Katsutada Kaminuma probably knows more about Antarctica than anybody else in Japan. The 89-year-old geophysicist and professor emeritus at the National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR) has traveled to the remote region more than a dozen times since 1966, when he was recruited to join Japan’s 8th research expedition to Antarctica. In addition to working on Japan’s Syowa Station, he was involved in international research projects, including searching for meteorites and studying the seismic activity of Mount Erebus on the Antarctic continent.
The impact of his research is highlighted by the fact that he has two places named after him: Kaminuma Crag, a craggy outcrop rising above the glacier, and Kaminuma Bluff, an ice-covered bluff near the shore in southeast Ross Island. Kaminuma, who specializes in seismology, has also authored more than 20 books on Antarctica and is currently putting the finishing touches on his next one, scheduled to come out this fall and titled “Showa Kichi Konjaku Monogatari: Nankyoku Kansoku no Nanaju-nen wo Tadoru” (“The Past and Present Stories of Syowa Station: Following 70 Years of Antarctic Observation”). On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Japan’s Antarctic research program, which began with the November 1956 departure of the icebreaker Soya from Tokyo’s Harumi Pier, The Japan Times caught up with Kaminuma at his home in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Over apple juice served with ice brought back from Antarctica, Kaminuma spoke about the foresight of Japanese leaders who launched the country’s first expedition all those years ago, and he recalled his own experiences of wintering at Syowa Station in the early days, as well as the importance of keeping Antarctica free from geopolitics. This interview took place in Japanese and has been translated and edited for brevity and clarity. What originally motivated you to study earthquakes?
I was initially interested in astronomy and meteorology, which study phenomena on Earth’s surface, and then thought, “If we are to study inside the Earth, that’s earthquake research.” I simply wanted to know about everything inside and out of the Earth. While you were a researcher at the University of Tokyo in 1965, you were invited to join the Antarctic expedition. How did that make you feel?
Like many people, I dreamed about going to the moon when I was in middle school. But then, I rode an attraction called “Rotor” at the Korakuen amusement park (in Tokyo), which is a big spinning cylinder where people stand against the inner wall. When it spins, the floor drops, and centrifugal force pins you to the wall.
I felt so nauseous afterward that I realized that space travel would be impossible for me. Then, I wondered if there was anywhere untrodden I could visit on Earth. There were plenty of 5,000-6,000-meter unclimbed peaks in East Asia.
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