A long way from the wilderness: thirty memorable years of the Japanese Neurochemical Society.

The history and antecedents of the Japanese Neurochemical Society (JSN) are described. Particulars of the founding in 1958, and of the formal establishment in 1962, are given, together with an outline and description of the JSN's recent activities, including its contributions to the 4th International Meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN) in Tokyo in 1973. Suggestions are made for the development of a perspective, and for the promotion, of the ultimate, fundamental purposes of neuroscience, and for the proper internalization of the JSN.