Yasuhiko Asahina (朝比奈泰彦 ''Asahina Yasuhiko''; April 16, 1881 – June 30, 1975) was a Japanese chemist and lichenologist.
Early life
During his childhood, Asahina developed an interest in plants. In 1902, he enrolled in the School of Pharmacy at
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 ...
, from which he graduated in 1905. Asahina stayed at the university to research the chemical principles of
Chinese traditional medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...
Styrax obassia
''Styrax obassia'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Styracaceae. It is native to Hokkaido Island in Japan, and to China.
Taxonomy
The name of the plant is sometimes spelled ''Styrax obassis'', but the original spelling is ''obassi ...
'' was published in 1907. In 1909, Asahina travelled to Zurich to study phytochemistry under
Richard Willstätter
Richard Martin Willstätter FRS(For) HFRSE (, 13 August 1872 – 3 August 1942) was a German organic chemist whose study of the structure of plant pigments, chlorophyll included, won him the 1915 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Willstätter invente ...
. He continued his research on chlorophyll until 1912, when he moved to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
. He spent three months in Germany working in the laboratory of Professor
Emil Fischer
Hermann Emil Louis Fischer (; 9 October 1852 – 15 July 1919) was a German chemist and 1902 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He discovered the Fischer esterification. He also developed the Fischer projection, a symbolic way of draw ...
on a styracitol experiment.Shibata, S. (2000). Yasuhiko Asahina (1880-1975) and His Studies on Lichenology and Chemistry of Lichen Metabolites. The Bryologist, 103(4), 710-719. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3244334
Career
Upon his return to Tokyo, Asahina accepted an associate professor position at Tokyo Imperial University. For the next decade, Asahina was devoted to researching traditional and folk medicines of China and Japan. In 1925, he shifted his focus to
lichens
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Atsushi Yasuda was the only lichenologist in Japan.Syo Kurokawa: ''Yasuhiko Asahina (1881-1975)'', The Lichenologist, Band 8, 1976, S. 93–94 pdf /ref> Asahina realized that some morphologically identical lichens contained different chemical compounds. Asahina came up with a method of thalline color reaction and the microcrystal test of lichen metabolites. He utilized this chemical identification for taxonomic differentiation of these lichens. Using this method, he helped clean up the taxonomy of the genus ''
Cladonia
''Cladonia'' is a genus of moss-like lichens in the family Cladoniaceae. They are the primary food source for reindeer/caribou. ''Cladonia'' species are of economic importance to reindeer-herders, such as the Sami in Scandinavia or the Nenets ...
''. He also studied many other genera in Japan, most notably '' Alectoria'', ''
Anzia
''Anzia'' is a genus of foliose lichens known as black-foam lichens in the large family Parmeliaceae. It was formerly included in the monogeneric family Anziaceae, but this has since been subsumed into the Parmeliaceae.
Taxonomy
The genus name ...
Lobaria
''Lobaria'' is a genus of foliose lichens, formerly classified in the family (biology), family Lobariaceae, but now placed in the Peltigeraceae. They are commonly known as "lung wort" or "lungmoss" as their physical shape somewhat resembles a lu ...
'', ''
Parmelia Parmelia may refer to:
* Parmelia (barque), the vessel that in 1829 transported the first settlers of the British colony of Western Australia
* ''Parmelia'' (fungus), a genus of lichens with global distribution
* Parmelia, Western Australia
Pa ...
'', ''
Ramalina
''Ramalina'' is a genus of greenish fruticose lichens that grow in the form of flattened, strap-like branches. Members of the genus are commonly called strap lichensField Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 20 ...
'' and ''
Usnea
''Usnea'' is a genus of mostly pale grayish-green fruticose lichens that grow like leafless mini-shrubs or tassels anchored on bark or twigs.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, The genus is in the f ...
''. The technique was taught to Alexander William Evans, who introduced it to western technologists in 1943.
Asahina retired from the University of Tokyo in 1941. In 1954, he founded the Japanese Society for History of Pharmacy (''Nihon Yakushi Gakkai'', 日本薬史学会). Asahina continued his research activity at his private laboratory until his death in 1975.
Awards
Asahina was awarded the
Imperial Prize of the Japan Academy
The is a prestigious honor conferred to two of the recipients of the Japan Academy Prize.
Overviews
It is awarded in two categories: humanities and natural sciences. The Emperor and Empress visit the awarding ceremony and present a vase to ...
in 1923 for his contribution to research on Chinese drug principles. In 1943, he received the
Order of Culture
The is a Japanese order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japan's art, literature, science, technology, or anything related to culture in general; recipient ...
.
Legacy
Syoziro Asahina, notable entomologist, was Asahina's son.Tsukané Yamasaki: In Memoriam: Syoziro Asahina (1913–2010). In: Species Diversity. Band 16, 2011, S. 81–83. The lichen genus '' Asahinea'' was named in honour of Yasuhiko Asahina.