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» Short profiles of Japanese geologists commemorated in the JGS Awards

The Geological Society of Japan Awards

The Geological Society of Japan Prize: The Geological Society of Japan Prize is presented to members of the Society who have made excellent contributions to geology.
The Geological Society of Japan Outstanding Contribution Award

The Geological Society of Japan Akiho Miyashiro Award(Known as the International Prize; prior to 2022): The Geological Society of Japan IAkiho Miyashiro Award is presented to members or non-members of the Society who have made innovative contributions in geology as well as distinguished achievements in developing the geology of Japan through studies of the Japanese Islands and adjacent areas and/or who are engaged in outstanding co-operative research with Japanese geologists.
The Geological Society of Japan H. E. Naumann Award
The Geological Society of Japan Ozawa Yoshiaki Award: The Geological Society of Japan Ozawa Yoshiaki Award is presented to young members of the Society (aged 37 or younger) who have made significant and internationally recognized contributions in the fields of geotectonics, stratigraphy, sedimentology, paleontology, or related areas. The award commemorates the extraordinary scientific achievements of Dr. Yoshiaki Ozawa during his short lifetime (1899–1930); the achievements of Dr. Ozawa are presented below.
The Geological Society of Japan Sakuyama Masanori Award: The Geological Society of Japan Sakuyama Masanori Award is presented to young members of the Society (aged 37 or younger) who have made significant and internationally recognized contributions in the fields of petrology, volcanology, or related areas. The award commemorates the extraordinary scientific achievements of Dr. Masanori Sakuyama during his short lifetime (1952–1984); the achievements of Dr. Sakuyama are presented below.
The Geological Society of Japan Island Arc Award: The Geological Society of Japan Island Arc Award is presented to the author(s) of papers published in the journal Island Arc that represent significant and internationally recognized contributions in geology. The award is presented to all co-authors, regardless of membership in the Society.
The Geological Society of Japan Koto Bunjiro Award(Known as the Koto Award, prior to 2012): The Geological Society of Japan Koto Bunjiro Award is presented to members of the Society who have published on important discoveries and/or innovative ideas in any scientific journal. The award commemorates Professor Bunjiro Koto’s pioneering scientific activities and contributions in a wide range of geological fields; the achievements of Prof. Koto are presented below. (The Koto Bunjiro Award was formerly the Koto Award, which was presented to members of the Society who had authored a Short Paper in the Journal of the Geological Society of Japan that reported an important discovery; however, the Koto Award was terminated in 2012, due to elimination of the Short Paper category in this journal.)
The Geological Society of Japan Best Paper Award: The Geological Society of Japan Best Paper Award is presented to members of the Society who have published excellent and notable papers in the Journal of the Geological Society of Japan or in Island Arc.
The Geological Society of Japan JGSJ Short Publication Award
The Geological Society of Japan Young Scientist Award: The Geological Society of Japan Young Scientist Award is presented to young members of the Society (aged 35 years or younger) who have published excellent papers in the Journal of the Geological Society of Japan or in Island Arc.
The Geological Society of Japan Fieldwork Award
The Geological Society of Japan Commendation
The Geological Society of Japan Best Student Presention Award: The Geological Society of Japan Best Student Presention Award is presented to members of the Society who have contributed excellent and notable presentations at scientific meetings held by the Society.

