Named in honor of Hiroshi Kinoshita (b. 1941), a celestial mechanician at the National Astronomical Observatory (formerly known as the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory) who works mainly on the dynamics of the solar system bodies. The present IAU Nutation Series is based on his nutation theory of the rigid earth. He served as president of Commission 4 during 1994-1997. Name proposed by the discoverers following a suggestion by K. Hurukawa.