their sleep.  The war showed that even a large country in Europe could be defeated by a small country in Asia. Read More »