Biography

Japanese botanist Takenoshin Nakai, of the University of Tokyo, was an expert on the Korean flora.

Nakai was born in Yamaguchi and gained his PhD from the University of Tokyo in 1907. He was awarded his doctorate from the same in 1914. After serving as assistant lecturer at Tokyo from 1908-1917, he was appointed lecturer, assistant professor (1922) and professor of botany (1927). From 1931 he was director of the botanical gardens, and during the Second World War occupation of Java was put in charge of Buitenzorg (Bogor) Botanical Gardens. In 1947 he was made director of the National Science Museum, Tokyo.

Among Nakai's important works were Flora Koreana (1909-1911), Flora Sylvatica Koreana (1915-1939) and Iconographia Plantarum Asiae-Orientalis (1935-1952), which was left incomplete. He also co-authored the unfinished Nova Flora Japonica (1938-1951) with M. Honda. He was particularly interested in the genus Cephalotaxus and also published monographic studies of Aconitum, Arisaema, Camellia, Euonymus, Lespedeza and Viola.

Nakai carried out extensive collecting in Korea in 1918-1919. In 1919 he also collected plants in West Java, visiting locations including Batavia and Gunung Gede.

Sources:
H. Hara, 1953, The Botanical Magazine, Tokyo, 66: 775-776
J. Ohwi, 1965, Flora of Japan, 1: 8
M.J. van Steenis Kruseman, "Cyclopedia of Collectors", Flora Malesiana, online edn:
www.nationaalherbarium.nl/FMCollectors/N/NakaiT.htm, accessed 14 December 2012.