1999 in Japan

Events in the year 1999 in Japan.

Incumbents

Events

1931 in Japan

Events in the year 1931 in Japan.

Incumbents

Events

Films

Births

Deaths

1991 in Japan

Events in the year 1991 in Japan.

Incumbents

Events

One Week (1920 film)

One Week is a 1920 American short comedy film starring comedian Buster Keaton, the first film to be released made by Keaton on his own; Keaton had worked with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle for a number of years. The film was written and directed by Keaton and Edward F. Cline, and runs for 19 minutes. Sybil Seely co-stars. The High Sign had been filmed prior to One Week, but Keaton considered it an inferior effort to debut with, and released it the following year when he was convalescing from an injury.

Guitarist Bill Frisell released a soundtrack to the movie in 1995 on his album The High Sign/One Week.

In 2008, One Week was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Plot

The story involves two newlyweds, Keaton and Seely, who receive a build-it-yourself house as a wedding gift. The house can be built, supposedly, in "one week". A rejected suitor secretly re-numbers packing crates. The movie recounts Keaton's struggle to assemble the house according to this new "arrangement". The end result is depicted in the picture. As if this were not enough, Keaton finds he has built his house on the wrong site and has to move it. The movie reaches its tense climax when the house becomes stuck on railroad tracks. Keaton and Seely try to move it out the way of an oncoming train, which eventually passes on the neighboring track. As the couple look relieved, the house is immediately struck and demolished by another train coming the other way. Keaton stares at the scene, places a 'For Sale' sign with the heap (attaching the building instructions) and walks off with Seely.

Japan Pavilion at Epcot

The Japan Pavilion is a Japan-themed pavilion that is part of the World Showcase, within Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Its location is between The American Adventure and Moroccan Pavilions.

History

The Japan Pavilion is one of the original World Showcase pavilions and had been in planning since the late 1970s. Many attractions have been proposed for the pavilion and one show building was built, but left unused. Meet the World was one planned attraction and was a clone of the attraction Meet the World that was once at Tokyo Disneyland. But because management thought that the Japanese film's omission of World War II might upset many Veterans, it was dropped. The show was so close to opening that the show building and rotating platform was built, but not used.

For years, Imagineers have considered building an indoor roller coaster attraction based on Matterhorn Bobsleds from Disneyland but themed to Japan's Mount Fuji inside a replica of Mount Fuji. At one point, Godzilla or a large lizard attacking guests in their cars was considered. Fujifilm originally wanted to sponsor the ride in the early 1990s, but Kodak, a major Epcot sponsor, convinced Disney to decline the sponsorship. Luckily, the Matterhorn derived design elements survived to be incorporated into Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom Park. Another proposed attraction was a walk-through version of "Circle-Vision", in which guests would board and walk through a Shinkansen (bullet train) and look through windows (actually film screens) that showcase Japan's changing landscapes. The train would have shaken and moved like a train traveling through the countryside.

Japan in Gulliver’s Travels

Japan is referred to in Gulliver's Travels, the satire by Jonathan Swift.

Part III of the book has the account of Lemuel Gulliver's visit to Japan, the only real location visited by him. It is used as a venue for Swift's satire on the actions of Dutch traders to that land. His description reflects the state of European knowledge of the country in the 17th and early 18th centuries, and the tensions due to commercial rivalry between the English and the Dutch at that time.

Description

Japan is shown on the map at the beginning of part III, which also shows the island of "Yesso" (i.e. Hokkaido), "Stats island" (Iturup) and "Companys Land" (Urup) to the north. The map also marks the Vries Strait and Cape Patience, though this is shown on the northeast coast of Yesso, rather than as part of Sakhalin, which was little known in Swift’s time. On the island of Japan itself the map shows "Nivato" (Nagato), Yedo, "Meaco" (Kyoto), Inaba and "Osacca" (Osaka)

The text describes Gulliver's journey from Luggnagg, which took fifteen days, and his landing at "Xamoschi" (i.e. Shimosa} which lies "on the western part of a narrow strait leading northward into a long arm of the sea, on the northwest part of which Yedo, the metropolis stands". This description matches the geography of Tokyo Bay, except that Shimosa is on the north, rather than the western shore of the bay.

Diamonds for Breakfast

Diamonds for Breakfast is the fourth studio album by French singer Amanda Lear, released in 1980 by West German label Ariola Records. The album turned out a commercial success and spawned two European hit singles, "Fabulous (Lover, Love Me)" and "Diamonds".

Background

The recording of the album commenced in 1979 in Munich, Germany. Again, Amanda wrote almost all the lyrics and worked with German producer and composer Anthony Monn. However, as a result of changing trends in the industry and Amanda's personal musical preferences, the album shifted musically from the straightforward disco music towards pop rock. Lear explained the title Diamonds for Breakfast in the liner notes, comparing diamonds to "every tear, every frustration, every heartache (...). Good and bad experiences, pleasure and pain". She went on to say she pities "people without feelings, they don't have diamonds for breakfast".

The album cover portrait of Lear, with Tiffany-designed diamond tears running down her cheek, is notable in the history of art and design as it was one of the first major assignments for French photographers Pierre et Gilles.