Iguchi Ariya

The pioneer of mechanical engineering and the inventor of the centrifugal pump. Born in Kanazawa, he graduated in 1882 (Meiji 15) from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Imperial College of Engineering (now the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Tokyo), in the fourth class. He became an assistant professor at the Imperial University College of Engineering in 1886 and a professor there in 1896. He founded the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers and the School of Engineering, and also served as a professor at the Naval Engineering School. He made pioneering achievements in all aspects of mechanical engineering, including water wheels, steam engines, mechanical elements such as gears and screws, shaft couplings, and flywheels, and was instrumental in the selection of mechanical engineering terminology. In particular, his theory and experiments on the centrifugal pump in 1905 (Meiji 38) provided the world's first clear design theory for this type of pump, and were highly acclaimed internationally. The centrifugal pump he prototyped based on this theory was a single-stage turbine pump with a diameter of 175 mm, which reached a total head of 40 meters and achieved an efficiency of 70%, setting a world record. The Japanese patent was obtained on January 29, 1914 (Taisho 3) under the names of Hatakeyama Issei and two others, which was incorporated by Hatakeyama into a company and is still in operation today as Ebara Corporation. Early centrifugal pumps are preserved as memorials at the company's headquarters and at the Meiji-mura Machinery Museum.

[Toshio Yamazaki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

機械工学の鼻祖、渦巻ポンプの発明者。金沢に生まれ、1882年（明治15）工部大学校（現、東京大学工学部）機械科の第4回卒業生となる。1886年帝国大学工科大学助教授、1896年同教授となり、機械学会や工手学校を創立し、海軍機関学校教授を兼ねた。水車、蒸気機関をはじめ、歯車、ねじなどの機械要素、軸継手(つぎて)、はずみ車など機械工学のあらゆる面に先駆的業績を残し、機械工学術語の選定に尽力した。とくに1905年（明治38）の渦巻ポンプの理論と実験は、この形式のポンプに世界で初めて明確な設計理論を与え、国際的に高く評価された。その理論によって試作した渦巻ポンプは口径175ミリメートルの単段タービンポンプで全揚程40メートルに達し、70％の効率をあげて世界記録をつくった。日本特許は1914年（大正3）1月29日、畠山一清(はたけやまいっせい)と二人の名でとられ、畠山の手で企業化され、今日の荏原製作所(えばらせいさくじょ)に引き継がれている。初期の渦巻ポンプは同社本社および博物館明治村機械館に記念物として保存されている。

［山崎俊雄］

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