Japan court ruling on gender status change

OKAYAMA, Japan, Feb. 7 Kyodo - Tacaquito Usui attends a press conference in western Japan city of Okayama on Feb. 7, 2024, after a Japanese court recognized the transgender man's petition to legally change his gender without having first undergone sterilization, in a ruling believed to be the only of its kind in Japan. (Kyodo)

Japan court ruling on gender status change

Japan court ruling on gender status change

Tacaquito Usui attends a press conference in western Japan city of Okayama on Feb. 7, 2024, after a Japanese court recognized the transgender man's petition to legally change his gender without having first undergone sterilization, in a ruling believed to be the only of its kind in Japan.

Japan court ruling on gender status change

Japan court ruling on gender status change

Tacaquito Usui attends a press conference in western Japan city of Okayama on Feb. 7, 2024, after a Japanese court recognized the transgender man's petition to legally change his gender without having first undergone sterilization, in a ruling believed to be the only of its kind in Japan.

Japan court ruling on gender status change

Japan court ruling on gender status change

Tacaquito Usui attends a press conference in western Japan city of Okayama on Feb. 7, 2024, after a Japanese court recognized the transgender man's petition to legally change his gender without having first undergone sterilization, in a ruling believed to be the only of its kind in Japan.

Japan court ruling on gender status change

Japan court ruling on gender status change

Tacaquito Usui attends a press conference in western Japan city of Okayama on Feb. 7, 2024, after a Japanese court recognized the transgender man's petition to legally change his gender without having first undergone sterilization, in a ruling believed to be the only of its kind in Japan.

Japan court ruling on gender status change

Japan court ruling on gender status change

Tacaquito Usui attends a press conference in western Japan city of Okayama on Feb. 7, 2024, after a Japanese court recognized the transgender man's petition to legally change his gender without having first undergone sterilization, in a ruling believed to be the only of its kind in Japan.

Kyiv concert for children

Kyiv concert for children

Japanese pianist Toshiki Usui holds a concert in Ukraine's capital Kyiv on Oct. 2, 2023, for children who have fled conflict-ridden eastern Ukraine.

JICA jointly builds classrooms, trains laborers in Haiyan-hit town

JICA jointly builds classrooms, trains laborers in Haiyan-hit town

DULAG, Philippines - Noel Watanabe (R), a Japan-based Filipino man, and his Japanese colleague Katsuya Usui, teach construction skills to Filipino workers on Nov. 7, 2014 in the central Philippine province Leyte. The Japan International Cooperation Agency is integrating a skills training program to its assistance for the construction of new school buildings in Leyte's Dulag town after it was damaged by super typhoon Haiyan on Nov. 8, 2013.

JICA jointly builds classrooms, trains laborers in Haiyan-hit town

JICA jointly builds classrooms, trains laborers in Haiyan-hit town

DULAG, Philippines - Filipino welders (in yellow shirts) who are constructing a new school building (seen behind them) watch Noel Watanabe (front), a Japan-based Filipino man, demonstrate proper welding technique on Nov. 7, 2014, at a high school compound in the central Philippine province Leyte. At second from the right in the back is his Japanese colleague Katsuya Usui. The Japan International Cooperation Agency is integrating a skills training program to its assistance for the construction of new school buildings in Leyte's Dulag town after it was damaged by super typhoon Haiyan on Nov. 8, 2013.

Feudal Japanese Christian woman to be portrayed in play

Feudal Japanese Christian woman to be portrayed in play

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Ryoko Usui, a lead actress in the musical "Julia Otaa," speaks at a press conference in Uto, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on July 24, 2014. The stage play, opening on Sept. 20, portrays the life of a woman of Korean descent adopted by a local Japanese warlord and Christianized in the late 16th century when Christianity was not fully permitted.

Feudal Japanese Christian woman to be portrayed in play

Feudal Japanese Christian woman to be portrayed in play

KUMAMOTO, Japan - Uto Mayor Shigeki Motomatsu (L), lead actress Ryoko Usui (2nd from L) and Uto's mascot character "Uton Yukinaga shan" (C) join a press conference announcing the musical "Julia Otaa" in Uto, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on July 24, 2014. The stage play, opening on Sept. 20, portrays the life of a woman of Korean descent adopted by a local Japanese warlord and Christianized in the late 16th century when Christianity was not fully permitted.

