It is with great sadness that I inform you that Professor UMESAO Tadao, the first Director-General and Special Advisor of the National Museum of Ethnology, passed away of old age at 11:07 a.m., July 3, 2010. He was 90 years old. We have been informed that a private funeral service was quietly held on Monday, July 5. It is the Umesaos' wish to decline any offer of condolence money, telegrams, or flowers.

At the request of the forerunners of the Japanese Society of Cultural Anthropology and Mr. SHIBUSAWA Keizo, Professor Umesao founded the National Museum of Ethnology in 1974 as a world-class museum and an Inter-university Research Institute. He was dedicated to developing the fields of anthropology and ethnology, and with his original and wide variety of studies, including his ecological view of history, his comparative study of civilizations, and his study of Mongolia, he has given us great incentive to follow in his footsteps.

We hereby praise his achievements and pray sincerely for the repose of his soul.
On Wednesday July 7, as “A Day of Remembrance of Professor Umesao” all staff of the Museum offered a minute of silence at noon.
We plan to have a gathering to bid him farewell and will inform you of the exact date later.