I was born in Suda Town district of Hashimoto City, on the north shore of the Kino-kawa River, and from the time I was little I wondered what lay deep in the chain of mountains on the other side. I played on nearby burial mounds and in stone chambers, and I know about the ancient history of places like Mt. Matsuchi, which appears in the Man’yoshu anthology of poetry. I climbed Koyasan with friends while I was a high-school student, and I visited Kumano and Odaigahara with the Biology Club. Having grown up in the midst of rich natural beauty and history, I found my interest in biology deepening.