Basically Hibino started out as a historian but his teacher Ogawa Takuji was a geologist, so he has a firmer grounding in geography than most historians. This is why he has been able to complete studies such as his History of Chinese Mineralogy.
在根基上，日比野出身史學，老師小川琢治卻是地質學家，因此他的地理學根基要較一般史學家紮實，也才做得出像「中國礦學史」這樣的研究。