Prince Akishino [1965–] and Sayako Kuroda [1969–]—The Third Generation Biologists

Abstract

As to the third generation, Prince Akishino, the second son of Emperor Akihito, was also, by nature, interested in every kind of living organism. When he was a university student, he became interested in catfish, earning the nickname “the Prince of catfish.” At the University of Oxford and other places, he engaged in morphological researches on catfish. At the same time, he visited poultry farms and developed a strong interest in the origin of domestic fowl. As a result, he published several papers concerning the molecular phylogeny of fowl and determined the ancestor of the domestic fowl among four wild fowls. His interest is not limited to the biological sciences, but also extends to the social sciences, i.e., in regard to relationships between humans and animals. As a result, he organized the Society of Biosophia Studies with a number of prominent social scientists. Princess Nori Sayako (the present Sayako Kuroda) is a keen bird-watcher. She has devoted particular time to observing the behavior of kingfishers on the grounds of the Imperial Palace. She now works at the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology. Although the Crown Prince Naruhito is not a biologist, he has studied the history of the role of the Thames River in English society at the University of Oxford and is now a world-recognized specialist in the problems of water in human life.