The most impressive memories I have with my family, is one with my father. Until I went to study in the U.S., I used to climb a nearby mountain on a day trip with him every year on January 2nd, during the New Year’s Holidays (Picture 1). It was at this time when I learned various sayings and useful words that have become a rule of my life. “Hardship makes the man” (kannan nanji wo tama ni su) and “when you find yourself at a crossroad in life, take the more difficult way” (Jinsei no kiro ni deatta toki ha, yori muzukashii michi wo erabe) are the most unforgettable ones. When I boarded for the first time in Hiroshima City, he accompanied me in a double-breasted suit to politely greet the owner of my boarding house. Since then, people from the boarding house would always appraise him, saying he was a “respectable father.” Besides, he understood me quite well and graciously provided financial assistance to buy items that played important roles in my life: a custommade bicycle, a single-lens reflex camera “Nikon F2A” and a zoom lens set (quite luxurious items in those days).

Interests from early childhood

NM: When I was a child, there was nothing like video games to play indoors, so I mostly played outside, and as such I particularly looked forward to the summers. The vicinity of my elementary school in Yahata Ward, Kitakyushu City, was a naturally rich environment with wooded areas and I used to run around them with a butterfly net and insect cage in my hand till dusk, in search of insects like cicadas, grasshoppers, beetles, and stag beetles. What is still vivid in my memory is the death of a grasshopper I caught, as I pulled it too strong by the body, while it was biting on my shirt. It taught me a lesson about how transient and precious life is.
　During summer vacations, I very much looked forward to visiting my parent’s hometowns. One was in the mountain areas of Hiroshima Prefecture. What I was interested in more than insects were the various fishes that resided in the middle reaches of the river or in upper mountain streams. As the day of returning home drew nearer, the scenery of the river as well as figures and moving images of fish there would start appearing in my dreams, leading me to make frequent visits to a fishing equipment shop.
　My mother was originally from Kimita-son, a village in the piedmont region of Hiroshima, and her house, somewhat looked like a log-house, was built facing a gravel road where few buses passed by during the day. Spring water from the hillside served as our drinking water and irrigation canals on the roadsides provided us with water for bathing and washing. We could get food supplies at a country store at a walking distance of around 30 minutes for a child. Villagers were growing rice on terraced paddy fields and looking forward to the harvest festival in the autumn. There was a mountain stream, right at the back of our house and often in my dreams, I was communicating with the big game, such as the unseen Gogi (a headspotted char/ a kind of Iwana char (Salvelinus leucomaenis imbrius)) in the depths of the river through a float. The water in the shallow part of the river was incredibly clear, and I could spend hours without realizing it, lying on my stomach on a bridge, struggling to catch fish, such as a school of Oikawa (freshwater minnow Opsariichthys platypus) or Kawamutsu (dark chub Candidia temminckii), that could be seen under the bridge. As I put grains of steamed rice on a hook at the end of the fishing line, I would send them right in front of the eyes of fish, mumbling “eat it, eat it!,” while being amazed through observing their movements: keen and efficient, fighting over the grains of rice. I had no idea that it would be a help for me to learn later, from my uncle, the secret techniques of Myakuduri (a fishing method without using a float) to catch Oikawa.

NY: Which was the field that interested you and led to your decision to go on to graduate school?

NM: After graduating from university, I had the vague desire to work for or conduct research for the sake of those in need. Therefore, despite the fact that I was interested in pollution problems in oceanic environments that had been much-talkedabout in those days, the issue of fish disease was personally, a more important matter for me. I came to learn there was a laboratory for such studies at the Faculty of Fisheries and Animal Husbandry, Hiroshima University. Going to the university there meant living away from my parents. Fortunately, however, Hiroshima was my parents' home town and as it also made me feel easy, I decided on my career path.

NY: As you continued your study at the faculty of the university, what did you wish to further enrich?

Picture 4 The University Fishing Club President (4-1). Even though it may seem that fishing is a carefree hobby, there is an incredible amount of planning, making contact, material preparation, and accounting. (4-2) At open fishing competitions, we would show off our surf casting to other general participants.

