was a Japanese

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe ...

. He is known for being the first to isolate

epinephrine Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a hormone and medication which is involved in regulating visceral functions (e.g., respiration). It appears as a white microcrystalline granule. Adrenaline is normally produced by the adrenal glands and ...

in 1901.

Early life and education

Takamine was born in Takaoka,

Toyama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 1,044,588 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to th ...

, in November 1854. His father was a doctor; his mother a member of a family of ''

sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and ind ...

'' brewers. He spent his childhood in

Kanazawa is the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Overview Cityscape File:もてな ...

, capital of present-day

Ishikawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 (31 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefectu ...

in central

Honshū , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island ...

, and was educated in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ...

, and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, graduating from the

Tokyo Imperial University , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

in 1879. He did postgraduate work at

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

and Anderson College in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. He returned to Japan in 1883 and joined the division of chemistry at the newly established Department of Agriculture and Commerce. He learned English as a child from a Dutch family in

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in th ...

and so always spoke English with a Dutch accent. While in the US, Takamine was married to Caroline Field Hitch.Joan Bennet for Modern Drug Discovery. December, 2001
The Time Line: Adrenalin and cherry trees
/ref>

Career

Japan

Takamine continued to work for the department of agriculture and commerce until 1887. He then founded the

Tokyo Artificial Fertilizer Company is a Japanese company and constituent of the Nikkei 225 stock index. History The company was founded in 1887 as the Tokyo Jinzo Hiryo (Tokyo Artificial Fertilizer Company) by Jokichi Takamine, Eiichi Shibusawa and Takashi Masuda Baro ...

, where he later isolated the

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecule ...

takadiastase, an enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of

starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...

. Takamine developed his diastase from '' koji,'' a fungus used in the manufacture of soy sauce and ''

miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and ''kōji'' (the fungus ''Aspergillus oryzae'') and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients. It is used for sauces and spread ...

''. Its Latin name is ''

Aspergillus oryzae ''Aspergillus oryzae'', also known as , is a filamentous fungus (a mold) used in East Asia to saccharify rice, sweet potato, and barley in the making of alcoholic beverages such as '' sake'' and ''shōchū'', and also to ferment soybeans f ...

'', and it is a "designated national fungus" (''kokkin'') in Japan.Pulvers, Roger,
Jokichi Takamine: a man with fire in his belly whatever the odds
, ''

Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched b ...

'', June 28, 2009, p. 8. In 1899, Takamine was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Engineering by what is now the University of Tokyo.

United States

Takamine went as co-commissioner of the Cotton Exposition to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Lafcadio Hearn , born Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (; el, Πατρίκιος Λευκάδιος Χέρν, Patríkios Lefkádios Chérn, Irish: Pádraig Lafcadio O'hEarain), was an Irish-Greek- Japanese writer, translator, and teacher who introduced the culture an ...

and Caroline Hitch, his future wife. He later emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and established his own research laboratory in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

but licensed the exclusive production rights for Taka-diastase to one of the largest US pharmaceutical companies, Parke-Davis. This turned out to be a shrewd move - he became a millionaire in a relatively short time and by the early 20th century was estimated to be worth $30 million. In 1901 he isolated and purified the

hormone A hormone (from the Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs by complex biological processes to regulate physiology and behavior. Hormones are required ...

adrenaline Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a hormone and medication which is involved in regulating visceral functions (e.g., respiration). It appears as a white microcrystalline granule. Adrenaline is normally produced by the adrenal glands and ...

(the first effective bronchodilator for

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, c ...

) from animal glands, becoming the first to accomplish this for a glandular hormone. In 1894, Takamine applied for, and was granted, a patent titled "Process of Making Diastatic Enzyme" ()—the first patent on a microbial enzyme in the United States. In 1905 he founded the Nippon Club, which was for many years located at

161 West 93rd Street 161 West 93rd Street is a building on 93rd Street in Manhattan that was once the home of the Nippon Club, a gentlemen's club for Japanese Americans and Japanese nationals. The club, founded in 1905 by Jōkichi Takamine, first occupied a townhou ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

. Takamine devoted his life to maintaining goodwill between the U.S. and Japan. Many of the beautiful

cherry blossom A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of genus ''Prunus'' or ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especially in Japan. They generally ...

trees in the West Potomac Park surrounding the Tidal Basin in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

were donated by the

mayor of Tokyo The is the head of government of Tokyo. In 1943, upon the unification of Tokyo City and Tokyo Prefecture, the position of Governor was created. The current title was adopted in 1947 due to the enactment of the Local Autonomy Law. Overview The ...

