This volume is the collection of papers dedicated to Yozo Matsushima on his 60th birthday, which took place on February 11, 1980. A conference in Geometry in honor of Professor Matsushima was held at the University of Notre Dame on May 14 and 15, 1980. Some of the papers in this volume were delivered on this occasion. 0 00 0\ - 15 S. Kobayashi, University 27 R. Ogawa, Loyola 42 P. Ryan, Indiana 1 W. Stoll 2 W. Kaup, University of of California at Berkeley University (Chicago) University at South Bend Tubing en 16 B. Y. Chen, 28 A. Howard 43 M. Kuga, SUNY at 3 G. Shimura, Michigan State University 29 D. Blair, Stony Brook Princeton University 17 G. Ludden, Michigan State University 44 W. Higgins 30 B. Smyth 4 A. Borel, Institute for Michigan State University 45 J. Curry Advanced Study 18 S. Harris, 31 A. Pradhan 46 D. Norris 32 R. Escobales, 5 Y. Matsushima University of Missouri 47 J. Spellecy Canisius College 6 Mrs. Matsushima 19 J. Beem, 48 M. Clancy 7 K. Nomizu, University of Missouri 33 L. Smiley 49 J. Rabinowitz, University 20 D. Collins, 34 C. H. Sung Brown University of Illinois at Chicago Valparaiso University 35 M. Markowitz 8 J. -1. Hano, 50 R. Richardson, Australian Washington University 36 A. Sommese 21 I. Satake, University of National University California at Berkeley 37 A. Vitter, 9 J. Carrell, University of 51 D. Lieberman, 22 H.

The separation of a colony of the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (OKAMOTO and AOKI) (SHR) was reported in 1962 and 1963. At that time the following points regarding these rats were described: (I) The incidence of hypertension was 100 per cent in the rats over several months of age. (2) The blood pressure was markedly high. (3) These rats showed hypertensive cardiovascular diseases in high frequency at the advanced stage of hypertension. Therefore, it was emphasized that SHR was by far an excellent material for hypertension research in contrast with the other animals with spontaneous hypertension or with already known experimental hypertensions. Since then 10 years have passed. Meanwhile, we established an inbred strain of SHR at the Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University, in October, 1969. Various and numerous reports, more than 150 were published on SHR not only from our Department but also from some of more than 100 domestic and foreign laboratories and institutions to which these animals were donated. Finally, time was ripe for an inter national symposium on this SHR, which was held on Oct. 18-22, 1971 in Kyoto as U.S. Japan Seminar on Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (organizers; U.S.-S. UDENFRIEND, Ph. D., Japan-K. OKAMOTO, M. D.). In this seminar 25 members and 22 observers from the U.S., Japan and other countries participated. They presented 46 reports in 9 sessions, joined the lively discussions and obtained satisfactory results.