Tomitaro Makino

was a pioneer Japanese botanist noted for his taxonomic work. He has been called "Father of Japanese Botany", having been one of the first Japanese botanists to work extensively on classifying Japanese plants using the system developed by Linnaeus. His research resulted in documenting 50,000 specimens, many of which are represented in his Makino's Illustrated Flora of Japan. Despite having dropped out of grammar school, he eventually attained a Doctor of Science degree, and his birthday is remembered as Botany Day in Japan. Early life Tomitaro Makino was born in Sakawa, Kōchi to a prestigious sake brewer. His parents died during his early childhood, and he was raised mainly by his grandmother. Though he dropped out of school after two years, he cultivated a strong interest in English, geography, and especially in botany. In 1880, he became a teacher at the primary school in his hometown, where he published his first academic botanical paper. In 1884, he moved to Tokyo to pursue his botanical interests at the University of Tokyo where he worked with Ryōkichi Yatabe. He married in 1890 and later had 13 children. Career In 1887, Makino started to publish an academic journal of botany.