Yoshimasa Hirata

The native form of this personal name is Hirata Yoshimasa. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Yoshimasa Hirata (平田 義正, Hirata Yoshimasa, 1915 – 5 March 2000) was a Japanese organic chemist.

Yoshimasa Hirata
平田 義正
Born	1915 (1915) Yamaguchi, Japan
Died	March 5, 2000(2000-03-05) (aged 84–85)
Nationality	Japanese
Citizenship	Japanese
Alma mater	Tokyo Imperial University Nagoya University
Awards	Japan Academy Prize Order of the Sacred Treasure, 2nd Class Person of Cultural Merit
Scientific career
Fields	Organic chemistry
Institutions	Nagoya University Meijo University
Thesis	キノコの抗菌性物質グリフォリンに就いて (1949)
Doctoral advisor	Fujio Egami
Doctoral students	Koji Nakanishi Yoshito Kishi
Other notable students	Osamu Shimomura

Biography

Hirata was born in Yamaguchi, Japan in 1915.^[1] He received a Bachelor of Science from the Tokyo Imperial University (now the University of Tokyo) in 1941, and then joined the faculty there as a Lecturer of Chemistry.^[1][2] In 1944, he moved to Nagoya University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry. In that same year, he was promoted Associate Professor. He received his Ph.D. from Nagoya University in 1949, and was promoted to Full Professor in 1954.^[1]

In 1955, Hirata met a recent graduate from Nagasaki Pharmacy School, a young Osamu Shimomura.^[3] He invited Shimomura to work in his lab, which he did, in April 1955. Hirata tasked him with purifying crystallizing Cypridina luciferin for the purpose of determining its structure.^[3] He completed the difficult task after three months, and Hirata awarded him with a doctorate, despite him not being a doctoral student.^[3]

In 1979, Hirata moved to Meijo University, staying there for ten years before retiring.^[1]

Research

Hirata's best known research was that involving toxic compounds, including tetrodotoxinpandalytoxin, his research of the bioluminescent compound Cypridina luciferin from the vargula hilgendorfii, also known as the sea firefly, and his work on bioactive compounds of plant origin, including anisatin, dendrobine, and daphniphylline.^[1]

Awards and honors

• 1941 Chunichi Culture Prize^[2]
• 1965 Asahi Prize^[2]
• 1965 Chemical Society of Japan Award^[2]
• 1977 Japan Academy Prize^[2]
• 1977 Fujihara Award^[2]
• 1987 Order of the Sacred Treasure, 2nd Class^[2]
• 1990 Person of Cultural Merit^[2]
• 1996 Nakanishi Prize^[4]
• 2000 Order of the Rising Sun^[2]