was a Japanese

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

who served as a professor

emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

Kyoto University , or , is a National university, national research university in Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 1897, it is one of the former Imperial Universities and the second oldest university in Japan. The university has ten undergraduate faculties, eighteen gra ...

and as president of the Primate Society of Japan. He is considered a founder of the discipline of Japanese

primatology Primatology is the scientific study of non-human primates. It is a diverse discipline at the boundary between mammalogy and anthropology, and researchers can be found in academic departments of anatomy, anthropology, biology, medicine, psychol ...

Biography

Junichiro Itani was born at Tottori. His father, Kenzo Itani, was a

Yōga is a style of artistic painting in Japan, typically of Japanese subjects, themes, or landscapes, but using Western (European) artistic conventions, techniques, and materials. The term was coined in the Meiji period (1868–1912) to distingui ...

painter. He entered

, Faculty of Science. He majored

ethology Ethology is a branch of zoology that studies the behavior, behaviour of non-human animals. It has its scientific roots in the work of Charles Darwin and of American and German ornithology, ornithologists of the late 19th and early 20th cen ...

under Kinji Imanishi. He received BS in March 1951, and became a researcher at Japan Monkey Centre, Inuyama, Aichi. He observed the society of

Japanese macaque The Japanese macaque (''Macaca fuscata''), also known as the snow monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species that is native to Japan. Colloquially, they are referred to as "snow monkeys" because some live in areas where snow covers the g ...

at Takasakiyama Natural Zoological Garden. In 1962, he submitted his doctoral dissertation titled ''"Communication of wild Japanese macaque"(野生ニホンザルのコミュニケーションに関する研究)''. He became an assistant professor at

, Faculty of Science in October 1962, and was promoted to professor in 1981. He founded the Primate Research Institute and the Center for African Area Studies at that university in 1986, and he served as the first chief of the latter center until his retirement. He retired from Kyoto University in 1990, and became a professor at Kobe Gakuin University (until 1998). He died at age 75 of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. As with most Japanese primatologists, his early research was on

s ''(Macaca fuscata)'', but most of his career focused on African primates, especially

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (; ''Pan troglodytes''), also simply known as the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close rel ...

s (''Pan troglodytes''). He started research in Africa in 1958. The majority of his work was based around the social structures of primate society.

Awards

Asahi Prize The , established in 1929, is an award presented by the Japanese newspaper ''Asahi Shimbun'' and Asahi Shimbun Foundation to honor individuals and groups that have made outstanding accomplishments in the fields of arts and academics and have greatl ...

(1968) *The Huxley Award in Anthropology(

Royal Anthropological Institute The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is a long-established anthropological organisation, and Learned Society, with a global membership. Its remit includes all the component fields of anthropology, such as biolo ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. (1984) * Medals of Honor (Japan)(Medal with Purple Ribbon) (1992) * Order of the Sacred Treasure

Books available in English

* ''Japanese Monkeys in Takasakiyama'' (1954) * ''Hominid culture in primate perspective'' / Duane Quiatt and Junichiro Itani, editors (1994) * ''A Comparative study of ecological anthropology in tropical Africa '' * ''Great Ape Societies'' by William C McGrew; Linda F Marchant; Toshisada Nishida;

Jane Goodall Dame Jane Morris Goodall (; born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall; 3 April 1934), formerly Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, is an English zoologist, Primatology, primatologist and Anthropology, anthropologist. She is considered the world's foremo ...

and Junichiro Itani

Relatives

*Father: Kenzo Itani(伊谷賢蔵) was a

painter. He studied at Higher Technical School, Kyoto. He learned

under Jutaro Kuroda. He lived as a painter and taught painting at Kyoto University of Education. *Son: Genichi Itani (伊谷原一) is an

(

). He worked at Primate Research Institute *Son: Juichi Itani (伊谷樹一) is an

agriculturist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.) is a professional in the Agricultural science, science, practice, and management of Farming, agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Itani, Junichiro 1926 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Japanese zoologists Primatologists Japanese mammalogists Academic staff of Kyoto University Kyoto University alumni Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Scientists from Tottori Prefecture