The origin of insect collections at the Osaka Museum of Natural History

Paul Jacoulet’s butterfly collection

Insect specimens at the Osaka Museum of Natural History have been assembled into collections with the help of many Osaka citizens to understand the local insect fauna.
To lay the foundation for such a general collection, Isamu Hiura, the first curator in charge of insects of the museum, acquired the collection of Paul Jacoulet, a noted woodblock-print artist. The collection includes a wide range of butterflies, and could even be termed the origin of the museum’s entire insect collection. Now, it is stored with other specimens, arranged according to the classification system.