Marine Hall Of Distinction: Yoichirō 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 month series. This series is published 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 month's article, is Yoichiro Hirase. Yoichiro Hirase is a Japanese Malacologist, & businessman. He is widely considered to be the first of the great Japanese Malacolgists. He together with his son, Shintarō Hirase, assembled the second-largest collection of molluscs, ever. We published an article on his son, Shintarō Hirase, on September 15th of 2023. His collection at its largest was 8,000 specimens. After Yoichiro’s death, his son inherited the Hirase Collection, & continued it. His Son managed to grow it to 15,000 at its largest. He was also the founder of Hirase’s Conchological Magazine, & Hirase’s Conchological Museum. Copies of Hirase’s Conchological Magazine can be found online today, most notably through this link: https://archive.org. Yoichiro was also a mentor of Tokubei Koruda, another famous Japanese malacologist. Unfortunately, there isn’t much information on his personal life, so certain parts of this article will not be very fleshed out. Hirase’s research caused approximately 27 species of marine shellfish to be named in his honour, & his enthusiasm for malacology is not forgotten. 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 Yoichiro Hirase.
His Early Life & Education
Yoichiro Hirase was born on December fourth of 1859. He was born on Awaji Island, in the Hyōgo Prefecture, located in the south of Japan. He was born the eldest son of a wealthy family. As a child, he was said to be physically weak, but very intelligent.
His Later Life & Career
At the beginning of his Career, he was not in the field of malacology. He started off a trader, selling poultry, seeds, & avicultural products. He first began in the field of selling, & trading shells in 1898, at the age of 39. In 1901, he hired Tokubei Kuroda as a houseboy. He originally hired Tokubei to clean his large house, & watch the children during the day, but seeing promise in this young man, he paid him to go to school & learn English in night classes. Hirase also arranged for him to learn systematics biology. The fellow excelled in these subjects, & soon became pivotal to the founding of the Hirase Shell Museum, which was opened in 1913. Kuroda became Hirase’s secretary, & handled the majority of correspondence with other researchers, & scientists. Kuroda also helped to establish Hirase’s Conchological Magazine. Unfortunately, the museum closed after only 6 years due to Hirase’s Illness, & due to financial pressure from World War I. From 1898 to 1925, he amassed a collection of 8,000 shells. He personally didn’t usually go on missions to get them himself, instead getting a team of field dealers together & having them get the specimens. Unfortunately, on May 25th of 1925, Yoichiro Hirase passed away. His legacy in the world of Malacology will never be forgotten, & his contributions will be remembered.
His Awards, Achievements, Honourables, & Accomplishments
He had approximately 27 marine biological species named after him.
He assembled the largest mollusc collection in the world, which grew to 15,000 at its largest.
He opened Hirase’s Conchological Museum, which was one of the first shell museums in Japan, & most certainly sparked public interest in the topic.
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 15th, 2023.
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