Who was this person?
A physicist and essayist of the Meiji to early Shōwa periods. He studied under Natsume Sōseki at the Fifth High School in Kumamoto and, as a professor at Tokyo Imperial University, became known for research on X-rays and other topics. He wrote many essays looking at everyday phenomena with a scientist's eye, and is regarded as the source of the saying "Natural disasters strike when people have forgotten them."
| Name | Terada Torahiko (寺田寅彦) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1878 – 1935 |
| Period | Meiji–Shōwa |
| Birthplace | Tokyo |
| Also known as | Yoshimura Fuyuhiko |
| Main achievements |
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He was born in Tokyo, the eldest son of Terada Toshimasa, a former samurai from Kōchi. Born on a tiger day in a tiger year, he was named Torahiko. When he was small, his father was posted alone to Kumamoto, and he moved to the family's hometown of Kōchi with his grandmother, mother and sisters. His childhood in Kōchi's nature often appears in his later essays.
He was sickly and sometimes missed school, but he was a boy who read books and magazines eagerly. His father brought home a magic lantern from an exhibition in Tokyo and bought a microscope for him, and he discovered the joy of science that lets one see the unseen. At middle school he studied freely and happily.
He entered the Fifth Higher School in Kumamoto. At first he studied shipbuilding at his father's wish but it did not suit him, and he switched to physics. There he met his English teacher Natsume Sōseki and his physics teacher Tamaru Takurō, and revered both as lifelong mentors. He also joined a haiku circle centered on Sōseki and set his heart on both science and literature.
While still a student he married Sakai Natsuko. The young couple later began a new life in Tokyo, and a daughter was born. But Natsuko fell ill and died young a few years later, leaving Torahiko in deep grief. He later recalled their days together quietly in his essays.
He moved to Tokyo, entered Tokyo Imperial University and studied physics under Tanakadate Aikitsu and Nagaoka Hantarō. Graduating at the top of his class, he went on to graduate school and continued research in experimental physics. He often visited Sōseki's home, and is said to have been the model for a young scholar in Sōseki's novel I Am a Cat.
Now a university lecturer, he earned a doctorate in science for research using physics to study how the shakuhachi, a Japanese flute, makes its sound. His characteristic approach of looking at everyday things and seeking the laws of physics hidden in them was already showing. The next year he became an assistant professor.
He went to study geophysics at the University of Berlin in Germany. In Sweden he met the chemist Arrhenius, and he also studied at the University of Göttingen. He then traveled through Paris, Britain and the United States before returning. Seeing the front line of Western research served his later research and teaching.
Inspired by Laue in Germany, who had succeeded in shining X-rays through crystals, he carried out his own X-ray experiments and published the results in the British science journal Nature. It was among the very earliest research in the world on studying the arrangement of atoms in crystals.
Having become a professor at Tokyo Imperial University the year before, he received the Imperial Prize of the Imperial Academy for his X-ray research. While his reputation as a researcher grew, that same year he lost his second wife to illness, and he himself began to suffer from a stomach illness. Even amid grief and illness, he kept studying everyday phenomena.
While on leave from the university and recovering at home, his literary talent blossomed. Under the pen name Yoshimura Fuyuhiko he published one essay after another in magazines, combining a scientist's eye with a literary heart. They were later collected in books such as the Fuyuhiko collection and loved by many readers.
When the Great Kantō Earthquake struck, his home in Hongō was unharmed, and he at once joined a survey team studying how the fires spread and more. He thought deeply about the relationship between natural disasters and human society, and later stressed disaster preparedness in his essays. The saying that disasters come when people have forgotten them is known as his.
Recovering his health, he also became a researcher at RIKEN. Later he effectively left the university and focused on research at institutes. His work explaining everyday phenomena with physics, such as how the points on konpeitō candy form and the shapes of cracks, was called Terada physics and drew many disciples.
He also joined Tokyo Imperial University's Earthquake Research Institute, founded in the wake of the disaster. He devoted himself to research on disasters such as earthquakes and fires, seeking to put scientific knowledge to use for society. His disciples, such as Nakaya Ukichirō, later flourished as both scientists and essayists.
He died of illness at his home in Tokyo. While opening new fields as a physicist, as an essayist he conveyed to many people how fascinating the world looks through a scientist's eyes. He is still read as a bridge between science and literature, and his home prefecture of Kōchi has created a prize in his name.
A. A physicist and essayist of the Meiji to early Shōwa periods. He studied under Natsume Sōseki at the Fifth High School in Kumamoto and, as a professor at Tokyo Imperial University, became known for research on X-rays and other topics. He wrote many essays looking at everyday phenomena with a scientist's eye, and is regarded as the source of the saying "Natural disasters strike when people have forgotten them."
A. Period: Meiji–Shōwa. Born in 1878, died in 1935.
A. Terada Torahiko was born in Tokyo.
A. The exact phrase has not been found in his writings, but it is said to be an idea he often expressed, passed on by pupils such as Nakaya Ukichirō. It is known as a saying that captures his belief that people must never forget to prepare for disasters.
See also: Wikipedia (ja) / Wikipedia (en) / Wikipedia (fr) / Wikipedia (zh) / Wikidata
Follow this life (autoplay)Yanagita KunioUemura ShōenYoshino SakuzōArishima TakeoNagai KafūKawakami HajimeNoguchi UjōSuzuki Miekichi
People of the Taishō period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.