Tomitaro Makino (1862-1957) is known as the Father of Japanese Botany. Despite not graduating from elementary school, he earned a Doctor of Science degree. Makino discovered over 600 species and named over 1,000 new species and 1,500 new varieties of plants. Until his death at the age of 94, he traveled all over Japan creating botanical specimens. It is believed that he documented over 400,000 pages of specimens.
In the latter half of his life, Tomitaro visited various places in Japan to teach citizens the joy and attraction of plants. He treated people equally, from kids to the elderly. Some of these people sent him botanical specimens, sometimes resulting in new research. When scientists and the general public collaborate on research, it is called citizen science. Tomitaro is a pioneer of this concept.
After elementary school, Tomitaro taught himself and conducted his research independently throughout his life. Because he disliked placing importance on authority, he did not care much about degrees. However, due to the encouragement of those around him, he finally received his doctoral degree from the University of Tokyo in 1927 at the age of 65.
