Masao Mimatsu

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Masao Mimatsu (三松正夫) (9 July 1888 - 8 December 1977) was a Japanese postmaster who recorded the growth of the Showashinzan mountain in 1944-1945.

Due to the Japanese war effort, when Showashinzan started to emerge from wheat fields in 1944 basic scientific materials were unavailable. However, Mimatsu, the postmaster of Sobetsu-cho, recorded measurements of the rising mountain on paper.

Despite his amateur status, when he presented his data and sketches to the World Volcano Conference in Oslo in 1948 his work was praised by professional volcanologists.

In 1946 he used his savings to buy the volcano. He is now honoured by a statue at the base of Usuzan, and his work is celebrated in the Mimatsu Masao Memorial Hall near the site of Showashinzan.