NM: I started to study science of fisheries in general at the Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Fisheries and Animal Husbandry, however what I realized at the welcome party for new students was that this academic discipline was quite feudalistic and required robust physical and mental strength, aside from the matter of scholarship. After passing the exam, I took it easy and was a bit slow in looking for my boarding house, so I boarded in the area called Kusatsu, on the West coast, quite a distance from the city center. I took my long-distance of commuting for good and decided to train my physical strength by commuting on a bicycle. For that reason, I bought a bicycle for serious cycling (and that was my encounter with the bicycle). Besides, as there was a Dojo (training center) named Shobukan (尚武館) near my boarding house, there I practiced Wado-ryu Karate ( 和道流空手道), trying hard to concentrate on training my physical and mental strength. Thanks to great instructors, including the director of the Dojo and Shihandai (assistant instructor), I felt I was steadily growing toward my objective (Picture 3). Most of all, I was able to obtain vigorous mental strength and I felt as if I had nothing to be afraid of in this world. Furthermore, what was memorable were the incredible lectures given before the training sessions. Among them, phrases such as “Shin soku tai” 心即体 : Mind is nothing but the body (generally known as “Shin soku ri”: Mind is nothing but the law) or “Gi shin ni iru” ( 技神に入る: to be divinely skilled, explained in such lectures, were so versatile, that they would just pop out of my mouth in various situations of my life later, but at the same time were considerably rich. In order to enjoy my student life with more friends, I joined a fishing club in university. As I had a long experience and prominent skills in regards to fishing, they immediately made me captain of the club. Thanks to this, I was also able to gain some experience in organizational operations in the “mini” society (Pictures 4).
　After learning basic science for a year and a half at the Hiroshima campus, I spent the rest of my undergraduate years at the Fukuyama campus to study my speciality, the science of fisheries. During this period, I served as captain of the fishing club at the Fukuyama branch, while joining the cycling club of the Fukuyama branch. I was also assigned the post of submanager to pursue the full-blown art of cycling (Pictures 5).
　In my fourth-year at the faculty, when we had to work on my graduation thesis, I was assigned according to my wish, to the laboratory of Professor Kiyokuni Muroga, who had specialized in fish diseases. Communication skills I had cultivated over my student life through sports and drinking sessions helped me carry out smooth activities in the laboratory, as well as allow me to concentrate on academic research (Pictures 6).

　Moreover, thanks to Professor Fryer, I was able to accumulate a variety of experiences that it made that one year feel very long. Not only was I able to develop my own research I had been working on in Japan, but I could also take important classes related to microbiology, take part in other activities in relation to fish disease (such as helping out with a project for salmon farming business by Oregon State Fisheries & Wildlife), and enjoy my own hobby of fishing as well (fishing specific to that area, such as rainbow trout in a stream and salmon on a shore) (Picture 9). It was especially meaningful for me and I was highly impressed by Professor Fryer’s class. He had received the Loyd F. Carter Award, which was bestowed to excellent educators (only one recipient a year) and his method would go on to influence the class I was to be in charge of later on in Japan.

Picture 9 Through a chartered boat, we could easily enjoy trawling for coastal salmon for a daily rental fee of $30.

　After the transfer, studies in my doctoral years went smoothly and I published a lot of papers. Among all, I was honored to receive “The Sea Grant Association National Student Research Award (1981)” and “N. L. Tarter Research Award (1982)” for my research on “Development of new animal model for enteric infectious bacteria test” (Picture 10). It was known throughout the university and when there was an outbreak of E. coli (the so-called O-157) infectious disease in Oregon and Michigan for the first time in the world in 1982, I was to help with the investigation into the cause in the state of Oregon. In other words, I was the first Japanese researcher, who engaged in the investigation of the O-157 incident.

Life in the U.S. as a postdoctoral researcher

Picture 11 My beloved 1971 Ford. It came equipped with the biggest engine that Ford had produced for a passenger car at the time (cylinders at 439 cu inch [=7 ltr]). I always looked forward to tuning the engine myself in spring and autumn.

NM:After obtaining a Ph.D. at Oregon State University, I was introduced by professor Seidler to Dr. James B. Kaper, who was in the Department of Bacterial Genetics at the Center for Vaccine Development, University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and started my academic life as his first postdoctoral researcher in February 1983. The first message from Dr. Kaper was to turn up in Baltimore soon and to start working on the research. Following his instruction, I accomplished a lone cross-country drive in the middle of a snowstorm in February, driving my precious car (1974 Ford LTD, Picture 11) on Route 80-N from Oregon to Maryland in six and half days. The theme of the research project was a genetic analysis of pathogenic factors of Vibrio Parahaemolyticus. It was just around this time, when the U.S. was taking the global lead in genetic engineering techniques, including gene cloning, and these were being developed and published one after another. I made up my mind and devoted myself to the research (though I was still a late-night person) for three years, and as a result, I acquired the latest genetic engineering techniques. As those were the early days for experiments of molecular genetics without sufficient experimental kits, it was necessary for us to follow the basic procedures of experiments faithfully and it required immense time and work every day. Again, what had supported me mentally and physically during such a tough life as a researcher was sports (swimming and football) (Picture 12). When I was leaving Baltimore, as I had completed the mission, Dr. Kaper said to me for the last time; “enjoy it while you can.” I’m trying to give the same words to my graduates in my laboratory.

