Nipponia was originally discovered by Shin Hirayama in Tokyo on March 6, 1900. However, he was not able to determine its orbit. After it was rediscovered by Adam Massinger on February 11, 1912, Massinger gave the honor of naming it to Hirayama, who chose to name it from a latinization of "Nippon" (Japan in Japanese). Massinger, however, remains the officially credited discoverer of Nipponia.{{MPC|727}}
References
1. ^1 {{Cite web |url=http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=727;cad=1 |title=727 Nipponia (1912 NT) |work=JPL Small-Body Database |publisher=NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory |access-date=5 May 2016}}