Name: Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉 とよとみひでよし)
Dates: 1536-1598
Biography: Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a powerful daimyo (leader or warlord) who brought the Civil War (Sengoku) era to an end by unifying Japan under his rule. According to some scholars, he had an extra thumb on his right hand. Toyotomi Hideyoshi built the famous green-roofed castle in Osaka, where his crest remains the symbol of Osaka Prefecture to this day.
Additional reading: Wikipedia (English), Wikipedia (日本語).
From Bricks to Bothans Forums user jp-30 has posted some quite wonderful Indiana Jones minifigs. What sets these apart is the presentation (nudge nudge, folks!) — good photography combined with nice image manipulation.
Total awesomeness. Here’s the full gallery on Photobucket.com.
Mark Stafford, of Cthulego fame, has built some great minifig-scale characters using regular parts instead of minifig pieces (previous post).
Recent updates include a “Clockwork Knight:”
And a “Sea Knight:”
Name: Katou Danzou (加藤段藏 かとうだんぞう)
Dates: 1503-1569
Biography: Nicknamed “Flying Katou” (「飛び加藤」), this legendary ninja is shrouded in mystery. One legend says that he swallowed a bull in front of a crowd of people.
Further reading: Wikipedia (Japanese only).
Name: Oda Nobunaga (織田信長 おだのぶなが)
Dates: 1534-1582
Biography: One of the fiercest and most feared daimyo of the Civil War (Sengoku) era in Japanese history. Born to a regional nobleman, Nobunaga spent most of his life as a warrior. By the time he died (by his own hand, after being surrounded by enemy forces), he had conquered nearly all of Japan.
Additional reading: Wikipedia (English), Wikipedia (日本語).
Moko posted this a while ago, but I’ve been waiting for it to appear on Brickshelf:
On one end of the belief spectrum, we have my Aztec, Norse, and Greek minifigs. On the other end, we have a bunch of communists.
First up, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin:
Next, Leon Trotsky, Maxim Gorky, and Joseph Stalin:
Ho Chi Minh, Mao Zedong, and Kim Jong Il:
Karl Marx and Frederick Engels:
Finally, Ernesto “Che” Guevarra:
For those of you just joining us (welcome, BoingBoingers!), my other blog, Pan-Pacific Bricks, features cool LEGO creations from the many LEGO builders in Japan, along with a few of my own Japanese-themed creations. (I was born and raised in Japan.)
NOTE (2/25/06): Although I’m in the process of migrating my images to Flickr, there are still a fair amount of images hosted on a site called Brickshelf, which appears to be unstable at the moment. Check back later if you don’t see pictures in this post. (This is definitely going to make me switch to Flickr.)
My most recent set of creations is a series of minifigs based on historical and legendary people from Japan. Click the thumbnails to read more on Pan-Pacific Bricks:
Name: Kukai (空海) / Kobo Daishi (弘法大師 こうぼうだいし)
Dates: 774-835
Biography: Known after his death as Kobo Daishi, Kukai was the founder of Shingon-shu, one of the major sects of Japanese Buddhism. In 804, Kukai traveled to China, where he studied under Hui-kuo. Kukai returned to Japan in 806, bearing religious texts from various faiths. He founded a monastery at Mt. Koya outside Kyoto, where he was buried upon his death, and which continues to be the headquarters for Shingon Buddhism to this day.
Further reading:
Wikipedia (English), Wikipedia (日本語), Shingon Buddhist Int’l, Koyasan.org.
Name: Hattori Hanzou (服部半蔵 はっとりはんぞう)
Dates: 1541-1596
Biography: Member of the famous Iga Ninja clan, little is known about this mysterious man.
Further reading: Wikipedia (English), Wikipedia (日本語), Real Ultimate Power, Ninja Village
I’ve enjoyed Jamie Neufeld’s minifig creations for some time, and I’m pleased to see that he’s still creating new characters:
Be sure to check out his other steampunk LEGO creations, including a steam-powered boat and giant wheel:
Joe discovers that there are grave consequences for foreigners who fail to remove their shoes upon entering a Japanese home.
(The image is a link to the gallery, when public. “Gaijin” means “foreigner” in Japanese.)