Table of Biography
Michiyo Tsujimura was a Japanese agricultural scientist and biochemist and her research is focused on the components of green tea. Michiyo Tsujimura became the first female scholar in Japan to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry and agriculture and did extensive research on the health benefits of green tea.
Early Life and Childhood
Michiyo Tsujimura was born on 17 September 1888 in Okegawa City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Tsujimura was motivated to pursue a career in scientific research while still in school.
The father of Tsujimura was the headmaster of a mixed lower and upper elementary school. Tsujimura was nurtured in a loving household of nine people, including her parents, one elder brother, one older sister, Michiyo, two younger brothers, and two younger sisters.
Her siblings’ names and occupations are not available, either. Tsujimura loves plants even as a small child and she is of Japanese descent.
Caption: Michiyo is a Biochemist and agricultural Researcher. Source: Utkal Today.
Michiyo Tsujimura – Death
Michiyo Tsujimura died in Toyohashi on 1 June 1969 at the age of 80 and Tsujimura’s 134th birthday celebration will be on September 16, 2022, as per Google Doodle. After Tsujimura passed away, Katsurakai, an organization founded in her honor, erected a memorial stele in Toyohashi, where she spent her final years.
Caption: Google paid tribute to Michiyo. Source: Mocambo
Education
Michiyo graduated from Tokyo Prefecture Women’s Normal School in 1909 and went on to Tokyo Women’s Higher Normal School’s Division of Biochemical Science. Tsujimura learned from the biologist Kono Yasui there, who sparked her interest in scientific investigation.
After earning her degree in 1913, she started working as a teacher at Yokohama High School for Women in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Michiyo Tsujimura – Relationship Status
Michiyo Tsujimura may be a married woman or she has stayed single throughout her life. There is no information regarding her husband and her children. There is also no information about her relationship or any previous engagement. She is quite a happy person and spends most of her time in research.
Michiyo Tsujimura – Michiyo Tsujimura Scandal
Michiyo Tsujimura was never seen associating with any sort of rumors or controversies that would hamper her career. Also, she avoids the media and avoids engaging in aggressive behavior or situations that can damage her reputation.
Career and Professional Life
Michiyo Tsujimura joined Hokkaido Imperial University in 1920 as a laboratory assistant, which marked the beginning of her research career. Tsujimura held an unpaid post at the university’s Agricultural Chemistry Department’s Food Nutritional Laboratory because at the time the institution did not accept female students.
Therefore, before moving on to the Medical Chemical Laboratory at the Medical College of Tokyo Imperial University in 1922, she conducted research on the nutrition of silkworms there.
Tsujimura transferred to RIKEN as a research student in October 1923 after the September 1923 Great Kant earthquake devastated the laboratory. She conducted nutritional chemistry research with Umetaro Suzuki, a doctor in the agriculture lab.
In 1924, Tsujimura and Seitaro Miura published a paper titled “On Vitamin C in Green Tea” in the journal Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry detailing their discovery that green tea contains vitamin C. The export of green tea to North America increased as a result of this discovery. In 1929, Tsujimura extracted flavonoid catechin from green tea.
In 1930, Tsujimura used green tea to crystallize tannin. She received a doctorate in agriculture from Tokyo Imperial University in 1932 for her thesis on the chemical components of green tea, making her the first woman in Japan to do so. The title of her dissertation was “On the Chemical Components of Green Tea.”
In 1934, she isolated gallocatechin from green tea, and in 1935, she filed for a patent on her process for obtaining vitamin C crystals from plants. She started at RIKEN as a junior researcher in 1942, was promoted to a researcher in 1947, and was finally made a professor in 1949, the year Ochanomizu University was established.
Tsujimura began teaching there in 1950 and served as the institution’s first dean of the Faculty of Home Economics. In 1955, Tsujimura retired from Ochanomizu University as a professor, but she kept giving occasional lectures until 1961. She taught at Tokyo’s Jissen Women’s University from 1955 until 1963, when she became a professor emeritus.
Caption: Michiyo experimenting in her lab. Source: Mujeres
Brand Endorsements
Michiyo Tsujimura has not yet provided brand endorsements. Additionally, she has not yet advertised anything and in the same way, is not known to have worked with any brands. Regarding the other brands she has collaborated with other’s products or not, there is no information accessible.
Awards and Nomination
For her study on green tea, Michiyo received the Japan Prize for Agricultural Science in 1956. She also received the Order of the Precious Crown of the Fourth Class in 1968.
Net Worth 2024
Michiyo’s most of her income source is from her teaching career. Tsujimura spends most of her time teaching in different universities. Her income sources are also from her discoveries. But, Tsujimura’s actual net worth is unavailable.
Body Measurements
Michiyo’s body measurements are not available. She had an Asian body structure as she was an Asian. Tsujimura has black color eyes and grey hair. She hasn’t inked tattoos on any parts of her body. Similarly, Tsujimura dress size and shoe size are also not available.
Social Media
Michiyo is not available on any other social media sites including Facebook. In her days, social media weren’t as popular as now and only the medium of communication was the telephone and letters. Tsujimura enjoys keeping things private in her personal life. As a result, she doesn’t use any social media sites, and also in her time, as we know, social media weren’t as important as it is now, there was no need for them back then.