Bibliographic Detail

Okamura, K., 1936

Reference:
Okamura, K. (1936). Nippon kaisô shi [Descriptions of Japanese algae]. pp. [4], [1]-9, [1], [1]-964, [1]-11, frontispiece portrait, 427 figs. Tokyo: Uchida Rokakuho. [in Japanese]

Location:
Tokyo

Notes:
The year 1889 is regarded as the dawn of Japanese phycology, because it marks the beginning of the phycological career of Kintaro Okamura. During the subsequent 46 years, until his death in 1935, Dr Okamura published many research articles and books that have improved our knowledge of Japanese seaweeds. One of his books, Japanese Algae, published in 1936, was in its day the definitive work and included detailed descriptions and illustrations of 1006 species of seaweeds occurring on the shores of Japan. It is no exaggeration to say that all seaweed scholars in Japan have benefited enormously from this book. Because of its important contribution to the development of Japanese phycology, this book has long been regarded as a milestone in Japanese phycology. It has been more than 60 yr since Okamura's book was first published. Although several colorful iconographical books of seaweeds of Japan have appeared since then, they are mostly designed for the layperson rather than the researcher, and the species included represent only part of the Japanese seaweed flora. However, there has been a considerable volume of research conducted on the Japanese seaweed flora since 1936 and many species have been transferred to other genera and many new taxa have been described. Unfortunately, most of this information is in the form of individual papers scattered throughout a host of international journals. The result is that portions of Okamura's book have became seriously dated but we have had no alternative source that comprehensively covers this new information on Japanese seaweeds. (Takeo Horiguchi)