The University of Osaka and Shiomi Institute for Physical and Chemical Research

Chozaburo Kusumoto, the President of Osaka Medical University, and Zenzaburo Shibata, the Governor of Osaka Prefecture, were spearheading the campaign to promote the opening of the Imperial University. In response, the Shiomi Institute for Physical and Chemical Research, which was created for making Masaji Shiomi’s dream of establishing a university of science come true, quickly offered a donation of 400,000 yen from its operating fund. According to Governor Shibata’s recollection, the offer made by the Shiomi Research Institute strengthened his commitment and spurred the campaign[5]. In this aspect, the role played by the Shiomi Institute for Physical and Chemical Research in the birth of The University of Osaka was significant.

For the establishment of the School of Science, University President Hantaro Nagaoka wished to take the Shiomi Institute for Physical and Chemical Research entirely into The University of Osaka; however, Aihiko Sata, the Director of the Institute at that time, turned down this proposal and decided that maintaining the Institute’s dependance was the wish of the deceased. Toshiyuki Majima, the first Dean of the School of Science, and Kinnosuke Ogura* (小倉金之助), the Director of the Institute, negotiated and reached the agreement that the Shiomi Institute for Physical and Chemical Research should remain independent and that the employee salaries should be paid by the University. As a result, the Shiomi Institute for Physical and Chemical Research played a role in providing many people to work as university teachers.

During the period from the time the establishment of the School of Science was approved to the time of the completion of the building for the School of Science in 1933, the building of the Shiomi Institute for Physical and Chemical Research served as a place for the activities of teachers who were gradually becoming solid members. It is said that Hideki Yukawa, who had been unable to produce research papers smoothly since he was employed as a lecturer, was given a pep talk by Hidetsugu Yagi, the Chief of the Department of Physics, in one of the rooms in the Shiomi Institute for Physical and Chemical Research.

The economic turmoil after the war made it difficult for the Shiomi Institute for Physical and Chemical Research, which was operating as an independent foundation, to secure sufficient operating fund. Thus, the Institute disbanded in 1956 and transferred all its assets to The University of Osaka. The commemorative relief showing the profiles of Aihiko Sata (1871 – 1950) and Masaji Shiomi (1878 – 1916), who poured their passions into the establishment of the Institute, still remains in the Shiomi Memorial maintained by the School of Science. The building that housed the Institute was later converted and used as a cancer research center by the Faculty of Medicine.

The Shiomi Institute for Physical and Chemical Research had been actively collecting foreign literatures since before the School of Science was established, and the books were transferred to the The University of Osaka. Those books are presently stored at the University Library.

Many items are displayed in the Museum of The University of Osaka in recognition and honor of the roles that the Shiomi Institute for Physical and Chemical Research and Masaji Shiomi played in founding the University, and their names remain eternally in the Shiomi Memorial at the School of Science.

[5] “50 Years of The University of Osaka: Overview of University History” published by the Editorial Executive Committee for the 50-Year History of The University of Osaka, The University of Osaka (1985)

* "Romaji” expressions were conjectured based on the kanji characters.