Kono Yasui was a Japanese biologist and cytologist.
19 Facts About Kono Yasui
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Kono Yasui received a Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon and was awarded as an Order of the Precious Crown Third Class for her academic accomplishments and leadership in women's education in Japan.
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Kono Yasui was the first child of nine siblings and was raised by parents who valued and emphasized education.
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Kono Yasui graduated from Kagawa Prefecture Normal School in 1898 and the Division of Science at the Women's Higher Normal School in 1902.
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Kono Yasui taught at Gifu Girls' Higher School and Kanda Girls' School until 1905, when a graduate course was established at the Women's Higher Normal School.
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Kono Yasui was the first woman to enter the course with a major in science research; she focused on zoology and botany.
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Kono Yasui published a paper about the Weberian apparatus of carp fish in Zoological Science in 1905, becoming the first woman published in the journal.
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Kono Yasui completed the graduate program at Women's Higher Normal School in 1907 and became an assistant professor at the school.
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Kono Yasui traveled to Germany and the United States in 1914 to perform cytological research at the University of Chicago.
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Kono Yasui travelled to Harvard University in 1915, where she conducted research on coal under Professor E C Jeffrey.
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Kono Yasui returned to Japan in June 1916 and continued researching coal at Tokyo Imperial University until 1927.
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Kono Yasui taught genetics there from 1918 to 1939, and was made a professor at the Women's Higher Normal School in Tokyo in 1919.
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Kono Yasui completed her doctoral thesis, "Studies on the structure of lignite, brown coal, and bituminous coal in Japan", in 1927, becoming the first woman in Japan to complete a doctorate in science.
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When Ochanomizu University was established under its current name in 1949, Kono Yasui was appointed professor.
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Kono Yasui accomplished a lot of firsts during her life and career as a biologist and cytologist.
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Kono Yasui's career lasted from the late Meiji period, through the Taisho, to the early Showa period.
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Kono Yasui was the first Japanese woman to publish an academic paper in an international journal.
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Kono Yasui heavily valued and contributed to the advancement of women's education in Japan.
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Kono Yasui's life has served as a guide and shining example to a whole generation of young women scientists.