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shogun

(Encyclopedia)shogun shōˈgŭnˌ [key], title of the feudal military administrator who from the 12th cent. to the 19th cent. was, as the emperor's military deputy, the actual ruler of Japan. The title itself, Sei-...

Bishop, Isabella Lucy (Bird)

(Encyclopedia)Bishop, Isabella Lucy (Bird), 1831–1904, English traveler and writer, first woman member of the Royal Geographical Society. She traveled extensively and wrote a number of books, including The Englis...

Perry, Matthew Calbraith

(Encyclopedia)Perry, Matthew Calbraith, 1794–1858, American naval officer, b. South Kingstown, R.I.; brother of Oliver Hazard Perry. Appointed a midshipman in 1809, he first served under his brother on the Reveng...

Saipan

(Encyclopedia)Saipan sīˈpăn, sīpänˈ [key], volcanic island (2010 pop. 48,220), 47 sq mi (122 sq km), W Pacific, capital of the Northern Mariana Islands. It is mountainous; the highest peak is Mt. Tagpochau (1...

Métis, in Canadian history and society

(Encyclopedia)Métis [Fr.,=mixed], person of mixed racial heritage, particularly a descendant of French and English fur traders and indigenous women, principally in the Canadian prairie provinces of Alberta, Manito...

Kakutani, Shizuo

(Encyclopedia)Kakutani, Shizuo, 1911–2004, Japanese mathematician, b. Osaka, Japan, grad. Tohoko Univ, Ph.D. Princeton, 1941. Kakutani repatriated to Japan during World War II, but returned to Princeton in 1948 a...

Mori, Yoshiri

(Encyclopedia)Mori, Yoshiri, 1937–, Japanese politician, prime minister of Japan (2000–2001), b. Neagari. Born into a political family in rural Ishikawa prefecture and educated at Waseda Univ., he was a newspap...

bonsai

(Encyclopedia)bonsai bōnˈsī [key], art of cultivating dwarf trees in containers. Bonsai, developed by the Japanese more than a thousand years ago, is derived from the Chinese practice of growing miniature plants...

Busan

(Encyclopedia)Busan or Pusan bo͞oˈsän [key], Jap. Fusan, city, extreme SE South Korea, on the Korea Stra...

Okubo, Toshimichi

(Encyclopedia)Okubo, Toshimichi tōˌshēmēˈchē ōˈko͞obō [key], 1830–78, Japanese statesman. A major figure in the Meiji restoration, he was influential in introducing Western ideas to Japan. He supported ...