Photo/Illutration Kiichi Kitahama, who is known as “Dr. Fugu,” poses on Oct. 9 in Kishiwada, Osaka Prefecture. (Nobuhiro Shirai)

KISHIWADA, Osaka Prefecture--Kiichi Kitahama has pufferfish on the brain and even sees the celebrated seafood in his dreams.

Kitahama, 91, is a top seafood chef and owner of renowned pufferfish restaurant Kitahachi, which has earned two Michelin stars, where he tickles the taste buds of foodies with boiled milt and other delectable dishes.

Pufferfish is a sought-after delicacy but also notoriously deadly if not prepared correctly.

Kitahama was born in Osaka Prefecture, one of Japan’s largest pufferfish-consuming regions. He took over the restaurant his father founded.

Kitahama has over the years become a famous blowfish researcher and even recently confirmed a previously unknown species that appears to have emerged through crossbreeding. People call him “Dr. Fugu” (Dr. Pufferfish) in a nod to his expertise.

As a cooking instructor, he helped promote ways to safely consume the otherwise dangerous fish.

Some 50 kinds of blowfish found in the waters near Japan have poisons in different parts of their bodies, and the strength of their toxins can differ even among the same type, depending on where they are born and raised.

In the past, people knew little about its dangers, resulting in many poisoning deaths nationwide from eating improperly prepared fish.

Kitahama began studying pufferfish on his own to promote ways to stop its toxins from killing consumers, inspired by his father’s motto of “contributing to society.” When he found it difficult to research certain topics on his own, Kitahama visited college labs.

Building connections with experts through his research, Kitahama established a pufferfish society with academics from the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University and Kyushu University.

He stayed up late dissecting pufferfish from all over the world at his home laboratory to identify the poisonous sections and their toxicity.

When the government introduced its safe pufferfish consumption standards, they referenced his research.

In his mission to make the fish safe to consume, Kitahama has written textbooks for chefs who want to obtain a blowfish cooking license.

He employed simple wording to easily pass on knowledge about the species so it can be shared widely among the public. He believes that straight-forward communication helps readers quickly develop expertise and leads to fewer instances where people become ill due to pufferfish poisoning.

He has spent his life becoming an expert on the fish, and even dedicated a building to it by opening a museum across from his eatery, which has also proven to be a hit.

But even after all that, he said he still has much work to do.

“I do not think I have learned everything about the species,” Kitahama said. “Mysteries still remain. I will continue my research.”

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