Dr. Taroh Matsuno : 1. The Boy who Loved Drawing Weather Maps

1. The Boy who Loved Drawing Weather Maps

Interest in Weather

Taroh Matsuno was born in Nagano Prefecture, Japan in 1934, and he spent his childhood in Mito City and within Ibaraki Prefecture. It was a time of intense fighting; during air raids, machine gun fire would rain down and he would be terrified. When the war ended, however, there was a sudden sense of freedom, and Taroh was able to enjoy activities such as playing baseball at his school and exploring ancient burial mounds and archaeological sites.

Taroh first became interested in weather during this time. It was his daily chore to go to the field to cut grass, such as clover, plantains, and shepherd's purses to feed his pet rabbits. One day, he heard that wet grass is not good for rabbits, and from then on, he started paying attention to changes in the weather.

In his first year of junior high school, a pivotal event occurred that led him into the world of meteorology. He went on a science class field trip to a weather station in Mito City. On his way back to school after the field trip, he realized that he had inadvertently left his precious fountain pen behind at the weather station. Arriving back at the weather station by himself, he was warmly received by the staff, who taught him various things.

It was at this time that he first learned about weather maps, which they drew to report the weather. Today, we see weather maps every day on television weather forecasts. During wartime, metrological data was kept classified, and even after the war, weather maps were absent from newspapers for some time.

Because of his growing interest in weather, he began deepening his understanding by consulting the encyclopedias at home. When weather forecasts for fishermen began to be broadcast on the radio, he started to listen to them every day and draw weather maps himself. Each time, he reproduced a map of the area around Japan on paper, including latitude and longitude information, and added weather symbols and isobars. This is how he became known as a "weather map boy."

At University

He enrolled in the Faculty of Science at the University of Tokyo in 1955. In his first year, he took courses in mathematics, mechanics, electromagnetics, and quantum mechanics. He chose to major in geophysics, and went on to study various fields of geophysics such as seismology, oceanology, and solid-earth geophysics. With only one lecture on meteorology per week, he could gain only a limited understanding of the subject.

At that time, life was challenging for students, and some had to leave college to support their families. Taroh was very fortunate that he was able to graduate from university and proceed to graduate school in 1957. He had initially considered attending job interviews to join a company, but after discussing his future with his father, he decided to pursue graduate studies with the financial support from his family, scholarships, and income from a part-time job.

At the University of Tokyo
(Dr. Matsuno on the left.)

2. The Great Transformation in Meteorology