Short profiles of Japanese geologists commemorated in the JGS Awards

KOTO, Bunjiro (1856-1935): Bunjiro Koto was one of the great figures in the early history of Japanese geology. He was the founder and leader of various geological fields in Japan, such as petrology, volcanology, seismology, and geotectonics. Bunjiro Koto was born as the son of a samurai warrior who served for a feudal clan in Tsuwano, western Iwami Province (presently, Shimane Prefecture), Japan. During the early modernization of Japan, after the Meiji Restoration (1868), he studied geology in the newly established Imperial University of Tokyo, graduating in 1879. He started his geological work in the Tetori River area, Ishikawa Prefecture, as a researcher for the Geological Survey of Japan. Later, he pursued scientific studies at the University of Leipzig and the University of Munich, Germany. After returning to Japan, he was appointed Professor of Geology at the University of Tokyo, where he remained for more than 30 years (1885–1921). Professor Koto studied Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks in the Chichibu, Shikoku, and Abukuma areas, and in particular, highlighted the geological characteristics of the Sanbagawa and Mikabu series, now interpreted as a high-pressure metamorphic belt and an ophiolite, respectively. His geological and geographical studies are summarized in books such as Geological Structure of the Ryukyu Islands (1897), Geomorphology of the Chinese Areas (1909), and Geotectonic Framework of the Japanese Islands and Korean Peninsula (1915). His remarkable contributions in seismology included the verification of the theory that “earthquakes originate in fault movements”, which was based on his field study of the 1891 Nobi Earthquake (M 8.0); the earthquake caused large surface displacements along the fault line and extensive damage to structures and large numbers of casualties in the Gifu area. He also initiated the study of volcanology in Japan by publishing books such as Volcanoes of Japan (1916), Sakurajima Volcano 1914 Eruption (1916), and The Seven Islands of Izu Province (1931; in English).
OZAWA, Yoshiaki (1899-1930): Yoshiaki Ozawa was born in Yamanashi Prefecture, to the west of Tokyo, and graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1923. Soon after, he published papers titled Paleontological and Stratigraphical Studies on the Permo–Carboniferous Limestone of Nagato (1925) and A brief Critical Revision of the Fusulina Species Recently Described, with Additional Studies on Japanese Fusulinae (1925). He divided the Japanese Permo-Carboniferous limestones into four zones using fossil fusulinids, and postulated the large-scale inverted structure of the Akiyoshi-dai Limestone. His innovative paper, The Post Paleozoic and Late Mesozoic Earth-Movement in the Inner Zone of Japan (1925), initiated the study of distinct phases of orogenic movements in Japan; he received the Emperor’s Prize for this contribution to science. Dr. Ozawa was appointed Associate Professor of the University of Tokyo in 1925. He studied in the United States and Europe between 1927 and 1930, and during this period wrote the chapter on Fusulinidae in J. A. Cushman’s textbook on Foraminifera (1928). Shortly after returning to Japan, he passed away at the age of 32 due to illness.
SAKUYAMA, Masanori (1952-1984): Masanori Sakuyama was born in 1952 in Kobe City. He graduated from Kyoto University in 1975, and earned his masters and doctoral degrees at the University of Tokyo. He established indisputable petrologic evidence for magma mixing beneath Shirouma-Oike Volcano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. He further studied phenocryst assemblages of volcanic rocks in the Northeast Japan arc, and explained the regular distribution of hydrous minerals in terms of across-arc variations in the water content of magmas. Through this work, he opened new horizons in the field of the volcanic petrology of island arcs. Dr. Sakyuama was appointed Assistant Professor of the University of Tokyo in 1980. From 1982, he continued his research at the University of Southampton (UK). In 1984, he traveled to Iceland to study volcanoes, and, while attempting to cross a river with two co-workers (Dr. Hiroyuki Fukuyama and Mr. Arato Horikoshi) using a field vehicle, the car was washed away, and all three geologists perished. Professor Skuyama’s enthusiasm, dedication, and leadership in the geological sciences left a very strong impression among young scientists who were in contact with him, both in Japan and overseas; this impression is reflected in the existence of another Sakuyama Award for students, conferred by the University of Southampton.
References: Imai, Isao (1996) “Ozawa Yoshiaki” (p. 175) and “Koto Bunjiro” (p. 455). In: Association for the Geological Collaboration in Japan (ed.) “Cyclopedia of Earth Sciences” (Chigaku Jiten), New Edition. Heibonsha Ltd., 1443 p. (in Japanese)

Nakamura, Yasuo (1984) Obituary for Drs. Hiroyuki Fukuyama and Masanori Sakuyama who passed away on duty. Journal of the Geological Society of Japan, 90, 864. (in Japanese)

Omori, Masae (2004) Contributions to geology left by Yoshiaki Ozawa, who came to untimely end: discovery of recumbent folding in Japan and systematic studies on foraminiferal fossils (“Lives of Geologists” series). Earth Science (Chikyu Kagaku), 58, 351-355. (in Japanese)

Yajima, Michiko (2007) Bunjiro Koto, the father of geology and petrology in Japan (“Lives of Geologists” series). Earth Science (Chikyu Kagaku), 61, 155-159. (in Japanese)