[MZZ56-P05] “The life and achievement of Sugi, Kenichi” Chikukagaku, 56, 35-39, by Miyashiro, Akiho, 1961
Keywords:history of Japanese geology, Sugi Kenichi, Miyashiro Akiho
Descriptions by Miyashiro, Akiho have been regarded as strong evidence for the negative exegesis for the history of Japanese geology. Any description, however, has some biases from the viewpoint of its author. In order to claim that Japanese geology before world war II was less-developed, we need to examine the adjectively of Miyashiro’s descriptions. Sugi Kenichi (1901 – 1948) was one of the representative petrologists prior to world war II in Japan. Miyashiro (1961) published “Life and Achievements of Sugi, Kenichi.” The examination of Miyashiro (1961) is important to understand the characteristics of his descriptions about the history of Japanese geology. Sugi was also the supervisor of Gorai Masao and Kroda Yoshimasu, who debated with Miyashiro and his colleagues about the genesis of the Abukuma metamorphic rocks, which is called the Abukuma issue, in 1960 – 70s. Miyashiro (1961) is one of the reasons why the Abukuma issue was so escalated between the Sugi’s students and Miyashiro. The examination of Miyashiro (1961) therefore is also important for us to understand the dynamics of Japanese geology after world war II. In this presentation, I examine Miyashiro (1961). Discerptions about Sugi in Miyashiro (1961) are natively biased. Some issues were described with an inadequate timeline, which leads readers to feel that Sugi would have been a backward researcher. There is no description about the contributions of Sugi to the foundation of the department of geology at Kyushu University, three posthumous articles in the science reports of Kyushu University, the special issue dedicated to the late Prof. Sugi, Kenichi in 1951, and the Sugi Library which is composed of his bibliotheca donated to Kyushu University by his bereaved family. These features of Miyashiro (1961) indicate that we would be misinformed by Miyashsiro’s descriptions that Japanese geology before than him was backward and sluggish.