生年月日
Date of Birth
March 7, 1965
According to Japanese fortune-telling traditions: Happaku-Dosei, Year of the Snake, Pisces, blood type O, and left-handed.
Born near a rather colorful district of Yokohama.
学歴
Education
1969
Entered Sayuri Kindergarten, St. Mary’s Catholic School.
Successfully mastered The Lord’s Prayer.
Family background and personal faith, however, remain Jōdo Shinshū (Honganji branch) Buddhism.
1972
Entered Tateno Elementary School, Yokohama Municipal.
1978
Entered Kanto Gakuin Junior High School, a Protestant institution.
The campus was located near Koganecho, an area that could politely be described as overflowing with adult fairy tales.
1983
Graduated from Kanto Gakuin High School.
Six years of Christian education provided extensive exposure to the Bible:
・Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, Judges)
・New Testament (the Four Gospels, Epistles, Revelation)
・Hymnal Volumes I and II (partially memorized)
Despite this theological immersion, the author remains Jōdo Shinshū to this day.
1983
Entered the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Tokyo University of Science.
1987
Entered the Master’s Program, Department of Electronic Chemistry, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology.
1992
Completed the Doctoral Program at the same department.
Degree
Ph.D. in Science
Tokyo Institute of Technology (March 1992)
Professional Career
1992
Joined Toshiba Corporation, Corporate Research & Development Center.
1996
Assistant Professor,
Catalysis Division, Chemical Resources Laboratory,
Tokyo Institute of Technology
(under Prof. Kazunari Domen, Emeritus Professor of the University of Tokyo and Tokyo Tech)
1999
Visiting researcher,
Department of Chemistry, Pennsylvania State University (Penn State).
2000
Associate Professor,
Catalysis Division, Chemical Resources Laboratory,
Tokyo Institute of Technology.
December 2000
A violent sneeze in the bathtub triggered the catastrophic collapse of a pre-existing herniated disc.
Emergency transport to Kanto Rosai Hospital (Motosumiyoshi) followed due to numbness in the lower body, and urgent surgery was performed.
During a quiet early morning near the end of the year, the author witnessed
the attending physician walking silently through the ward, checking each
patient with great care.
The scene left a lasting impression.
2006
Professor, Materials and Structures Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology.
2007–2010
Project Leader, “Eco Solid Acid Catalyst” Project, Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology.
2021–2024
Director, Laboratory for Materials and Structures, Tokyo Institute of Technology.
July 2021
Collapsed in the director’s office due to aortic dissection and was rushed to the
Yokohama Minato Red Cross Hospital Emergency Medical Center.
The author’s supposed dying words —
“To fall at the workplace is an honorable end.”
— were immediately dismissed by his wife with:
“Please don’t cause trouble for your colleagues.”
During the examination, kidney cancer was also discovered.
Since the author had been born at the predecessor hospital, Yokohama Red Cross Hospital, he briefly considered that dying there would provide a neat narrative
symmetry.
A nurse rejected this idea with the succinct comment:
“That would be boring.”
A prolonged stay in the ICU produced the author’s first experience with hallucinations.
Beyond the hospital room door appeared:
♡Kegon Falls
♡festival night stalls
♡Göbekli Tepe
The variety of landscapes provided unexpected entertainment and significantly improved the author’s appreciation of hallucinations.
September 2021
Successful surgery for aortic dissection.
November 2021
Successful robotic (Da Vinci) surgery for kidney cancer.
Deep gratitude to the cardiovascular surgery and urology teams at Yokohama Minato Red Cross Hospital.
December 2021
Returned to work fully recovered.
The author began referring to himself as “indestructible.”
Colleagues prefer the term “the man who failed to die.”
March 2026
Spun out on a rainy expressway after a rear-tire blowout and collided with a wall.
The car was destroyed.
No other vehicles were involved.
The driver emerged completely unharmed.
This event secured the author a second championship title in the category of “one who stubbornly refuses to die.”
April 2026
Director again, Materials and Structures Laboratory, Institute of Science Tokyo (Tokyo
Institute of Technology).
Awards
2006
Scientific American Top 50
2012
Science and Technology Award (Development Category)
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology,
2013
The Chemical Society of Japan Award for Creative Work
Publication
Research Fields
Heterogeneous catalysis, Surface Science, Physical chemistry, Materials Science
Special Skills
-
Fireworks
Reckless acceleration
Explosion and combustion testing
Fevorite Things
Fireworks, Strechers, Rice balls, Natto
Baseball
Yokohama BayStars
Fevorite Books
Dara-san of the Reiwa Era, Saint Young Men, Uncle from Another World, The Middle-Aged Man Reincarnated as a Villainess, The Ship Who Sang series, The Legends of Tono, The Decameron, The Divine Comedy, Völuspá, The Gallic Wars, Germania, Anabasis of Alexander, The Odyssey, The Iliad
Fevorite Musicians
Linda Ronstadt, Debbie Gibson, Stevie Wonder, Celine Dion, Tokiko Kato, MISIA, KAN
