{"id":75912,"date":"2023-07-21T12:14:48","date_gmt":"2023-07-21T03:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/?p=75912"},"modified":"2023-07-21T14:00:25","modified_gmt":"2023-07-21T05:00:25","slug":"japanese-fika-vol7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/en\/japanese-fika-vol7\/","title":{"rendered":"Tea with Seiko Ito and Nobuyuki Tanaka"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oyEha7gMdWI?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br><br><em><strong>Tanaka-san and I go back a long way. I may have already met him a dozen or so years ago when I went with Papersky Editor in Chief Lucas B.B. to collect material for a story at the Kochi Prefectural Makino Botanical Garden. Tanaka-san is serious and straightforward, but he can also keep a poker face and tell wicked jokes.<\/strong><\/em><br><br><strong><em>He\u2019s the type of guy I like. Just as I was missing him at the Makino Botanical Garden\u2014I had heard my go-to expert had left and taken up a position elsewhere\u2014the TV drama series&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><em><strong>Ranman<\/strong><\/em><strong><em>&nbsp;reunited us. I\u2019m a cast member and he\u2019s a technical advisor, and I get to see him at the rehearsals and the shootings!&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><br><br><em><strong>The set of a TV drama is unfamiliar territory for me, but I feel at home thanks to this old friend and fellow plant lover, Nobuyuki Tanaka.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>\u30fcSeiko Ito<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ito : You\u2019ve helped me on many of my visits to collect material for various projects. How did you come to join the Makino Botanical Garden? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tanaka: My alma mater is the Tokyo Metropolitan University. I spent my student years in its Makino Herbarium, and after completing the doctoral program, went on to work at the Makino Botanical Garden in Kochi Prefecture. I\u2019m a Makino disciple through and through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ito: But you were into insects as a child, weren\u2019t you? At some point, your curiosity must have shifted to the flowers that those insects loved to eat. When was that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tanaka: That was around high school, when I joined the botany club run by the plant taxonomist Ms. Chizuru Okawa. She taught us that before all else, we needed to learn the names of plants. And to do that, we must first gather specimens. In the process of studying our own specimens, we would learn the names, you see. Ms. Okawa gave us one reference book, and that was&nbsp;<em>Makino\u2019s Illustrated Flora of Japan<\/em>. It was my first encounter with the name Tomitaro Makino. Ever since then, I\u2019ve continued to collect plant specimens and look up their names. That\u2019s all I\u2019ve been doing all this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ito: So it\u2019s the basic of basics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tanaka: Taxonomy is the most basic branch of botany. And specimens are the most basic reference material for everything we do in taxonomy. The oldest extant specimen dates back 500 years, meaning our specimens will also be preserved for at least several centuries. In a hundred years\u2019 time, when research has progressed further, the botanists then will be able to use our specimens to verify the work we\u2019ve done. In other words, our specimens are the evidence of our research. That\u2019s what makes them so important for our science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8570-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-75929\" srcset=\"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8570-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8570-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8570-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8570-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8570.jpg 1700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Ito: When preparing a specimen, you start by laying out the plant between sheets of newspaper and pressing it flat. When doing this, you might need to bend the stems and arrange the plant so that it fits neatly within the boundaries of the page. That requires an eye for good design, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tanaka: Visual appeal isn\u2019t everything though. We also need to make sure all the necessary parts of the plant are visible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ito: Like the reverse side of the leaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tanaka: Both sides of the leaves, yes. But more importantly, those leaves shouldn\u2019t overlap with and hide the plant\u2019s most distinguishing feature\u2014the flower. So we collect, press, dry, and mount the specimen. A good specimen will present all the information needed by the researchers. This outcome is all that counts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ito: Then, what about botanical illustrations? If you make the perfect specimen, do you still need to sketch the plant?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tanaka: When you look at&nbsp;<em>Makino\u2019s Flora<\/em>, you find notes explaining things like the shape of the bulb and the length of the leaves. Those notes are called descriptions. A new species that hasn\u2019t yet been described by anyone is said to be undescribed. All living things are divided into either described and already known or yet undescribed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ito: So that\u2019s the top priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tanaka: Dr. Makino traveled up and down Japan on foot gathering specimens and identifying those that already had names. When he found a plant that hadn\u2019t yet been named, he deemed it a new species and gave it a description. But because a description relies only on words, the picture it brings to mind might vary from reader to reader. Round, for example, is ambiguous\u2014is it a perfect circle or an oval? An illustration helps to clarify the vagueness of the verbal description.