(

Yukio Ozaki was a Japanese politician of liberal signature, born in modern-day Sagamihara, Kanagawa. Ozaki served in the House of Representatives of the Japanese Diet for 63 years (1890–1953). He is still revered in Japan as the "God of constitutional pol ...

) and Jokichi Takamine in 1912. The 1915 photo to the right presents Jōkichi Takamine as the host for a banquet honoring the visiting Japanese diplomat Baron Eiichi Shibusawa. This illustration is linked to Jōkichi Takamine's involvement in the gifting of the cherry blossom trees to Washington, D.C. in 1912, which has evolved into the

National Cherry Blossom Festival The National Cherry Blossom Festival is a spring celebration in Washington, D.C., commemorating the March 27, 1912, gift of Japanese cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo City to the city of Washington, D.C. Ozaki gave the trees to enhan ...

which is celebrated yearly. In 1904, the

Emperor Meiji , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...

of Japan honored Takamine with an unusual gift. In the context of the St. Louis World Fair (

Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $15 mil ...

), the Japanese government had replicated a historical Japanese structure, the "Pine and Maple Palace" (''Shofu-den''), modelled after the Kyoto Imperial Coronation Palace of 1,300 years ago. This structure was given to Dr. Takamine in grateful recognition of his efforts to further friendly relations between Japan and the United States. He had the structure transported in sections from

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

to his summer home in upstate New York, seventy-five miles north of

. In 1909, the structure served as a guest house for Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi and Princess Kuni of Japan, who were visiting the area. Although the property was sold in 1922, the reconstructed structure remained in its serene setting. In 2008, it still continues to be one of the undervalued tourist attractions of New York's Sullivan County. The Takamine home in Kanazawa can still be seen today. It was relocated to near the grounds of

Kanazawa Castle is a large, partially-restored Japanese castle in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. It is located adjacent to the celebrated Kenroku-en Garden, which once formed the castle's private outer garden. It was the headquarters of Kaga Domain, r ...

in 2001. On April 18, 1985, the

Japan Patent Office The is a Japanese governmental agency in charge of industrial property right affairs, under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The Japan Patent Office is located in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo and is one of the world's largest pa ...

selected him as one of

Ten Japanese Great Inventors The system of industrial rights in Japan celebrated 100 years of its existence in 1985. In celebration of the one-hundredth anniversary of the Japanese system of industrial property rights, the Japan Patent Office selected ten great inventors who ...

Depiction in film

Two films about the life of Takamine have been made. In the 2010 film ' directed by , Takamine was portrayed by Masaya Kato. A sequel titled '' Takamine'', also directed by Ichikawa and starring Hatsunori Hasegawa, was released in 2011.

References

;General
Biographical snapshots: Jokichi Takamine
''Journal of Chemical Education'' web site. * Hajime Hoshi. (1904)
''Handbook of Japan and Japanese Exhibits at World's Fair, St. Louis, 1904.''
St. Louis: Woodward and Tiernan Printing Co..

External links

* — Dr. Jokichi Takamine: Japanese father of American Biotechnology. * — Production of Microbial Enzymes and Their Applications.

Japan patent Office. * Radio program about the ‘father of American biotechnology’ who was never allowed to become an American citizen

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takamine, Jokichi 1854 births 1922 deaths Japanese inventors Japanese scientists 20th-century Japanese chemists Japanese expatriates in the United Kingdom Japanese expatriates in the United States People from Kanazawa, Ishikawa People from Toyama Prefecture Japanese emigrants to the United States University of Tokyo alumni Riken personnel Daiichi Sankyo people Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) 19th-century Japanese chemists