History and Chronology

Founding of the academic society

Based on the foundational knowledge of Edo-period natural history and actively incorporating modern Western zoology, the pioneers of the Meiji era established the Tokyo Biological Society, the predecessor of this Society, on October 20, 1878—an extremely early date among basic science societies. Later, in 1885, the name was changed to the Tokyo Zoological Society, and in 1888 and 1897, respectively, the publication of the Zoological Magazine and the English-language journal *Annotationes Zoologicae Japonenses* began. The extraordinary efforts of these early zoologists, who shaped the Society while learning the latest trends in Western zoology, contributed greatly to laying the foundation for producing original research in Japan's zoological community thereafter. Furthermore, from the Taisho era through the early Showa era, with the successive establishment of universities, new departments of zoology were created and the number of zoologists increased, leading to the specialization of fields such as taxonomy, embryology, physiology, morphology, genetics, and ecology, as well as the modernization of their content. In 1923, the name was changed to the Zoological Society of Japan, and in 1929, the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Society's founding was held. However, amidst the flames of war that originated with the Second Sino-Japanese War and expanded into the Pacific War, basic science societies found themselves facing a crisis of survival. During that time, zoologists who never stopped loving animals and zoology persevered through untold hardships, choosing research materials and devising research methods to stay true to their convictions while pouring blood, sweat, and tears into maintaining and operating the Society. The Zoological Society of Japan Award was established in 1939, and the fact that members Soichi Fukuda and Tomojiro Kawamura, who received the award during the war, went on to be honored with the Japan Academy Prize after the war is a testament to how those efforts were rewarded in part.

Postwar academic societies

After the war, the number of members exceeded 1,000, and the establishment of the new university system attracted the younger generation to zoology, leading to a qualitative and quantitative expansion of researchers. Sparked by the 75th anniversary celebration of the society's founding in 1954, membership began to increase rapidly. Meanwhile, the rise of molecular biology and biochemistry, symbolized by the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA by Watson and Crick, had a tremendous impact on the society as well, and changes began to occur in the direction of research. As Japan entered a period of high economic growth in the latter half of the 1955-1964 decade, the society could not remain uninvolved in environmental issues, population and resource issues, and energy issues, and research fields related to chemistry, biochemistry, medicine, agriculture, and engineering began to be pioneered. During this period, the Biophysical Society of Japan, the Japanese Society of Developmental Biologists, the Japan Society for Comparative Endocrinology, and the Japanese Society of Animal Physiology (currently the Japanese Society for Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry) were established one after another, and as research became more specialized, the base of researchers also grew stronger.

Since the 100th anniversary foundation

At the commemorative ceremony for the 100th anniversary of the Society's founding in 1979, then-President Nobuo Egami gave an address stating that the Zoological Society of Japan should aim for the harmonious development of zoology by cherishing its traditions, retaining the flavor of natural history, and yet lending strength to the breath of new science. This accurately expresses the origin and aspirations of our Society. On June 29, 1993, the long-cherished incorporation of the Zoological Society of Japan as a corporate juridical person was approved, committee activities became more active than ever before, and the desires of many members were realized with the establishment of a biology examination category in the National Civil Service Examination Type I. Meanwhile, today, as molecular biology methods have become the stock-in-trade of many life scientists, elucidating the diversity of tens to hundreds of millions of extant species has emerged as the next major theme in the biological sciences. Now, our Society has been quick to propose the grand "Gaia List 21" project, which aims to comprehensively describe the entire life system and analyze and preserve their genomic DNA, cells, and gametes, and is devoting its energy to its realization. On July 2, 2012, it became a public interest incorporated association, the Zoological Society of Japan.

historical timeline