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ito: I like to admire botanical illustrations like works of art. It\u2019s interesting that in academia, they play a supporting role for the descriptions. In any case, sketching requires talent, and an incredibly talented illustrator was Tomitaro Makino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tanaka: Yes, Dr. Makino was a natural-born artist. Between the Bakumatsu and Meiji periods in the late 19th century, in a time of transition from shogunate rule to modernization, Japanese botanists were vying to catch up with and surpass their peers from the West, and Tomitaro Makino easily surpassed them in the blink of an eye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ito: I found a book on social dance in Dr. Makino\u2019s study. The pages were marked with his notes on the steps. That\u2019s impressive, isn\u2019t it? To think that on top of conducting his research, he practiced dancing too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tanaka: Tomitaro Makino lived a life full of fun and games. For him, even his research was a hobby. Those of us today could take a lesson from his lifestyle. It proves that given all the time in the world, a genius can accomplish so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ito: You\u2019ve inherited Dr. Makino\u2019s playfulness too, you know. You\u2019re always wearing a necktie with a cool botanical pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8523-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-75925\" srcset=\"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8523-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8523-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8523-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8523-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8523.jpg 1700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Tanaka: The theme of my necktie today is \u201ccactarium.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ito: I love it! I need to get one of those too. Speaking of cacti, Yoshio Satonaka, the character I play in&nbsp;<em>Ranman<\/em>, is always carry a cactus. He\u2019s modeled on Yoshio Tanaka, a celebrated expert in natural history. I heard that the idea of him carrying that cactus didn\u2019t come from the scriptwriter, Ikue Osada, but that it came from you. Is that true?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tanaka: Well, it hadn\u2019t been decided which plant he was going to carry. Yoshio Tanaka brought all kinds of plants into Japan. Moonflowers, Dalmatian chrysanthemums, and cacti\u2014he came back from the Paris Exposition carrying all kinds of cacti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ito: The cactus Yoshio Satonaka was carrying in his first scene was a vine cactus, wasn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tanaka: That was the same species that Yoshio Tanaka actually brought back from Paris. The Japanese nickname,&nbsp;<em>himo-saboten<\/em>, is roughly equivalent to \u201cvine cactus\u201d in English. The problem is that it covers all climbing and trailing cacti. I had to do some digging to pinpoint the exact species. And once I had tracked it down, I barely managed to find one that big\u2014a vine cactus of that size is rare, you know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ito: I had no idea your job demanded so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tanaka: The main character is modeled on Tomitaro Makino, and Yoshio Tanaka is an esteemed figure too. I feel it\u2019s my duty as technical advisor to make sure the details conform as closely as possible to historical fact. You know the books lining the shelves of the Botanical Office? I did some research and made a list of books that must have been read by botanists of that era, and asked the prop designer to reproduce each one. The actual titles aren\u2019t really visible on air, but still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8303-1-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-75941\" srcset=\"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8303-1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8303-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8303-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8303-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8303-1.jpg 1700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Ito: In the midst of the hectic filming schedule, you left for two weeks in March to do a field survey in Myanmar. Do you plan to continue studying the flora of Southeast Asia for some time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tanaka: I\u2019d like to, yes. So much about the region is unknown to us today, just as a lot about Japan was unknown in Dr. Makino\u2019s era. In the case of Japan, the first researchers to study our flora came from the West, and they took all of the specimens they collected back to their home countries, leaving nothing behind for the Japanese to work with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ito: No wonder Dr. Makino and his peers had to gather their own specimens from scratch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tanaka: When my team goes to Southeast Asia, we collect duplicate specimens and leave them in the care of the local team. Dr. Makino also collected multiple specimens. It\u2019s very important to share your specimens and make sure the local researchers can conduct their own studies later on. Right now, we\u2019re also helping them build an herbarium in Myanmar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"last\">Ito: Collecting and preserving specimens\u2014though in a different era and region, you\u2019re doing the exact same work as Dr. Makino. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8893-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-75945\" srcset=\"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8893-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8893-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8893-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8893-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8893.jpg 1700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Japanese Fika&nbsp;Table<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tea&nbsp;| Makino original blend tea by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.makino.or.jp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Makino Botanical Garden<\/a> \u00d7 <a href=\"https:\/\/tretre-niyodo.jp\/?mode=f13\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tretre<\/a><\/strong><br>This tea is a blend of plants growing in the valley of the Niyodogawa River in Kochi Prefecture. Of the seven blends produced, our host and guest selected Sueko-zasa, named after Tomitaro Makino\u2019s wife, Sue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sweet&nbsp;|&nbsp;Boka nuts by <a href=\"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/kamikashimori\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kamikashimori <\/a>&amp; Lily yokan by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kikusuidou.com\/items\/youkan.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kikusuido<\/a><\/strong><br>Boka nuts are roasted nuts coated with boka, a syrup made with sugarcane grown in Kochi Prefecture. Kikusuido is an established wagashi store in Kochi City that offers Dr. Makino\u2019s favorite sweet yokan jelly desserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Flower |&nbsp;A landscape of wildflowers in homage to Dr. Makino<\/strong><br>Chasmanthe bicolor is a perennial plant of the family Iridaceae endemic to South Africa. The flower looks like the canna lily studied by Tanaka-san. Presented here in a modern earthenware pot created by a Swedish potter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8671-1-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-75937\" srcset=\"https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8671-1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8671-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8671-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8671-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/papersky.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/ATS8671-1.jpg 1700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kahaku.go.jp\/research\/researcher\/researcher.php?d=nobuyuki_tanaka\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Nobuyuki Tanaka<\/a>, Botanist<\/strong><br>Nobuyuki Tanaka was born in 1971 in Tokyo. After completing a doctoral program at the Graduate School of Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University, he served as a researcher at the Kochi Prefectural Makino Botanical Garden from 2000 to 2015, among other positions. Tanaka is currently head of the Division of Land Plants, Department of Botany, National Museum of Nature and Science, and specializes in studying the diversity of plant species in Southeast Asia.&nbsp;<br><a href=\"http:\/\/www.kahaku.go.jp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">www.kahaku.go.jp<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>* Two new books on Tomitaro Makino recommended by Seiko Ito\u2014he insists you must buy both of them together!\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/mainichibooks.com\/books\/social\/post-605.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Warera no Makino Tomitaro!<\/em>&nbsp;<\/a>(Our Beloved Tomitaro Makino!; Mainichi Shimbun Publishing), overseen by Seiko Ito as technical advisor, and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhk-book.co.jp\/detail\/000000886962023.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Makino Tomitaro no shokubutsugaku<\/em>&nbsp;<\/a>(The Botany of Tomitaro Makino; NHK Publishing) by Nobuyuki Tanaka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>Seiko Ito<\/strong><br>Born 1961 in Tokyo, Seiko Ito is an author and creator who works in a spectrum of expressive genres including literature, film, stage, music, and online platforms. His latest publications include&nbsp;<em>Warera no Makino Tomitaro!<\/em>(Our Beloved Tomitaro Makino!; Mainichi Shimbun Publishing) and&nbsp;<em>Ima sugu shiritai Nihon no denryoku: Asu wa kocchi da<\/em>&nbsp;(Electric Power in Japan: Quick Guide to Tomorrow; Tokyo Kirara). As an actor, Ito portrays Yoshio Satonaka, a botanist idolized by the main character in the currently airing NHK TV drama series&nbsp;<em>Ranman<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fika is the Swedish custom of taking a break over tea. In Japanese Fika, Seiko Ito is our host and invites a guest to chat over tea, sweets, and flowers. Our guest this time is botanist Nobuyuki Tanaka, who served as a researcher at the Kochi Prefectural Makino Botanical Garden for many years and is currently a technical advisor for the NHK TV drama series Ranman, modeled after the botanist Tomitaro Makino. Let\u2019s join the long-time buddies as they catch up and exchange everything from a heart-to-heart on plants, specimens, and Dr. Makino to a tale of the challenges of creating a TV drama.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":75916,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[117],"tags":[6488,402,6108,399,5617,6487,405,5616],"place":[133],"writer":[],"class_list":["post-75912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-en","tag-botanist","tag-fika-en","tag-issue-68-en","tag-japanese-fika-en","tag-makino-botanical-garden","tag-nobuyuki-tanaka","tag-seiko-ito","tag-tomitaro-makino","place-tokyo-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Tea with Seiko Ito and Nobuyuki Tanaka - PAPERSKY<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Fika is the Swedish custom of taking a break over tea. 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Our guest this time is botanist Nobuyuki Tanaka, who served as a researcher at the Kochi Prefectural Makino Botanical Garden for many years and is currently a technical advisor for the NHK TV drama series Ranman, modeled after the botanist Tomitaro Makino. 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