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The materials of interest in Takashi’s research are tree crops, or simply “fruit crops.” Although the words conjure up images of sweetness and relaxation, the genomic analyses of these crops is no simple matter. Tree crops have very prolonged life cycles, and some superior crops have been maintained by artificial vegetative propagation for thousands of years. Furthermore, it is suggested that they can be crossed among highly heterogeneous genomes, and in fact have experienced complex genome integration through a long history of breeding and domestication. Targeting fruit crop genomes undergoing such “unusual evolutionary steps,” this Hakubi research will not only exploit past genomic integrations contributing to the expression of good traits in artifi cial domestication steps, but will also identify various physiological responses in hybridization among heterogeneous genomes. He sincerely hopes that this research will make a signifi cant contribution to the future of agriculture.