Giants in History: Michiyo Tsujimura

Michiyo Tsujimura (17 September 1888 – 1 June 1969) was a Japanese agricultural scientist and biochemist recognized for her research of green tea components. Together with her colleague Seitaro Miura, Tsujimura was the first to discover that green tea contains vitamin C while she was a student at the RIKEN research institute. This discovery led to an increase in the popularity of green tea and consequently, a boost in green tea export from Japan to North America in the early 1900s. Tsujimura also isolated and extracted catechin, tannin and gallocatechin, constituents with anticancer properties, from green tea. Her research earned her a PhD from the Tokyo Imperial University and Tsujimura became the first female doctor of agriculture in Japan. A dedicated teacher, Tsuijimura held professor and lecturer positions at Ochanomizu University and Jissen’s Women University, respectively. For her green tea research, she was awarded the Japan Prize of Agricultural Science in 1956 and conferred the Order of the Precious Crown of the Fourth Class in 1968.