Ono Elementary School days

Kumagusu was born as the second son of the Minakata family and raised in Wakayama, one of the major cities of Japan of that day. From a young age he was interested in learning, and he had an insatiable curiosity for plants and animals.
In 1873, Kumagusu enrolled in Ono Elementary School. Around this time, it is said that he would make copies of books he borrowed and read them over and over.
He transcribed a wide variety of material, including dictionaries, illustrated encyclopedias, and Chinese pharmacology texts, among many.
From youth, Kumagusu exerted a superhuman memory. Through reading and writing, he was able to absorb all different sorts of knowledge.

<strong>Yamato Honzō and Bencao Gangmu</strong><br /> Yamato Honzō was a biology/pharmacology text published in 1709 by Kaibara Ekiken (Edo period herbalist).<br /> Li Shizhen’s Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica) was a precedent biology/pharmacology text completed in China in the 16th century. Yamato Honzō used its classification method to classify original material.
Yamato Honzō and Bencao Gangmu

<strong>Wakan Sansai Zue</strong><br /> Wakan Sansai Zue was a Japanese encyclopedia edited by 1712 by the doctor Terajima Ryōan. It was an illustrated encyclopedia inspired by the Chinese Sancai Tuhui, and the compilation took 30 years.<br /> It is an important text as a codification of knowledge of natural history in pre-modern Japan.
Wakan Sansai Zue