The 30th Anniversary meeting of Lichenological Society of Japan (LSJ)
- The 31th annual meeting of LSJ
(7-8 September 2002)
 Fig. 1-4. 1. Lichen excursion at the foot of Mt. Fuji with heavy rain. 2. Gratitude messages to Dr. Syo Kurokawa on the paper board. 3. Identification lecture for beginners. 4. After scientific lecture of Dr. S. Kurokawa, the gratitude message board was sent by the President of LSJ, Dr. Masakane Inoue.  Fig. 5. The group photo of all participants for the 30th anniversary meeting. |
- The Lichenological Soceity of Japan (LSJ) was established in 1972, and
the society celebrated its 30th anniversary on 7th and 8th of September,
2002. This anniversary meeting was cosponsored by LSJ and National Science
Museum, Tokyo, and the 47 participants from Hokkaido to Kyushu gathered
at the foot of Mt. Fuji. The age of participants ranged from 4 to 76 years
old.
- On September 7, the program started with lichen observation for the beginner participants. The experts of LSJ members guided the introduction of lichenology for the beginners in the field. The Mt. Fuji has a deep forest at the foot which is called “Aokigahara”. The vegetation of the forest is dominated by Pinus densiflora, Tsuga diversifolia, and Ilex pedunculosa. Although parts of the forest are poor in lichen flora because of its darkness, we could observe rich lichens on barks and rocks in exposed rocky places of the forest. However, we were met by heavy rain with thunder at the end part of the excursion (Fig. 1). In spite of such accident, all participants really enjoyed the field excursion with many beautiful lichens.
- After the excursion, participants went to the “Shirakaba-sou” and “Fuji-san”
which are Japanese style hotels located near the Lake Sai-ko. The Shirakaba-sou
Hotel may be familiar to some foreign lichenologists who have visited Mt.
Fuji under the guidance of Dr. H. Kashiwadani. At the Shirakaba-sou, a
general meeting of LSJ was held for LSJ members. After that, all participants
had a barbecue party to promote mutual friendship. During this party,
the lichen slide shows were held by seven LSJ members. Each speaker showed
two or three photos with humorous explanation. The slide show included
following contents: “Thamnolia in Mt. Fuji“ and “Usnea growing on guardrail” by Dr. Yoshihito Ohmura; “The type specimens of Hypogymnia from Mt. Fuji” by Mr. Kozo Yoshida; “Mimetic doodlebugs on lichens” by Dr. Shunji Takeshita; “Memories of Ramalina siliquosa” by Dr. Nobuo Hamada; “Tropical lichens” by Dr. Hiromi Miyawaki; “Arctic lichens” by Dr. Masakane Inoue; and “Roccella tinctoria and its habitat” by Dr. Hiroyuki Kashiwadani.
- On September 8, we had three programs including the identification of lichens and two scientific lectures. The public hall changed into a good lichen laboratory, because some LSJ members brought stereo microscopes and microscopes. So, we could observe detail of morphology as we usually do in the laboratory. That was a good opportunity for beginners to learn about lichen from the researchers (Fig. 3). First scientific lecture was “Lichen dye” given by Prof. Yuko Teramura. She brought and showed various beautiful lichen dyeing cloths. She explained how to dye and what species is appropriate for a certain color. She gave beautiful purple red colored wool dyed by Rimelia clavulifera or Parmotrema tinctorum to the all participants as a souvenir. Second scientific lecture was the memorial lecture of this 30th anniversary meeting of LSJ. “Taxonomy and phytogeography of the genus Parmelia (s. lat)” was lectured by Dr. Syo Kurokawa. The genus Parmelia (s. lat.) had been divided into several taxonomic groups based mainly on his idea. Today their groups are treated as genus level. He lectured his idea about the genus especially emphasizing on the phytogeographical background. Although some participants were just beginners for the lichenology, both experts and beginners could spend enjoyable and valuable hours by the simple explanation of Dr. Kurokawa. We, Japanese lichenologists, are really thankful to his great achievements and guidance on the lichenology. As a token of our gratitude, we presented as a gift a memorial paper-board with our messages to Dr. Kurokawa (Fig. 2 and 4).
- In commemoration of 30th anniversary of LSJ, original goods of LSJ were
prepared and sold. They are Japanese tea cup, clock, bag, and so on. Because
they are inexpensive, some of them were immediately sold out.
- All participants spent fruitful and enjoyable days with smiles of satisfaction
(Fig. 5).
(Yoshihito OHMURA, Tsukuba, Japan)
