“We are told that we can only give from what we are given. From the start, I had nothing, and had to learn everything on my own with no regard for propriety. But in the end, there is no satisfaction for straying from the normal path”

The words on the walls around you are words written by Kumagusu himself in his one-of-a-kind “Resume”. It is over seven meters long, with 58,000 characters written on it. The first half was written over just three days, from January 31st to February 2nd, 1925. The second half took nineteen days, starting on February 2nd. At the time, Kumagusu was 58 years old. It was a letter written to Yoshio Yabuki, the deputy director of the Osaka branch of Nippon Yusen, a major shipping company in Japan.

During this time, Kumagusu was in need of money to fund plans for a botanical institute, which was proposed by Chōzaburō Tanaka, a researcher of citrus plants. The institute was already endorsed by 33 other prominent figures, including future prime ministers Takashi Hara and Shigenobu Ōkuma.

The original intent was to collect 100,000 yen and create a nonprofit organization. When they’d collected 70,000 yen, it seemed that their goal was in sight, until Kumagusu had a serious falling out with his younger brother, who had previously promised to donate 20,000 yen. At the same time, Kumagusu also lost the living allowance that he had been receiving from the same brother.

“Resume” was written four years after the conception of the botanical institute. Kumagusu had requested donations from Yabuki, who in turn requested a resume from Kumagusu. This letter is his response, though it deviated wildly from anything remotely related to his personal history. He freely jumped from topic to topic, creating a jumble of thoughts that go back and forth, just like the various topics that he dedicated his life to researching.

In the end, they didn’t make it to their original goal of 100,000 yen, so Kumagusu wished to dissolve the project and return all the money they’d received. Luckily he was persuaded to continue their research objectives by reducing the scale of the project. Although it was given the name “Minakata Botanical Institute”, no further researchers were involved in the project.

Now, let’s pass through the Kumagusu Mandala door and follow along his journey.