Most people would agree that the single icon most representative of Japan is Mt. Fuji. Rising an impressive 12,389 feet (3,776 meters) above sea level, Mt. Fuji is Japan's tallest mountain as well as an active, but dormant, volcano. Mt. Fuji holds a special place in the emotions and aesthetics of Japanese people living in and outside Japan - an attachment that has been ingrained in the Japanese psyche over the course of a thousand years. It is also from this island nation, symbolized by this celebrated mountain, that many great people and characters have emerged. Japanese Icons presents biographies of some of Japan's most renowned in literature, politics, film, sports and the arts.

Akira Kurosawa | Commodore Matthew Perry | Godzilla - fire-breathing superstar | Hideki Matsui - Godzilla of baseball | Ichiro Suzuki - Seattle Mariners Star | Iron Chef | Portrait of a Samurai - Bunnosuke Aoki | Rocky Aoki - founder of Benihana | Studio GHIBLI

Akira Kurosawa	Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa is considered one of the world's greatest directors. During his lifetime, he made 30 full-length feature films and was a great influence on Western cinema.    Click here for details
Commodore Matthew Perry	Commodore Matthew Perry and his fleet of seven black ships arrived in Edo Bay in 1853 with the mission of opening Japan to American trade.    Click here for details
Godzilla - fire-breathing superstar	Godzilla made his movie debut in 1954 and to this day continues to captivate audiences worldwide.    Click here for details
Hideki Matsui - Godzilla of baseball	Hideki Matsui becomes the 17th Japanese baseball player to join the Majors    Click here for details
Ichiro Suzuki - Seattle Mariners Star	Ichiro Suzuki - Seattle Mariners outfielder won the 2004 American League Rookie of the Year award    Click here for details
Iron Chef	Hiroyuki Sakai, the Iron Chef of the long running Japanese culinary game show of the same name, gained fame in the U.S. following the airing of the show on the Food Network. In 2006, he made a special visit to Benihana.    Click here for details
Portrait of a Samurai - Bunnosuke Aoki	Bunnosuke Aoki (1869-1936), grandfather of Rocky Aoki, was the last in a long line of samurai.    Click here for details
Rocky Aoki - founder of Benihana	Rocky Aoki, founder of Benihana, has introduced Japanese cuisine to millions of people worldwide.    Click here for details
Studio GHIBLI	Japan’s Studio GHIBLI, with director/animator Hayao Miyazaki, nicknamed the ‘Walt Disney of Japan,’ and director Isao Takahata has become one of the world’s greatest producers of animated films, television series and ‘manga.’ To the studio’s credit are Princess Mononoke (1997), My Neighbor Totoro (1993), Spirited Away (2002) and the 2004 release Howl’s Moving Castle and many more.    Click here for details