Yasuhiko Asahina
Yasuhiko Asahina | |
|---|---|
 Yasuhiko Asahina, 1959 | |
| Born | April 16, 1881 |
| Died | June 30, 1975(aged 94) |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Alma mater | University of Tokyo |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Lichenology |
| Institutions | University of Tokyo |
| Notable students | Syo Kurokawa |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | Asahina |
Yasuhiko Asahina( triều bỉ nại thái ngạnAsahina Yasuhiko;April 16, 1881 – June 30, 1975) was a Japanese chemist andlichenologist.
Early life
[edit]During his childhood, Asahina developed an interest in plants. In 1902, he enrolled in the School of Pharmacy atTokyo Imperial University,where he graduated in 1905. Asahina stayed at the university to research the chemical principles ofChinese traditional medicineunderJunichiro Shimoyama.His first paper, on styracitol isolation fromStyrax obassia,was published in 1907. In 1909, Asahina traveled toZürichto studyphytochemistryunderRichard Willstätter.He continued his research on chlorophyll until 1912 when he moved toBerlin.He spent three months in Germany working in ProfessorEmil Fischer's laboratoryon a styracitol experiment.[1]
Career
[edit]Upon his return to Tokyo, Asahina accepted an associate professor position at Tokyo Imperial University. For the next decade, Asahina was devoted to researching traditional and folk medicines of China and Japan. In 1925, he shifted his focus tolichens.[1]He had trouble identifying the lichens he wished to research, as at the time,Atsushi Yasudawas the only lichenologist in Japan.[2]Asahina realized that somemorphologicallyidentical lichens contained different chemical compounds. Asahina developed a method ofthallinecolor reaction and themicrocrystal testof lichen metabolites. He utilized this chemical identification fortaxonomicdifferentiation of these lichens.[1]Using this method, he helped clean up the taxonomy of the genusCladonia.He also studied many other genera in Japan, most notablyAlectoria,Anzia,Cetraria,Lobaria,Parmelia,Ramalina,andUsnea.[2]The technique was taught toAlexander William Evans,who introduced it to Western technologists in 1943.[1]
Asahina retired from the University of Tokyo in 1941. In 1954, he founded theJapanese Society for History of Pharmacy(Nihon Yakushi Gakkai,Nhật bổn dược sử học hội ).[3]Asahina continued his research at his private laboratory until he died in 1975.[1]He distributed theexsiccataseriesLichenes Japoniae exsiccati[4]
Awards
[edit]Asahina was awarded theImperial Prize of the Japan Academyin 1923 for his contribution to research on Chinese drug principles.[1]In 1943, he received theOrder of Culture.[5]
Legacy
[edit]Syoziro Asahina,notable entomologist, was Asahina's son.[6]The lichen genusAsahineawas named in honour of Yasuhiko Asahina.[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcdefShibata, S. (2000). Yasuhiko Asahina (1880-1975) and His Studies on Lichenology and Chemistry of Lichen Metabolites. The Bryologist, 103(4), 710-719. Retrieved fromhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/3244334
- ^abSyo Kurokawa:Yasuhiko Asahina (1881-1975),The Lichenologist, Band 8, 1976, S. 93–94,pdf
- ^"Welcom to JSHP".
- ^"Lichenes Japoniae exsiccati: IndExs ExsiccataID=349661827".IndExs - Index of Exsiccatae.Botanische Staatssammlung München.Retrieved26 May2024.
- ^Harota, N. (2016). History of Modern Chemistry. Balwyn North Victoria: Trans Pacific Press.
- ^Tsukané Yamasaki: In Memoriam: Syoziro Asahina (1913–2010). In: Species Diversity. Band 16, 2011, S. 81–83.
- ^Culberson, William Louis; Culberson, Chicita F. (1965). "Asahinea,a new genus in the Parmeliaceae ".Brittonia.17(2): 182–191.doi:10.2307/2805243.JSTOR2805243.S2CID3579087.
- ^International Plant Names Index.Asahina.
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