Aoyama (青山, Aoyama^?, "Blue Mountain") is a neighborhood of Tokyo, located in the northeastern Minato Ward. During the Edo Period, Aoyama was home to various temples, shrines, and samurai residences. The name Aoyama derived from a samurai named Aoyama Tadanari who served the Tokugawa Shogunate and held his mansion in this area. Today, along with Shibuya and Harajuku, it is one of the most popular entertainment and shopping areas for young people in Tokyo. It is well known for its fashion houses, restaurants, and shopping. Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium is in the North part of Aoyama.

Aoyama is also the location of Japan's first municipal cemetery, Aoyama Reien, which was opened in 1872. Famous Japanese people buried here include General Nogi Maresuke, a war hero who joined his leader in death by committing suicide when Emperor Meiji died in 1912. Many noted foreigners are buried in the small foreign section of the cemetery, which is currently (2005) at risk of being cleared to make a park.

Tokyo (東京, Tōkyō^?, "Eastern Capital") [toːkʲoː], English /ˈtoʊki.oʊ/; officially Tokyo Metropolis (東京都, Tōkyō-to^?), is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of the world. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family. Tokyo is in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshu and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture (東京府, Tōkyō-fu^?) and the city of Tokyo (東京市, Tōkyō-shi^?).

The Tokyo Metropolitan government administers the 23 special wards of Tokyo (each governed as a city), which cover the area that was the city of Tokyo, as well as 39 municipalities in the western part of the prefecture and the two outlying island chains. The population of the special wards is over 8 million people, with the total population of the prefecture exceeding 13 million. The prefecture is part of the world's most populous metropolitan area with upwards of 35 million people and the world's largest urban agglomeration economy with a GDP of US$1.479 trillion at purchasing power parity in 2008, ahead of New York City metropolitan area, which ranks second on the list. The city hosts 47 of the Fortune Global 500 companies, the highest amount of any city.

agnès b. (born Agnès Andrée Marguerite Troublé, 1941 in Versailles) is a French fashion designer. She is known for her self-named brand, which includes fashion and film interests.

She had twins at 19 and separated at 20. She graduated from École des Beaux-Arts in Versailles. A career soon followed when her personal style caught the eyes of ELLE magazine staffers at a Paris flea market. Her style of dress at the time, which included selections from France's Monoprix discount chain, was inspired less by fashion than thrift, but the magazine liked what it saw and hired her as a junior editor. With a mind towards designing rather than editing fashion, she left ELLE after less than two years, preferring apprenticeships even when they paid little and offered no time off. She became a designer, buyer, and press attaché for Dorothée Bis in Paris. She freelance designed for Limitex, Pierre d’Alby, V de V, and Eversbin in the years 1965 and '66. In the latter year, she founded CMC (Comptoir Mondial de Creation), parent of the agnès b. label. She opened her first boutique in Les Halles in 1975. Formerly a butcher shop, the black and white tiled store had a rustic, communal atmosphere, defined by an indoor swing for children and an impromptu aviary (in reality an on-site bird population that over time grew from two to 30). agnès's friends were her first repeat customers.