NM: In the U.S., they put emphasis on fundamental education in extensive fields during the period of graduate education up to Ph.D. level and they provide an educational system that enables students to understand the philosophy behind each of the several fields, at least those relevant to their specialties. They also have a system with a certain level of freedom for postdoctoral researchers, allowing them to take up the challenge according to their bold ideas, but at the same time, making sure that they would be responsible for the whole project and make it a “success” in the end. On the other hand, it seems to me that the research environment in Japan generally tends to make a young researchers “mature early” as a specialist of a certain field at an early stage.

NY: Tell us about your research during the time you were at the Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University.

NM: Before the end of my postdoctoral contract in the U.S., I had unofficially been promised a job by a certain research institution in Japan, however, I also got an offer from the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University and I was finally hired as an assistant by the latter for a period of one year and nine months from April 1986. After that, I had the opportunity to work as a lecturer and assistant professor for a course on microbiology at the Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University. During those days, what I was particularly trying to do with regard to aspects of research, was to work with young Japanese researchers (postdoctoral researchers and graduate students), who had been engaged in pathogenic microbiology and to convey to them what I had learned in the U.S. (such as a vision for tackling research and the latest technology), as well as the fact that when the principle of “the three arrows (three pillars of stability)” would work, they could expect far greater results than research done by any individual. The romanticism (ideal) that I have as an academic is to conduct research that would bring about something beneficial for many. Personally, I am content with what I achieved during this period. According to internet information, my thesis to date, has been quoted in other papers more than 11,700 times. Among them, those ranking on the top two (quoted more than 500 times) have been published during this period.

New studies bridging the fields of medicine and area studies

NM: When I was transferred to CSEAS, a professor from the Faculty of Medicine gave me advice that I should try to cover activities that would reinforce the deficiencies of each department. My own initial understanding was that the Faculty of Medicine had lacked tropical studies, while CSEAS had lacked useful and practical studies. Nowadays, however, the latter considers cross-over studies between field research and laboratory experiments that fit the conditions of being suitable for both fields of Medicine and Area Studies to be more appropriate. One of the successful examples of this could be the result of cooperation between the members of various departments of CSEAS as well as collaborative researchers from respective Southeast Asian countries, namely, through a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (S) “Infectious Diseases Spreading Across International Borders in Southeast Asia: The Elucidation of Area- Specific Features Based on Multifactorial Analysis (2007- 2011)”. For this contribution, the Japanese Society of Tropical Medicine Award of Excellence (2011) was awarded for the first time in Kyoto University, and the certificate contained a comment that my study clearly demonstrates how future studies of Japanese tropical medicine should be directed (Picture 14).

Picture 14 The Japanese Society of Tropical Medicine Award of Excellence Certificate (2011).

NY: What is your message for future researchers?

NM: It is often said that “what one likes, one will do well” and looking back over my research so far, I realize that while I ardently pursued my passion, I naturally passed the threshold of research and have been able to obtain a considerable depth of exploration. However, I did not just cling to one thing but maintained a degree of flexibility, so that it was possible for me to decide, when needed or requested by affiliated fields, to redirect my career path or to start working on international research collaborations without hesitation. As a result, my study has significantly expanded. In regards to the selection of a counterpart for collaborative works, I would recommend choosing someone of almost the same generation that one can communicate well with, rather than setting up a highly renowned scholar. A lot of such counterparts are included in the list on the table 1. In addition to your own interests, if there was an ultimate goal for one’s study, concrete and lifelong, such as “research that is useful for many,” it should be backed up by passion and improve our motivation for study.
　So long as the above conditions are met, with increased motivation and where the possibility to challenge something exists, I would like to put my hands to different kinds of research. Among the list of my favorite things to do is handcrafting; It is a hobby spun off from my penchant for machines, such as fiddling with bicycles and automobiles. I would like to introduce an example here. Since there was a demand for safe and reliable food from small- and mediumsized enterprises in the Kansai region and as I was proud of myself for being the first Japanese researcher to have participated in the investigation of the E.coli O157 incident, as well as being consistent with the ultimate goal of my research (useful for many), I felt a strong motivation that resulted in my involvement in the development of new sterilization methods that could realize the supply of inexpensive “Yukhoe” beef to be eaten raw. It was not just about the process of sterilizing lumps of meat, but about analyzing the characteristics of multiple handling processes, starting from the stage of slaughtering cows to that of them being eating, in order to devise new processing methods appropriate to respective stages. By taking advantages of such a synergistic effect of combining those with newly developed sanitizers and handmade washing equipment, I was able to achieve this goal. This intellectual production (a product of alliances between industry and academia) was introduced as one of the representative inventions of Kyoto University in an intellectual property-related event (see back cover). I am currently trying to further develop research on this invention. My path hunting will continue. I hope it will be considered a useful study for others.

Translation: Chiharu Yoshida
Editing: Mario Lopez