SUNTORY INSTITUTE FOR BIOORGANIC RESEARCH

I was at the First Naval Fuel Depot in Ofuna on August 15th, 1945, the day that Japan surrendered. I had been a student at Osaka University’s School of Science, but due to the war I was forced to graduate before I had completed my studies, after which I served in the Navy, where as a technical officer I was engaged in research on butanol. As Japan’s fortunes declined as the war progressed, we had to a certain degree prepared ourselves for what seemed inevitable, but when Japan was finally defeated, all of our work was suddenly reduced to nothing. We were at a loss for what to do.

After demobilization I returned to Osaka, where I was to help my father run the family business. When I first entered high school, my plan was to devote my life to the modernization of agriculture in Japan as a scientist in the field, but due to the sudden and tragic death of my elder brother, it was decided that in his place I would carry on the family business, which was called Kotobukiya at the time.

It has always been my belief that it is incumbent upon postwar Japan to contribute to peace and prosperity in the world through academic and cultural endeavors. Due to circumstances beyond my control I was forced to abandon my dream of becoming a full-time researcher and I found myself in the world of business, but I nonetheless maintained the earnest desire to realize my earlier ideals in some form or another, so I began coming up with ideas that would allow me to do so. I wanted to create a unique center where talented researchers genuinely passionate about the pursuit of truth could come together, decide for themselves the types of research they want to do, and freely devote themselves to it. By coincidence, Yoshio Hirose, who had also been a student of Professor Munio Kotake, had been stationed to the same Fuel Depot as I. Based on his own experiences as a student in Germany, Professor Kotake, a world-renowned authority on organic chemistry, exhorted us students to “Always try something new (‘Etwas Neues’).” When I confided my ideas to Mr. Hirose and we began talking about our dreams of doing research, we both immediately remembered Professor Kotake’s insistence on “Etwas Neues”, which brought back nostalgic and fond memories of our time as students.

In February of 1946, the Institute of Food Chemistry was established as a foundation, with Professor Kotake as Director and Mr. Hirose as a member.

The half century that has passed since then has seen an expansion in staff and facilities at the Suntory Institute for Bioorganic Research (as it was renamed in 1979). Topics of research have progressed from classical fields like the chemistry of organic natural products to burgeoning new interdisciplinary areas. Thanks in large measure to the leadership and tutelage of Dr. Koji Nakanishi, the postdoctoral fellowship system has taken hold and done much to help research fellows make significant breakthroughs.

It is my sincere wish that the Institute, by facilitating free and lively scientific pursuits, continues to produce numerous talented people and valuable discoveries, thereby contributing to the advancement of humankind.