About Tomitaro Makino
Tomitaro Makino (牧野 富太郎, Makino Tomitarō; 24 April 1862 – 18 January 1957) was a pioneer Japanese botanist noted for his taxonomic work. He has been called "Father of Japanese Botany", having been one of the first Japanese botanists to work extensively on classifying Japanese plants using the system developed by Linnaeus. His research resulted in collecting more than 500,000 specimens, many of which are represented in his Makino's Illustrated Flora of Japan. Despite having dropped out of grammar school, he eventually attained a Doctor of Science degree, and his birthday is remembered as Botany Day in Japan. == Legacy == In total, Makino named over 2,500 plants, including 1,000 new species and 1,500 new varieties. In addition, he discovered about 600 new species. After his death in 1957, his collection of approximately 400,000 specimens was donated to Tokyo Metropolitan University which has housed the collection at its Makino Herbarium. Around the same time, Makino Botanical Garden opened in his native Kōchi on Mount Godai. His home in Higashiōizumi, Nerima-ku, Tokyo was converted into the Makino Memorial Garden and Museum. He was also named an Honorary Citizen of Tokyo.
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