Special Exhibition
FORMOSA−A Heretical Botanist Bunzo Hayata

Bunzo Hayata（1874−1934）was a botanist born in Niigata Prefecture. He was teaching at the University of Tokyo from 1904 until his death. He devoted to study on plants on Mt. Fuji, in Taiwan, and in SE Asia. He is especially well known as the "father of botany in Taiwan", naming more than 1600 Taiwanese plants as new species. He studied not only for orthodox taxonomy, but also proposing unique theories, such as 'Succession Theory' for plant communities, 'Dynamic System' for plant systematics, and 'Stele Theory' for internal structure of plants. However, his ideas were not acceptable by the major scholars and academic communities in Japan at that time.
This special exhibition presents the "heretical botanist" Hayata's life and works with materials he collected and his literature, and takes into account his ideas suggesting to the modern biology.
"FORMOSA" means not only for the name of Taiwan, but also for "beautiful" in Portuguese. The word would be suitable for introducing Hayata.

Exhibition Information
Period: 24 April − 5 September 2025
Closed days: Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays (the days when lectures are given, open 13:00−17:00)
Please check the opening calendar before your visit
Opening hours: 10:00−17:00 (last admission: 16:30)
Venue: Hongo Main Museum, The University Museum, The University of Tokyo (UMUT)
Location: 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Access: 6 minutes on foot from Hongo-sanchome station of the subway Marunouchi Line
　3 minutes on foot from Hongo-sanchome station of the subway Oedo Line
Map: https://www.um.u-tokyo.ac.jp/information/map_en.html
Admission: free of charge
Exhibition flyer: https://www.um.u-tokyo.ac.jp/exhibition/2025formosa_flyer.pdf

Lectures
During the exhibition, seven lectures will be given.
[1] 25 May [Sun] 15:00−16:00
　 "Bunzo Hayata's life and his achievements"
　 IKEDA Hiroshi (Associate Professor, UMUT)
[2] 15 June [Sun] 15:00−16:00
　 "Goethe's 'Metamorphose der Pflanzen' and Bunzo Hayata"
　 YAMANAKA Shintaro (Doctoral Course, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo)
[3] 29 June [Sun] 15:00−16:00
　 "Bunzo Hayata's 'Dynamic System' and ideology of Kegon sect"
　 NAKAMURA Yoichi (Professor Emeritus, Akikusa Gakuen Junior College)
[4] 13 July [Sun] 15:00−16:00
　 "Bunzo Hayata's theory of life and Lotus Sutra"
　 NAKAO Gyo (Researcher, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hiroshima University)
[5] 27 July [Sun] 15:00−16:00
　 "Vegetation and succession of Taiwan and Mt. Fuji by Bunzo Hayata"
　 HASEKURA Chikako (Part-time Lecturer, Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture)
[6] 10 August [Sun] 15:00−16:30
　 "Forest succession of subalpine zone on Mt. Fuji, and Bunzo Hayata's 'Dynamic System'"
　 NAKAMURA Toshihiko (Support Staff, Graduate School of The University of Tokyo)
[7] 24 August [Sun] 15:00−16:30
　 "Hayata's Botany and Taiwan"
　 OHBA Hideaki (Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo)

Hosted by The University Museum, The University of Tokyo (UMUT)
Cooperated with the Botanical Gardens, Graduate School of Science, The Univrsity of Tokyo /
　 Herbarium, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute (TAIF) /
　 Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, National Taiwan University
Planning/ Hiroshi Ikeda (Associate Professor, UMUT)
Floor design/ Tsuneo Ko (Project Professor, UMUT) and Shinji Yoshida (Tanseisha Co. Ltd.)
Graphic design/ Hiroyuki Sekioka (Project Associate Professor, UMUT)