Photo/Illutration The Koshigaya meteorite (Provided by the National Museum of Nature and Science)

KOSHIGAYA, Saitama Prefecture--A space rock that fell to Earth here 121 years ago but was not formally classified as a meteorite until a few months ago is now on show at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo.

The meteorite crashed in a rice paddy and was handed down over generations by the family that owns the site.

It was registered officially as the Koshigaya meteorite by the Meteoritical Society, an international organization dedicated to the promotion of research and education in planetary science, in February.

The meteorite weighs 4.05 kilograms and is 15 centimeters long, 17 cm wide and 10 cm tall, according to the museum in the capital’s Taito Ward.

It landed in what currently is Koshigaya’s Ozato district on March 8, 1902. It was the first falling star uncovered in Saitama Prefecture.

Dug up from 1.2 meters below ground, it captured much attention. The Asahi Shimbun reported on the discovery of a “meteorite in Saitama Prefecture” in an April 25 article that year.

“A roar resembling that of a volcanic eruption was heard at dawn, and then a large hole was spotted on a paddy possessed by an individual named Kihachi Nakamura on the eastern side of the Rikuu Kaido route,” the article states. “A strange stone was unearthed from a ‘4-shaku’ (about 120 centimeters) depth and crowds now reportedly flock there to view it.”

While the news report indicates that many people turned out to get a glimpse of the rock, it took decades for it to be formally recognized as a meteorite.

And all that time, it stayed in the family that owned the rice paddy.

Family member Tsutomu Nakamura, 72, recalled being told to preserve “the mysterious stone coming from the sky” for posterity, which is what he did.

A move was made in 2021 to formally register the meteorite.

A member of a group of history buffs in Koshigaya proposed having it “analyzed by experts because it is likely an actual meteorite and will double as an important academic specimen.”

Nakamura and the group member took the rock to a research institute that studies meteors in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture.

The center, which is affiliated with the National Museum of Nature and Science, was commissioned to analyze and examine it. Not only the museum, but also such entities as the National Institute of Polar Research, were involved in the project.

The results of their analysis confirmed the object is a meteorite. It emerged that the rock came from an asteroid that formed 4.58 billion years ago immediately after the solar system came into being.

It was the 54th meteorite from Japan to be certified by the Meteoritical Society.

“I am astonished that it is a precious meteorite,” Nakamura said. “Knowing that many people will view it gives me great pleasure.”

The Koshigaya meteorite will be exhibited through Aug. 21 at a permanent display corner on the third floor of the museum’s Japan Gallery. It sits among other meteorites found in Japan.

A tiny 120-gram specimen cut from it is also on display. The findings of the analysis, and other information, is provided on exhibition panels.

A 2-gram slice is also available for visitors to view via polarized light microscopy, as the fragment is thin enough to be permeable to light.

The National Museum of Nature and Science will be open seven days a week during the exhibition period.

Admission is 630 yen ($4.50) after tax for adults and college students. Children of high school age or younger as well as those 65 and older are admitted free.

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