Experts Usui checks prosthetics for athletes

Experts Usui checks prosthetics for athletes

TOKYO, Japan - Fumio Usui, a prosthetics expert and founder of the Health Angeles track and field club for amputees, examines artificial legs during the club's training session in Tokyo.

Buddhist priests reviewing funerals

Buddhist priests reviewing funerals

TOKYO, Japan - Hideo Usui (standing), chief executive of Jiin Design Co., which provides business advice to Buddhist temples, addresses the first meeting of a study panel on Buddhist funerals at the Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai building in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Nov. 13, 2013. Around 30 priests from across Japan gathered for the meeting.

Amputee runners find 'god' in 57-year-old man

Amputee runners find 'god' in 57-year-old man

TOKYO, Japan - Prosthetist Fumio Usui (far L) runs along with amputee runners of his track and field club on May 19, 2013 at the Tokyo metropolitan government's athletic center for the disabled in Kita Ward.

Amputee runners find 'god' in 57-year-old man

Amputee runners find 'god' in 57-year-old man

TOKYO, Japan - Prosthetist Fumio Usui holds a sports-specific artificial leg on May 1, 2013 at Tetsudo Kosaikai's support center in Tokyo's Arakawa Ward.

Hiroshima doctors return from N. Korea

Hiroshima doctors return from N. Korea

HIROSHIMA, Japan - A medical delegation led by Shizuteru Usui (L), president of the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association, arrives at Hiroshima airport in western Japan on Oct. 16, 2011. The doctors returned home after interviewing survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki who now live in North Korea.

Hiroshima doctors return from N. Korea

Hiroshima doctors return from N. Korea

BEIJING, China - Shizuteru Usui, president of the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association, speaks to reporters at Beijing international airport in China on Oct. 15, 2011, upon arriving there from Pyongyang. A group of doctors from Hiroshima Prefecture went to North Korea to survey survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki who currently reside in North Korea.

Hiroshima doctors in Pyongyang

Hiroshima doctors in Pyongyang

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Shizuteru Usui, president of the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association, speaks in Pyongyang on Oct. 12, 2011. Usui stressed the need to provide support for survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of two Japanese cities who currently reside in North Korea.

Hiroshima doctors arrive in N. Korea

Hiroshima doctors arrive in N. Korea

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Shizuteru Usui (front), president of the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association, arrives in Pyongyang via Beijing on Oct. 11, 2011. Usui and other member doctors of the group are scheduled to stay in North Korea until Oct. 15 to conduct medical checks for North Koreans who were in Hiroshima at the time of the 1945 atomic bombing and were exposed to radiation in the western Japanese city.

Hiroshima doctors arrive in N. Korea

Hiroshima doctors arrive in N. Korea

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Shizuteru Usui (L), president of the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association, is seen in Pyongyang shortly after arriving via Beijing on Oct. 11, 2011. Usui and other member doctors of the group are scheduled to stay in North Korea until Oct. 15 to conduct medical checks for North Koreans who were in Hiroshima at the time of the 1945 atomic bombing and were exposed to radiation in the western Japanese city.

Hiroshima doctors to examine A-bomb victims in N. Korea

Hiroshima doctors to examine A-bomb victims in N. Korea

BEIJING, China - Shizuteru Usui (R), president of the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association, is pictured at Beijing airport en route to North Korea on Oct. 11, 2011. A medical delegation led by Usui plans to conduct medical checkups for North Koreans who survived the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Hiroshima doctors leave for N. Korea

Hiroshima doctors leave for N. Korea

HIROSHIMA, Japan - Shizuteru Usui (R front), president of the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association, and other member doctors of the group are seen at Hiroshima airport on Oct. 10, 2011, shortly before departure for Beijing. They are scheduled to arrive in Pyongyang on Oct. 11 for a five-day stay to conduct medical checkups for North Koreans who were in Hiroshima at the time of 1945 atomic attack on the city and exposed to radiation.

