was an influential sociologist and economist and is most widely known for his power theory of economics. A fruit - the Yasuma - was named after him after he discovered it on one of his many trips to Greece. Takata was born in the village of Toutoumi in the

Ogi District was a Districts of Japan, district located in Saga Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the district had an estimated population of 45,910 and a population density, density of 478.98 persons per km2. The total area was 95.85 km2. Former towns an ...

in the

Saga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of 809,248 (1 August 2020) and has a geographic area of 2,440 km2 (942 sq mi). Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasak ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. This area is now part of the City of Ogi. In July 1910, he graduated from

Kyoto Imperial University , mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture , established = , type = Public (National) , endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 billion USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to disting ...

. He started teaching as an

assistant professor Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree and general ...

of law at Kyoto University in September 1914. In June 1919, he transferred to Hiroshima Teachers College (広島高等師範学校) as a full professor. Two years later, he went to Tokyo University of Commerce in 1921Dr. Yasuma Takata Honoring Association
/ref>　as a full professor. In 1921, he received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

(

D.Litt. Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

). In 1925, he became a full professor at

Kyushu University , abbreviated to , is a Japanese national university located in Fukuoka, on the island of Kyushu. It was the 4th Imperial University in Japan, ranked as 4th in 2020 Times Higher Education Japan University Rankings, one of the top 10 Design ...

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

teaching law and literature. In May 1929, he returned to Kyoto University as a professor of economics. In February 1938, he became head of the economics department. He quit teaching at Kyoto in 1943, and did not return to teaching until August 1951 when he took the post of professor of law in the Department of Economics at

Osaka University , abbreviated as , is a public research university located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is one of Japan's former Imperial Universities and a Designated National University listed as a "Top Type" university in the Top Global University Project. ...

. In 1953, he became head of the same department. In 1955, he transferred to the newly reorganized

Osaka Prefecture University (OPU), also abbreviated to , is one of the largest public universities in Japan. The main campus is among big Kofun tombs in Sakai, Osaka. The university will merge with Osaka City University to form Osaka Metropolitan University (OMU) in A ...

, and in 1957 became head of Department of Economics. From 1963 to 1965 ,he taught economics at

Ryukoku University is a private university in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded as a school for Buddhist priests of the Nishi Hongan-ji denomination in 1639, and became a secularized university in 1876. The university's professors and students founded the literary m ...

in Kyoto. Takata established the Social and Economic Research (ISER) of Osaka University with his student

Michio Morishima was a Japanese heterodox economist and public intellectual who was the Sir John Hicks Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics from 1970–88. He was also professor at Osaka University and member of the British Academy. In 1976 he ...

References

* Seiyama, Kazuo (2007) "Takata, Yasuma (1883–1972)" ''in'' Ritzer, George (ed.) (2007) ''Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology'' Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA, * Kawamura, N. (1992) ''高田保馬の社会学'' (''Takata Yasuma no Shakaigaku'') (''Sociology of Takata Yasuma'') Inaho Books, Tokyo, * Rimer, J. Thomas (1990) ''Culture and identity: Japanese intellectuals during the interwar years'' Joint Committee on Japanese Studies, Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., 1883 births 1972 deaths Japanese sociologists Japanese economists Osaka University faculty Kyoto University faculty Hitotsubashi University faculty Kyoto University alumni Kyushu University faculty {{Asia-sociologist-stub