was a Japanese school teacher and primate researcher. She helped with the Kyoto University

Primatology Primatology is the scientific study of primates. It is a diverse Academic discipline, discipline at the boundary between mammalogy and anthropology, and researchers can be found in academic departments of anatomy, anthropology, biology, medici ...

group (composed of

Kinji Imanishi was a Japanese ecologist and anthropologist. He was the founder of Kyoto University's Primate Research Institute and, together with Junichiro Itani, is considered one of the founders of Japanese primatology. Early life and education Kinji ...

, Junichiro Itani) studying wild monkeys on an island called

Kōjima is a small island in the Sea of Hyūga off the shore of the city of Kushima in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. The island is approximately 13 km ESE and 20 km by road from the central built-up area of Kushima. It is approximately 300 m of ...

, in

Miyazaki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,073,054 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 7,735 km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefecture borders Ōita Prefecture to the north, Kuma ...

. She identified every monkey in the island and recorded their relationships. She discovered the origin and spreading of sweet potato washing by monkeys. She was an instructor of Kyoto University working with other researchers between 1970 and 1984. Koujima Island Miyazaki Japan 200809

Life

Satsue-Mito-in-her-house-in-Kojima-with-student-visitors-from-the-US-May-2007

She was born in what is now Itsukaichi machi,

Saeki-ku, Hiroshima is one of the eight wards of the city of Hiroshima, Japan. The Hiroshima Branch of the Japan Mint The is an Independent Administrative Institution of the Japanese government, responsible for producing and circulating the coins of Japan. T ...

. Her father was Fujiichi Kanji, and at that time he was in a difficult financial condition because his business had failed. After studying at Yasuda High School, she studied further and was qualified as a teacher in 1932. In 1934, she got married and went to northern

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

for her job. In 1940, her husband died and she moved to Dalian, China with three children and worked for a Chinese school. In 1947, she returned to Japan and settled at Miyazaki. While working as a teacher, she helped with the Kyoto University monkey research team. In 1969, she obtained a science encouragement award. She retired from Nango Elementary School in 1970 and became a member of the Kyoto University team at the

Observatory. In 1972, she was awarded the Sankei Publication Award for children for her book ''Monkeys at Koshima'' and in 1974, she was awarded the

Eiji Yoshikawa was a Japanese historical novelist. Among his best-known novels are revisions of older classics. He was mainly influenced by classics such as '' The Tale of the Heike'', ''Tale of Genji'', ''Water Margin'' and ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', ...

award. Umeyo Mori, her second daughter, started as a field investigator of monkeys at Kyoto University Primate Center after graduating from the mathematics course of

Tsuda College is a private women's university based at Kodaira, Tokyo. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious higher educational institutions for women in Japan, contributing to the advancement of women in society for more than a century. History The u ...

. In 2011, she retired from the post of vice-president of Nagoya Bunri University. She died of old age at 97 on April 7, 2012.

Career

Satsue's father sent a letter to the Ministry of Education (now the

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology The , also known as MEXT or Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international community ...

) asking the ministry for the investigation of the island of

. In 1934, this letter resulted in the island and its monkeys being designated as a

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance. Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, na ...

under the natural monument law of 1919.

Keizo Shibusawa Viscount was a Japanese businessman, central banker, philanthropist and folklorist. He was the 16th Governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ). Early life Shibusawa was born in Tokyo. He was the grandson of Shibusawa Eiichi.Tamaki, Norio. (1995). ...

wrote about him in a book titled ''Inumo Arukeba Boniataru''. In 1948,

of Kyoto University extended their study tour to the island and stayed in her father's lodging house. However, there were no monkeys. Between December 1948 and January 1949, many hunters came to the island and likely killed many monkeys for money. The investigators of Kyoto University first observed 9 monkeys, while in 1934, about 40 or 50 monkeys had been observed. In 1969, Koshima Observatory was built as part of the Kyoto University Primate Center. In 1954, Mito discovered that a young female monkey washed sweet potatoes and this spread to her fellow monkeys, to 74% of the monkeys but not to older monkeys except her mother. Other customs also were seen. This was reported in a paper by

Masao Kawai was a Japanese primatologist, who introduced the concept of '' kyōkan'' as a means of studying primates in his book ''Life of Japanese Monkeys'' (1969). Notes External linksInterview with Shigeru Miyamoto 1924 births 2021 deaths 2 ...

and this phenomenon was reported at a congress in USSR, but Russian investigators thought that humans must have trained the monkeys.

Influence

Crown Prince Naruhito read one of the books of Mito and she was called to their house and chatted about the monkeys with the family of

Akihito is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide. B ...

, on two occasions.

Masaru Ibuka Masaru Ibuka (井深大 ''Ibuka Masaru''; April 11, 1908 – December 19, 1997) was a Japanese electronics industrialist and co-founder of Sony, along with Akio Morita.Kirkup, James"Obituary: Masaru Ibuka,"''Independent'' (London). December 2 ...

was also interested in monkeys and lead a group of presidents who were born in 1908, or the year of the Monkey, to Kōjima.Shiraishi 994:240-242/ref>

References

Bibliography

*Satsue Mito, ''Monkeys and I, with their family in Koshima'', 1972, Kodansha, Tokyo *Satsue Mito, ''Monkeys in Koshima''1984, Popura sha, *Satsue Mito, ''My grandchildren are Koshima's 100 monkeys'' 1989, Gakushu Kenkyusha *Katsuaki Shiraishi, ''Kind and strong, What Satsue Mito told me ''1994, Honda Kikaku, Takaokacho, Miyazaki Prefecture. *

, ''Inumo Arukeba Boni Ataru(Good luck may come unexpectedly)'' 1961,

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines su ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mito, Satsue Miyazaki Prefecture Japanese zoologists 1914 births 2012 deaths