From Tomomi Tani

I joined the Naitoh lab in 1991 as an undergrad student of the University of Tsukuba to study the mechanisms of amoeboid movement using Dictyostelium. Yutaka was a rare mentor who would accept students with their own research projects. Once he understood my enthusiasm, he called experts of amoeboid movement in Japan to arrange my visit so that I could learn the basics and possible approaches to study Dictyostelium amoebae in his Paramecium lab.

One day, after our regular discussion, Yutaka suddenly asked me- what is intelligence? While I was searching around appropriate words for explaining “intelligence”, he continued, “intelligence- is the power of reasoning”. I noticed later this was a kind of question Yutaka frequently asked to his students. But his definition of “intelligence” really made sense to me at that time- even now.

In 1998, I reunited with Yutaka after I finished my PhD study at the University of Tokyo. As a postdoc, I joined the contractile vacuole project that Richard Allen and Yutaka had started at University of Hawaii. The project did not sound like the latest, highly competitive research at that time, but it was so unique. I enjoyed two years with these two established scientists and Christian Stock, who also joined the project as another postdoc.

There was a story around that time which might reflect Yutaka’s one personality. In 1998, Yutaka and I went to San Francisco to attend the ASCB Meeting. After the meeting, we joined one-day trip to Monterey to visit the aquarium and see the clusters of monarch butterflies. We used a tour bus from San Francisco. The bus driver was also a tour guide, who introduced us many scenic places along the route. When we got on the bus, we asked the driver to bring us to the forest where we could see monarch clusters. “Sure”, the driver responded to us, with a friendly smile.

It took several hours to reach Monterey by bus- from San Francisco, Monterey was not close as I had expected. After a long bus ride, we at last visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium, rocky shore along the Pacific Grove where we could see seals, and a beautiful small town for artists, Carmel. At the end of the tour, it was almost evening, we arrived at the forest where we were supposed to see the clusters of monarch butterflies. Then the driver told us through the microphone, “I am so sorry to tell you that I do not see any monarch clusters today”. I was upset to hear his announcement. He should have known that the chance was very low as he brought many tourists to the site every day. After listening to my complaint, Yutaka told me with his soft voice- “Yes, you are right- he might know that we had little chance to see monarch clusters today. But he did not tell us just because he did not want to make us disappointed during the long bus trip from San Francisco to Monterey”. I thought he could convince himself with this reasoning- and it worked for me too.

Yutaka was a natural-born scientist. At the same time, he was a mentor who could lead students to the right (?) direction with his thoughtful suggestions. Even now, in my mind, I sometimes hear his words that I have heard in the, at many occasions when I want to listen to his advice. Yutaka is alive with us as long as we live. Thank you, Yutaka, for making our life fruitful.

- Tomomi Tani, a former student of Yutaka

2020-05-22