Marine Hall Of Distinction: Shintarō Hirase
This article is a part of our collection known as the Marine Hall Of Distinction. It is a different series from our main monthly series & has no connection to the main monthly series. In this special collection we will discuss marine biologists who we feel have served marine biology & oceanography the most. We do this in order to commemorate these marine biologists & to show gratitude for everything they have contributed to our oceans. This collection has no relation to the main months series. This series publishes on the 25th of every month, shortly after our article on the oceanic environment of a certain region on the 20th. Our marine biologist for this months article, is Shintarō Hirase, the formalizer of malacology. He has also been dubbed “Japans foremost malacologist” of the 20th Century. Shintarō Hirase is a Japanese Malacologist, who had one of the largest collections of molluscs in world history. He is most well known for his work titled “A Collection Of Japanese Shells With Illustrations & Colours”, which contains over 1,360 shells. He was a pioneer in the field of Malacology along with his Father, Yoichirō Hirase, who was also a Malacologist. Before he began in the field, Malacology was an extremely underdeveloped field in Japan. In his wake, he left an admirable legacy, as well as a tremendous effect on marine biology. In this article we will discuss his early life & education, his later life & career, & finally his awards, honourables, achievements & accomplishments. With that being said, let us delve into the life of Shintarō Hirase.
His Early Life & Education
Hirase was born on February 28th of 1884, at Hukura, on Awaji Island, Japan, He was born the eldest son of Yoichirō Hirase, a Malacologist & Businessman. Shortly after he was born, he moved from Awaji Island to Kyoto. It was here were his father opened his shell shop, “Hirase Shoten”. Though Hirase grew up around his fathers mollusc collection, as a young man he did not have much of an interest in shells. He graduated from Third College, & took psychology courses at Kyoto Imperial University, which is the second oldest university in Japan. In 1914 Hirase Shell Museum Opened, which was a collection of sea shells from Japans various islands gathered by Shintarō & His Father, Yoichirō. In 1914 he enrolled in a zoology course with the Faculty of Science at Tokyo Imperial University. He got his masters degree from Tokyo Imperial University in 1917, & continued to do post doctoral work studying molluscs at the university until 1922.
His Later Life & Career
In 1918, he began publishing essays on shellfish anatomy, taxonomy, ecology, & bivalves in general. Unfortunately soon after, Hirase Shell Museum fell onto hard times. This caused him to choose the path of being a professor, & a malacologist. While still attending his Graduate School, he began lecturing on natural sciences in Meiji University. He also began working as an instructor at Hosei University, & in Secondary Schools that are affiliated with Seikei University. As a professor, he was said to be tolerant, calm, respectful, & humane. He was said to also root many of his classes in philosophy & literature. Similar to his father, he was a man of sophisticated taste & style. He was said to enjoy music, play piano & clarinet, & to enjoy foreign novels in their purest forms. He was at the very least bilingual, & possibly a polyglot. He also enjoyed Nihonga Paintings, & purchased many of these paintings. In 1927, shortly before his death, he described Oscanius Testudinarius Hirase, a species of Hirase died while working at his desk, on a collection of shell illustrations. His last words were, “Give the cockscomb pearl mussels some water, please, so their nerves do not dry out”. This shows that even in the very end, what mattered most was his molluscs. He passed away on September 9th of 1929, at age 55, due to short kidney disease. His obituary was published in the Malacological Society of London. His collection at its largest, was 15,000 specimens. After the bombings some of his specimens were transferred to the Research Institute For Natural Resources In Tokyo, but the majority were still stored at his home. Unfortunately, due to the bombings in Japan, the majority of these specimens were completely destroyed. In 1936, he had the species Babylonia pallida Hirase & Berthella gotoi Hirase named after him. After 1948, the remainder of his collection was transferred to Research Institute for Natural Resources. Today, there are 5,000 specimens left from Hirase’s collection. In modern day, copies of his articles & collections are still available for purchase.
His Awards, Honourables, Achievements, & Accomplishments
He has about 6 different mollusc species named after him due to his massive impacts in the field.
He was the Co-Founded the Malacological Society of Japan, along with Tokubei Kuroda,
He alongside his father assembled the largest collection of Molluscs in the World.
Directories / Credits
Citation No. 1: “Kajin - Shell Men” Written By Unknown & Published on the 8th of March, 2018. Published by Living Culture - Lixil. Retrieval Date: September 13th, 2023.
Citation No. 2: “Shintaro Hirase” Written By Unknown & Published at an Unknown Date. Published By FamousScientists.org. Retrieval Date: September 13th, 2023.
Citation No. 3: “Shintaro Hirase Facts” Written By Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published By Soft Schools. Retrieval Date: September 13th, 2023.
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