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In memoriam: Masashi Egami, pioneerof the Japanese specialty gases industry
On April 16, 2017, Masashi
Egami, widely regarded
as the founder of Japan’s
specialty gas industry,
sadly passed away at the ageof 103.
Egami was the Chairman
and the Founder ofTakachiho Chemical
Industrial and Takachiho
Trading Company. He wasborn on January 10, 1914,
in Kurume in Fukuoka
Prefecture and in 1939, hegraduated from the Tokyo
Institute of Technology
with a degree in Applied
Chemistry.
After graduation, Egami
worked at Showa Densen
Denryu Laboratory. When
World War II broke out, hewas drafted into the Army
Aviation of the Narashino
Air Force Regiment where
he worked as an engineer
commission officer inthe rocket fuel division.
After the War, in 1946,
he worked at a researchlab, in Hodogaya Kagaku,
which sent him to workon a project at Tohoku
University, where he wasexposed to the world ofindustrial and high purity
gases for the first time.
In 1949, in a workshop
rented from Daiwa Denkiin the Shinagawa Ward inTokyo, Egami developed
a method to purify argon,
which later became his
first product. In 1950,
he founded Takachiho
10Ariel view of ceremony hall.

Trading Company and, in1958, Takachiho Chemical
Industrial Company,
named after the Takachiho
Mountain Range, locatedin Miyazaki Prefecture inKyushu, where he grew up.
He dedicated the rest of
his career to expanding thespecialty gas industry inJapan.
On September 18,
2017 Takachiho held anevent at the International
House of Japan, in Tokyo,
Roppongi to celebrate hislife accomplishments andhis entrepreneurship as thefounder of the specialty
gases industry in Japan.
Keynote speakers included
Daiskue Haraguchi, thePresident of Riverfield,Specialty Gas Report • Fourth Quarter 2017

“Today’s gathering is about the next
generation, inheritance and successionof my father, Masashi Egami’s spirit ofentrepreneurship and founding of thespecialty gas industry...”which manufactures
surgical robotic equipment
for the medical field, andTakayuki Kawaguchi, thePresident of RESONICJAPAN, which specializes
in the development ofmeasurement systems forcomplete inertia properties.
Both companies werefounded as Tokyo Instituteof Technology spin-off
ventures and dedicatedtheir young venture spritto Egami. Other guest

speakers included JunichiHanna, Emeritus Professorof Tokyo Institute ofTechnology, MasatakaTamura, past presidentof Osaka Sanso (OSK), aprevious company in The
BOC Group (now part ofAir Liquid Japan), Atushi
Takahashi, Measurement
Analysis Laboratory
Manager of Toyota TechnicalDevelopment Corporation,and Tsuneaki Maeda, Special
Director Fellow, of thegasworld.com/specialtygases

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Professionals’ Network inAdvance Instrumentation
Society, a NPO (non-profitorganization).
Current President anddaughter, Maki Egami,
spoke at the service andsaid, “Today’s gathering
is about the next
generation, inheritance andsuccession of my father,
Masashi Egami’s spiritof entrepreneurship andfounding of the specialty
gas industry.”
Other key features of thecelebration included thedisplays of the first ultraprecise giant balance scalebuilt by Masashi himself in1969 and corn, potatoes,
flower beans brought
directly from Misaka, thecompany outing and a farmin Yamanashi Prefecture.
Egami’s love of nature andanimals was displayed
through his pictures, hisaltar covered with flowers,
branches, soil, and animals(not hunted – naturaldeaths) all originating from
Misaka. The home-madealtar also included nineflowers, made with gas
cylinder valves, lighted using
Takachiho-made fluorescentlight bulbs produced in
Takachiho’s fluorescent lightbulb plant.
Although saddened byhis sudden loss, Takachiho
will, by following Egami’sexample, keep on fulfilling
Takachiho’s company
mission statement, “To makecontributions to sciencethrough constant aspirations
in expanding boundariesof technology.” More than
68 years after pioneering

this industry in Japan,
Takachiho will continue todevelop, manufacture, andsell specialty gases including
pure atmospheric and raregases, calibration standards,
multi-component mixtures,
semiconductor gases, highpurity hydrocarbons, andfluorocarbons. Takachiho
will continue its researchand development efforts
to create new products
and services for the future
through constant innovationand every changing
evolution of the current
market position.
Egami’s secret to longevity
was his passion and purpose
towards life. Every day hekept asking himself how he
could make Takachiho a
better company and develop
something new. Even at
the age of 103, he went into
work 2-3 times per week. He
never stopped learning.
Surviving World War
II and his near-deathexperience in the Sumatra
Jungle of Indonesia further
hardened his determination
to live life to the fullest. He
believed that, “At any age,
we must not be content tosit down by the fireside andsimply look on. Life is meant
to be lived. Curiosity must
be kept alive. One mustnever, ever for whateverreason, turn their back onlife.”
Masashi is survived by
his wife, Kaoru Egami,
Executive Managing
Director of Takachiho,
daughters Maki Egami,
President of Takachiho andMiki Egami, Managing
Director of Takachiho.

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Fourth Quarter 2017 • Specialty Gas Report11