The early days of the theory of hyperfunctions and differential equations (Q1585456)

This is a personal and very interesting report on the history and impact of Sato's theory of hyperfunctions. The author never worked with Mikio Sako and considers himself a critic rather than a collaborator. He describes the general situation of mathematics in Japan in the fifties and then proceeds to present a more detailed description of Sato's research work. In his lectures, Sato spent most of his time in explaining historical backgrounds and examples; his theory appears only at the last moment. The author believes that this was Sato's way of doing research work.