Science for all

摘要

In the summer of 1913, 120 influential industrialists and government officials gathered at the exclusive Seiyoken restaurant in Tokyo at the behest of Eiichi Shibusawa, a prominent Japanese banker and businessman. While the menu boasted some of the most highly praised curries and potato croquettes in Imperial Japan, the real focus of the evening was a speech by Jokichi Takamine. A millionaire scientist, Takamine had an important message that Shibusawa wanted the guests to hear-the world was moving away from manufacturing industries and toward enterprises built on the physical and chemical sciences. Japan, he urged, needed to establish a research institute dedicated to basic science that could compete with similar facilities in Germany, France and the United States.