Filipinos celebrate national hero who briefly visited Japan

Filipinos celebrate national hero who briefly visited Japan

MANILA, Philippines - Photo taken June 16, 2011, at the Philippine National Library in Manila, shows a portrait on display there of Seiko Usui, more commonly known to Filipinos as O-Sei-san, the Japanese love interest of the Philippines' national hero Jose Rizal, who visited Japan from Feb. 28 to April 13, 1888. The Philippines celebrated the 150th anniversary of Rizal's birth on June 19, 2011.

Seiko Epson sponsors Man U

Seiko Epson sponsors Man U

MANCHESTER, England - Minoru Usui (R, front), president of Seiko Epson Corp., poses with players of Manchester United in the English Premier League for a photo in Manchester on Nov. 26, 2010. The Japanese printer maker has struck a sponsorship contract with the popular football club.

Body found on mountain confirmed as 'Crayon Shinchan' cartoonist

Body found on mountain confirmed as 'Crayon Shinchan' cartoonist

TOKYO, Japan - A helicopter from the Gunma Prefectural Police recovers a body found on 1,423-meter-high Mt. Arafune straddling Gunma and Nagano prefectures on Sept. 20, 2009. The body was later confirmed as that of Yoshihito Usui, cartoonist of the popular ''Crayon Shinchan'' series adapted for TV and film.

Japan's new vice finance minister meets the press

Japan's new vice finance minister meets the press

TOKYO, Japan - Japan's newly appointed Vice Finance Minister Nobuaki Usui expresses his determination July 8 to restore lost trust in the Finance Ministry in the wake of a string of bribery and other scandals. Photo shows Usui (R) shaking hands with his predecessor Koji Tanami at a press conference at the ministry.

Body found on mountain confirmed as 'Crayon Shinchan' cartoonist

Body found on mountain confirmed as 'Crayon Shinchan' cartoonist

TOKYO, Japan - A helicopter from the Gunma Prefectural Police recovers a body found on 1,423-meter-high Mt. Arafune straddling Gunma and Nagano prefectures on Sept. 20, 2009. The body was later confirmed as that of Yoshihito Usui, cartoonist of the popular ''Crayon Shinchan'' series adapted for TV and film. (Kyodo)

Hiroshima doctors return from N. Korea

Hiroshima doctors return from N. Korea

HIROSHIMA, Japan - A medical delegation led by Shizuteru Usui (L), president of the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association, arrives at Hiroshima airport in western Japan on Oct. 16, 2011. The doctors returned home after interviewing survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki who now live in North Korea. (Kyodo)

Hiroshima doctors return from N. Korea

Hiroshima doctors return from N. Korea

BEIJING, China - Shizuteru Usui, president of the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association, speaks to reporters at Beijing international airport in China on Oct. 15, 2011, upon arriving there from Pyongyang. A group of doctors from Hiroshima Prefecture went to North Korea to survey survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki who currently reside in North Korea. (Kyodo)

Horishima doctors in Pyongyang

Horishima doctors in Pyongyang

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Shizuteru Usui, president of the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association, speaks in Pyongyang on Oct. 12, 2011. Usui stressed the need to provide support for survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of two Japanese cities who currently reside in North Korea. (Kyodo)

CORRECTED Hiroshima doctors in Pyongyang

CORRECTED Hiroshima doctors in Pyongyang

PYONGYANG, North Korea - CORRECTING HEADLINE Shizuteru Usui, president of the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association, speaks in Pyongyang on Oct. 12, 2011. Usui stressed the need to provide support for survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings who currently reside in North Korea. (Kyodo)

Hiroshima doctors in Pyongyang

Hiroshima doctors in Pyongyang

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Shizuteru Usui, president of the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association, speaks in Pyongyang on Oct. 12, 2011. Usui stressed the need to provide support for survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of two Japanese cities who currently reside in North Korea. (Kyodo)

Hiroshima doctors arrive in N. Korea

Hiroshima doctors arrive in N. Korea

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Shizuteru Usui (L), president of the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association, is seen in Pyongyang shortly after arriving via Beijing on Oct. 11, 2011. Usui and other member doctors of the group are scheduled to stay in North Korea until Oct. 15 to conduct medical checks for North Koreans who were in Hiroshima at the time of the 1945 atomic bombing and were exposed to radiation in the western Japanese city. (Kyodo)

