was a Japanese scientist who discovered several antimicrobial agents and

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

inhibitors. Umezawa was born in Obama City,

Fukui Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 778,943 (1 June 2017) and has a geographic area of 4,190 km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the north, Gi ...

, as the second son in a family of seven children. After graduating from

Musashi Junior and Senior High School is a privately owned school for boys based in Nerima, Tokyo, Japan. History The school was founded in 1922 by industrialist Nezu Kaichirō, as Musashi High School. The school was one of the first institutions of its type to use a seven-year sy ...

, he entered the

University of Tokyo , 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 ...

Graduate School of Medicine in 1933, and completed his medical degree in 1937. After serving in the Japanese army during World War II, Umezawa did work on

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

which led to his discovery, in 1955, of the

aminoglycoside Aminoglycoside is a medicinal and bacteriologic category of traditional Gram-negative antibacterial medications that inhibit protein synthesis and contain as a portion of the molecule an amino-modified glycoside (sugar). The term can also refer ...

antibiotic

kanamycin Kanamycin A, often referred to simply as kanamycin, is an antibiotic used to treat severe bacterial infections and tuberculosis. It is not a first line treatment. It is used by mouth, injection into a vein, or injection into a muscle. Kanamycin ...

. By this stage Umezawa was heading the Institute of Microbial Chemistry in Tokyo where his main focus was antimicrobial agents manufactured through fermentation processes. In 1963, he discovered the anticancer drug

bleomycin -13- (1''H''-imidazol-5-yl)methyl9-hydroxy-5- 1''R'')-1-hydroxyethyl8,10-dimethyl-4,7,12,15-tetraoxo-3,6,11,14-tetraazapentadec-1-yl}-2,4'-bi-1,3-thiazol-4-yl)carbonyl]amino}propyl)(dimethyl)sulfonium , chemical_formula = , C=55 , H=84 , N=1 ...

, and in 1965 he discovered

kasugamycin Kasugamycin (Ksg) is an aminoglycoside antibiotic that was originally isolated in 1965, from '' Streptomyces kasugaensis'', a '' Streptomyces'' strain found near the Kasuga shrine in Nara, Japan. Kasugamycin was discovered by Hamao Umezawa, who ...

, a compound useful in combating rice molds. His elder brother, Sumio Umezawa, was a chemist who had sometimes assisted in his work. He was married to Mieko Ishizaki on December 2, 1944; they had two sons. Umezawa died of pneumonia on December 25, 1986. The Hamao Umezawa Memorial Museum in

Setagaya, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is also the name of a neighborhood and administrative district within the ward. The ward calls itself Setagaya City in English. Its official bird is the azure-winged magpie, its flower is the fringed orch ...

was named in his honor.

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 ...

1958 *

Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize The Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize is an annual award bestowed by the since 1952 for investigations in medicine. It carries a prize money of 120,000 Euro. The prize awarding ceremony is traditionally held on March 14, the birthday of N ...

1980

References

External links

A biography of Umezawa in the Fujitsu Journal
Japanese microbiologists Recipients of the Legion of Honour 1914 births 1986 deaths Japanese pulmonologists Imperial Japanese Army personnel of World War II Japanese inventors Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences {{Japan-med-bio-stub