Plurale: Yamas

God of the Underworld.
In Hindu mythology, god and judge of the dead. Believed to be the first person ever to die, he is portrayed in images riding on a black buffalo.

(1838-1922) Japanese soldier, politician, and prime minister 1889–91 and 1898–1900. As war minister 1873 and chief of the imperial general staff 1878, he was largely responsible for the modernization of the military system. He returned as chief of staff during the Russo-Japanese War 1904–05 and remained an influential political figure until he was disgraced in 1921 for having meddled in the marriage arrangements of the crown prince.

Plurale: Yamals

Peninsula NW Russia in Asia at N end of Ural Mountains between Gulf of Ob' and Kara Sea.

Plurale: Yamal Peninsulas

Peninsula in NW Siberian Russia, with gas reserves estimated at 6 trillion cu m/212 trillion cu ft; supplies are piped to W Europe.

(1943-) Japanese fashion designer. He formed his own company 1972 and showed his first collection 1976. He is an uncompromising, nontraditionalist designer who swathes and wraps the body in unstructured, loose, voluminous garments.

(1884-1943) Japanese admiral in World War II. Long convinced that Japan would eventually fight the US he began planning the attack on Pearl Harbor early 1940. After the raid he was quick to appreciate the significance of the US carrier force escaping the damage, and prepared plans to entrap and destroy them, but this backfired and instead he lost most of his own carriers in the Battle of Midway.
He was appointed chief of naval aviation 1938 and given command of the combined fleet 1939. He planned a series of naval offensives 1943 and set out on a tour of bases in the Solomon Islands to explain his strategy and raise morale. US forces intercepted signals giving his itinerary and shot down his aircraft 18 April 1943.

(1852-1933) Japanese admiral and politician. As prime minister 1913–14, he began Japanese expansion into China and initiated political reforms. He became premier again 1923 but resigned the following year.

Saudi Arabian minister of petroleum who was a central figure in the creation of OPEC (born in 1930)

Plurale: Yamasees

(1885-1946) Japanese general in World War II. He commanded the 25th Army in the invasion of Malaya and Singapore 1941, conducting a quick and effective campaign which earned him the title “Tiger of Malaya” in Japan. He was arrested for war crimes and executed 1946.
His success in Malaya angered the premier Tojo who thought Yamashita was seeking his place, and he was sent to Manchuria to command an army group. After Tojo fell from grace 1944, Yamashita was brought out of obscurity and sent to defend the Philippines. He conducted a skillful defensive campaign but was eventually forced to surrender after the Japanese capitulation Sept 1945.

Plurale: Yamassees

Plurale: Yamatos

Japanese battleship class of World War II, consisting of the Yamato and the Musashi. Designed to be bigger and more powerful than any other warship in the world, they displaced 64,170 tons, had a speed of 27 knots, armor 400 mm thick, carried nine 460 mm, twelve 155 mm, and twelve 127 mm guns, and had a crew of 2,500.
The Yamato appeared at the battles of Midway, the Philippine Sea, and Leyte Gulf, and was sunk by US carrier aircraft off the Japanese coast when en route to Okinawa 7 April 1945. The Musashi also saw action in the Philippine Sea and was sunk by torpedoes dropped by US aircraft during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, 24 Oct 1944.

Plurale: Yamatos

Name of several cities and towns in Japan; battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy; Yamato period, era in the history of Japan; Yamato Province which is the present day Nara Prefecture in Japan
(Japan) Ancient name of Japan and particularly the province of W Honshu where Japanese civilization began and where the early capitals were located; also the clan from which all emperors of Japan are descended, claiming the sun-goddess as ancestor. The Yamato period is often taken as AD 539–710 (followed by the Nara period).
According to legend, the Japanese empire dates from the conquest of the Yamato region by Emperor Jimmu 660 BC. Two chronicles, the Kojiki/Record of Ancient Matters 7th century and the Nihon shoki/Chronicles of Japan 720, give creation myths and annals of legendary and early historical reigns. The 29th emperor, Kimmei (reigned 539–71), is regarded as the first fully historical emperor. In the era of Prince Shotoku Taishi (574–622) and the Taika reform period 645–50, the Yamato rulers became greatly influenced by the culture of Tang dynasty China, notably Buddhism, Confucianism, and China’s bureaucratic system. In the mid-9th century the emperors ceded effective control of government to the Fujiwara clan and hardly ever ruled in their own right until the Meiji restoration 1868.