Hiroshima doctors arrive in N. Korea

Hiroshima doctors arrive in N. Korea

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Shizuteru Usui (front), president of the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association, arrives in Pyongyang via Beijing on Oct. 11, 2011. Usui and other member doctors of the group are scheduled to stay in North Korea until Oct. 15 to conduct medical checks for North Koreans who were in Hiroshima at the time of the 1945 atomic bombing and were exposed to radiation in the western Japanese city. (Kyodo)

Hiroshima doctors to examine A-bomb victims in N. Korea

Hiroshima doctors to examine A-bomb victims in N. Korea

BEIJING, China - Shizuteru Usui (R), president of the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association, is pictured at Beijing airport en route to North Korea on Oct. 11, 2011. A medical delegation led by Usui plans to conduct medical checkups for North Koreans who survived the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima. (Kyodo)

Hiroshima doctors leave for N. Korea

Hiroshima doctors leave for N. Korea

HIROSHIMA, Japan - Shizuteru Usui (R front), president of the Hiroshima Prefectural Medical Association, and other member doctors of the group are seen at Hiroshima airport on Oct. 10, 2011, shortly before departure for Beijing. They are scheduled to arrive in Pyongyang on Oct. 11 for a five-day stay to conduct medical checkups for North Koreans who were in Hiroshima at the time of 1945 atomic attack on the city and exposed to radiation. (Kyodo)

Daibutsu (the Great Buddha),Ueno

Daibutsu (the Great Buddha),Ueno

The Great Buddha at Daibutsuyama, Ueno Shinobazugaoka. The lack of temple housing indicates that the photograph was taken after 1873, probably around 1882 in view of the fact that the photographer is Usui Shuzaburo. The path in front of the Buddha to the left leads to Ueno Seiyoken Restaurant, which opened in April 1873 as the second location of Tsukiji Seiyoken of Kyobashi Unemecho. A sign saying Seiyoken Annex is visible to the left of the path. The street in the foreground is Kuromon Dori (Black Gate Street). The grove on the right is Toshogu-no-Mori.==Date:unknown, Place:Tokyo, Photo:Usui Shuzaburo, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number94‐47‐0]

A tattooed man

A tattooed man

This is a photograph of a tattooed man from the album by Usui Shuzaburo. The tattoo design seems to have been painted over the original design because it is the same pattern as the clothes the subject is holding. It is not clear whether the tattoo design shown is identical to the original design.==Date:unknown, Place:unknown, Photo:Usui Shuzaburo, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number94‐41‐0]

Matsuzakaya Inn at the Ashinoyu Spa

Matsuzakaya Inn at the Ashinoyu Spa

Matsuzakaya Inn at the Ashinoyu Spa==Date:unknown, Place:Hakone, Photo:Usui Shuzaburo, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images)

A priest

A priest

This is a photograph from an album by Usui Shuzaburo. The caption written in pencil says, Japanese Priest. The priest is wearing a kesa robe with white tabi socks and is holding a hossu brush.==Date:unknown, Place:unknown, Photo:Usui Shuzaburo, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number94‐22‐0]

The Great Bell, Hokoji Temple

The Great Bell, Hokoji Temple

The big bell of Hokoji Temple placed on stone blocks is viewed from the east. A wooden fence surrounds the bell, and two men are standing nearby. The Nishiyama mountains are faintly visible in the background. The big bell was made at the time of the reconstruction of the temple by Toyotomi Hideyori in 1614. It is said to have been 4.5m high, 2.8m in diameter, 28cm thick and about 8.3 tons in weight. This was taken by photographer Usui Shuzaburo of Yokohama sometime before July 1882.==Date:unknown, Place:Kyoto, Photo:Usui Shuzaburo, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number94‐19‐0]

An unusual rock,Mt. Myogi

An unusual rock,Mt. Myogi

Mt. Myogi, one of the three mountains of Kamige, is famous for its mysterious rock formations. Today it is a national park. This rock formation is called Daiichi-Sekimon (First Stone Gate) and can be viewed from the car window even today. There are four such stone gates.==Date:unknown, Place:Gunma, Photo:Usui Shuzaburo?, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number65‐36‐0]

