Hiraga Gennai (1729-79) was an Edo period Japanese pharmacologist, physician, author, painter, and inventor who is well known for his Erekiteru (electrostatic generator). The Gennai Hiraga’s Spark Generator kit by Gakken replicates his early work in creating static charges. Easy to build — instructions are in Japanese but feature highly detailed assembly pictures (sorry, no English translation at this time).
MAKE is proud to be the exclusive distributor in North America for these brilliant kits from Gakken.
Hiraga Gennai appears in a few animes probably most notably the Read or Die OVA series and he was also known for his satirical essays one of which has the title “On Farting.”