October 17, 1958

Dr. Hideo Kikkawa

Osaka University Medical School
33° Joancho, Ki taku

Osaka, Japan

Dear Professor Kikkawa:

|} am very sorry that events precluded an opportunity fer us to
meet during your recent visit to the United States. Also, | should
certainly have written you sooner concerning the excellent progress
that Mr. Hirota has been making in this laboratory, and { can assure
you that only the preoccupation with other duties; some of them con-
nected with my Impending move to Stanford University, have prevented
me from doing this.

You may be aware that Mr. Hirota is feeling some sense of tnse~
curity with respect to his position and that this is leading him to
consider the possibility of terminating his stuaies prematurely ir:
order to take a position with Or. iseki. ! am encouraging Mr. Hirota
to continue with his original pians, not primarily as a matter of ful-
filling a previously expressed obligation, but for the benefit of his
own cereer. He really is a remarkabie student and potuncial tndependent
research worker, and 1 have been more than delighted to have him in my
laboratory. He has been making excelient progress in his studies of
the effects of acriflavine on the F system of Escherichia coli. { feel
that in the course of the next two years or so that would be necessary
for him to complete the formalities for a Ph.0. degree he has the oppor-
tunity to acquire an international reputation in this field, and further-
more to obtain a working familiarity with the concepts, literature, and
personalities in microbial genetics in the English speaking world. !
feel to that our move to Stanford University, which will take place on
February 1, to a new department of genetics in the medical school, bas
an unusual cpportunity for further development especially alons blo-
chemical lines on account of our association with Professur Kornberg in
the Department of Blochemistry.

! am sure that part of Mr. Hirota's insecurity was based on financial
uncertainty, the question as to how he would be able te pay the debts he
had contracted in order to travel to the United States. It seems to me
that his problem in this respect could oniy be seriously aggravated by
a decision to leave prematurely and on the other hand { have given him
what | trust will be very amble assurances for his financial security
during the remaining years of his connection with my laboratory. |
believe that he was under some misapprehension concerning bis liability
for extra costs of tuition at Stanford University and | have been able
to reassure him on this point, very recently, that this would be taken
care of in calculating his stipend.

The chief question that must remain in his mind is whether he
should abandon excellent future prospects in order to grasr at a
present opportunity and this will be based on his judgment of the
extent of those prospects. {| am sure that he will rely strongly on
your judgement as to what his ultimate opportunities would be if he
were to return to Japan after an interval of another two years or so:
on the completion of his research studies here. For the very sake of

Japanese science | can only hope that his opportunities would be commensurate
with his very high and demonstrated ability.

In any event | must express my gratitude for your having sent him here as
he has been a pleasure to have as a student, an associate, and a friend.

Yours sincerely,

Joshua Lederberg
Professor of Medical Genetics