Daibutsu (the Great Buddha) of Kamakura

Daibutsu (the Great Buddha) of Kamakura

Like photographs #2748 and #3132, this is thought to have been taken between 1877 and 1887 when the reconstruction of the building was underway. However, no donors' signboards are visible. Also, there is a temporary shack on the lower right of the statue, but it is empty. This photograph may have been taken by Usui Shuzaburo (a 19th-century photographer in Yokohama). The Great Buddha is an object of worship and climbing upon it is prohibited today.==Date:unknown, Place:Kamakura, Photo:Usui Shuzaburo?, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number65‐6‐0]

The trademark of Yokohama Photo Studio

The trademark of Yokohama Photo Studio

The Yokohama Photograph Company was established at No.16 in the foreign settlement in 1884 by Usui Shuzaburo (an apprentice of Shimooka Renjo)and his partner David Welsh. Usui seems to have been in charge of taking the photographs while Welsh took care of marketing. The name of art dealer Deakin Brothers is written on the sail of the boat in the centre. The two companies were located next to each other on the same lot.==Date:unknown, Place:Yokohama, Photo:Usui Shuzaburo?, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number65‐1‐0]

In front of Seiyo-ken Restaurant,Ueno Park

In front of Seiyo-ken Restaurant,Ueno Park

The smaller size of the cherry trees on the right indicates that this photograph was taken some time before photographs #2425 and 2651. However, the date is later than photograph #4799 by Usui Shuzaburo because the cherry trees have grown. The sign board of the Seiyoken Annex faces in a direction different from that in photograph #4799. Insho-tei appears in a 1891stone print by Katsuyama Eizaburo, but since the cherry trees are somewhat taller in that print, this photograph was probably taken around 1887.==Date:unknown, Place:Tokyo, Photo:unknown, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number64‐53‐0]

A teahouse at Oji

A teahouse at Oji

The cooks and waitresses are intentionally posing for this photograph believed to have been taken by Usui Shuzaburo, an apprentice to Shimooka Renjo. Ogiya Restaurant was also known for its expertise in cooking. Take-out Kamayaki Tamago (Pan Baked Egg Omelet) gained special popularity. This dish is famous to this day. Taken between 1877 and 1887 (second decade of the Meiji Period).==Date:unknown, Place:Tokyo, Photo:unknown, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number53‐33‐0]

Nakasendo Matsuida Inns from Usui River

Nakasendo Matsuida Inns from Usui River

The Usui River which originates from Mt. Komochi to the east of Usui range on the former Nakasendo. The houses of Matsuida juku can be seen. The center fore may be a broken bridge. A man fishes with his pole. Usui River is famous for fishing ayu (sweetfish) to the present day.==Date:unknown, Place:Gunma, Photo:Kusakabe Kinbei, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number38‐55‐0]

Usui Pass from Nakasendo Sakamoto Inns

Usui Pass from Nakasendo Sakamoto Inns

Sakamoto juku is located at the eastern foot of the range, and the 600 meters distance from here (500 meters above sea level) to the range is a climb of 450 meters. Hotels line along the road with a width of 15 meters. The mountain that looks like a pile of rocks is the Funzan. This path leads to Usui Range.==Date:unknown, Place:Gunma, Photo:Kusakabe Kinbei, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number38‐54‐0]

Nakasendo Usui Pass

Nakasendo Usui Pass

The range on the former Nakasendo, on the borders of Sakamoto of Matsuida-cho in Gunma prefecture and Karuizawa of Karuizawa-cho in Nagano Prefecture. It was an important cross road connecting the Kinai and Kanto areas via Shinshu. Because it was a difficult path, a new Usui range road was built, starting in 1884 and completing in 1886. Three waitresses look in the direction of the camera in front of the tea house to the right.==Date:unknown, Place:Gunma, Photo:Kusakabe Kinbei, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number38‐53‐0]

Mt. Asama from Nakasendo Karuisawa

Mt. Asama from Nakasendo Karuisawa

A view of the Mt. Asama from Karuizawa coming down west from Sakamoto juku on the Nakasendo over the Usui Range. Karuizawa prospered with its restaurants, but it was devastated in the explosion of Mt. Asama in 1783. As the new Usui Range road opens in the Meiji era, the village declines.==Date:unknown, Place:Nagano, Photo:Kusakabe Kinbei, (Credit:Nagasaki University Library/Kyodo News Images) [Cabinet Number38‐52‐0]