father of Japanese plant botany Makino Tomitaro born April 24, 1862
The father of Japanese plant botany and publisher of Botanical Magazine Tokyo, Makino Tomitaro, was born April 24, 1862.
Dr. Tomitaro Makino discovered the flower growing along on a natural path through a field in 1884. He named the flower nojigiku, which means “chrysanthemum along a wild path.” It’s famous among all the flowers associated with Makino as a quintessential autumn flower.
Botanical Art of Tomitaro Makino – Hobonichi Techo 2020
Makino Tomitaro’s 150th Birthday
Stigmatodactylus sikokianus
Calypso bulbosa
Himekirinso
Tricyrtis ishiiana
Viburnum dilatatum
Issued 2012
Designer Rika Hoshiyama used Makino’s own artwork for this set
In 1881, at the age of 19, Makino took his first trip to Tokyo to marvel at the nation’s Second National Industrial Exhibition. While there, he also dropped in on lectures held at the Museum Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce to learn about the latest developments in the field of botany. Such was the impact of the trip that Makino decided to move to the capital in 1884, with the sole goal of pursuing his interest in botany at the University of Tokyo. Makino devoted himself to his studies, where he showed enormous talent for illustrating his finds, copying their likeliness as well as any photo could. Within a few years of arriving, he launched the Botanical Magazine Tokyo, a journal well-respected to this day.
Tomitaro Makino: Grafting Western Science with Japan’s Natural World — Deeper Japan
Learn more:
Makino Botanical Garden Top Page
Botanical Art of Tomitaro Makino – Hobonichi Techo 2020
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