Houbun Shimada (1898〜1973)

Library car named "Bukkun" in Buzen announced the melody of "Oka-wo-koete" (Over the hill) masterpiece of Houbun Shimada.
Everybody knows the melody and it is easy to hum.
He was born in 1898. His father was a large landowner around there.
His father held various posts successively as the chief of police station and village headman.
Once Houbun was a exclusive songwriter of Columbia Record.
According to Mr.Watanabe, former head librarian "He was a clumsy man behind the times and didn't have a hungry spirit."
He had an easy life owing to the large amount of land owned and spent 10 times of the average income in that time.
In his poem we can recognize the original landscape of Buzen as shown in nature and people.

Toshio Maruyama (1892〜1951)

He is a founder of pure ethics and born as farmer's fourth child.
He became as a substitute teacher when he was 16.
Next year he entered Kokura normal school and got a nickname from his friend as "Confucius Maruyama" as he was sitting in meditation at the Zen temple.
After graduation he came back to Buzen and married.
After that he entered another school to study national history.
At the Hiroshima University he studied philosophy and ethics under Dr.Nishi.
Once he joined "Hito-no-michi Kyodan"(human way religious body).
But when militarism prevailed in Japan, he was arrested because of his religious beliefs.

After the World War�U, he began the movement of ethics of fortune and virtue coincidence.
In 1946 he founded Shikinami Tanka club (Tanka is a kind of poetry).
and built New World Cultural Research Center( later changed to Ethics Research Center).
He published "Culture and Household" (later republished as "Shinsei", New Borne).

Its pure ethics centered on "Pure heartiness" and advocated the practice of "Brightness",, "Love and Peace", and "Joy and Work".
Beside the site of his birthplace you see the signboard saying,
"Water of Country".
It is the site well of his first bath when he was a baby.

　

Denjiro Ohkochi (1898-1962)

He was born as the  fifth brother of nine brothers and sisters. Actor both in films and on the stage. Masuo Obe is real name.
Born in Ohkouchi, Buzen city, Fukuoka Prefecture, after graduating school he attended the Shin Minshugeki drama school in Osaka.
His first role in films was in "Young Chuji"(1925) and "Showdown at Midagahara." He gained recognition for "Lingering Resentment"(1926) and continued to work with director Itoh, starring in the three-part series entitled "Chuji's Travels"(1927).
Other well-noted films are "Bloodshed at Takatanobaba"(1928) and a "New version of Ooka's Cases"(1928). His forte was the one-eyed and one-armed villain, Tange Sazen. Through his life he dreamed to make his own place named Ohkouchi-sanso.
He owned a lot of land to make this in Kyoto.
After his death his bereaved family realized his dream and it came true.

　

Keiji Tanaka （1885-1975）

Born in Tokyo and then brought up in Buzen.
He taught at a Nagasaki normal school, Tokyo higher normal school and after that he studied abroad America and Europe.
After he returned to Japan he was appointed as a professor to a University in Tokyo, firstly Rissho University then Tokyo Liberal Arts and Sciences University.
After retiring from Rissho University he became a professor again. He became the President of Japan Geology Association in 1952.

He was especially famous for his skills in drawing maps. We can see his name in many geology textbooks.
He donated 15000 of his books on geology to Rissho University.
Now they are being used the Tanaka Keiji Library.
In 1942 he received the Third Order of Merit.
He was the one of the highest ranking authorities of within the field of Japan geology.

　

Sarai Okayama (1828-1917） Kikuro Okayama （1876-1945）

Sarai Okayama was born in Gogawa. His childhood name was Sataro. From childhood it quickly became apparently that Sarai was intelligent.
When he was 28 he was designated as a deputy of Toriihata village and then he held various posts successively at Yamada, Shimokawazoko, Aohata, Ohnishi, Okawachi, and Shimokawachi.

After the Meiji Restoration he resigned from his job. Later he was singled out for village master of Shimogawachi and Tenwa. He resigned from all other positions at age 50.
After that he became a Buddhism deputy taking the place of a priest.
He enjoyed himself with a 31-syllable Japanese poem, haiku poem, calligraphy and flower arrangement.

In 1887 supporters appreciated his exertions to many fields and erected a thank-you monument of three meters high in front of his garden.
His poems:

　

Masumi Iwamoto (1917-1944)

Iwamoto was born in Ohkochi, Iwaya. After graduating from Chikujou Junior High School, he went to the Military Preparatory Academy and the Military Air force Academy.
He was active southern Asia, Malaysia, Singapore and Java until he entered the Chinese Hakujoshi Military Air Academy.
In 1943 He became a teacher of an Air Academy in Prefecture.


He developed a His "Kick and fly bombard" (It's the way to play ducks and drakes. Torpedo proceeds under the sea but this method is to attack opponent warships without being sinking their bomb.)
He was the leading man to use this military strategy. He had known well body-attacking has not much effect technically and had a strong will against suicide squads executives.
He thought excellent subordinators were treasures to him.
In that time "Kamikaze attack" (Masaki theory; sinking one warship by one plane) was justified by the Army.

In 1943 he married Kazuko Murata in Hagi ,Yamaguchi. Their honeymoon period was only 10 months and half. In 1944 he tried his tactic in Taiwan with great success.
In the same year their squads were delivered to the Philippines and it was scheduled to body-attacking their opponents warships.
November 5th, he rode with four other officers from Liba.
At that time they were attacked by two Hellcat fighters, they landed on their belly.
Only person survived.

In Buzen Masumi Iwamoto is famous along with Yoshikazu Yazu (famous for building an aero plane), Shigeno Kibe (is famous for being the first Japanese women pilot ).
It is considered deep relationship with the plane.