Named in honor of Hideo Kihara (1911–1993), a founder of the Nayoro Astronomical Club, who established the Kihara Observatory, where he made observations of sunspots for 20 years. The observatory was presented to the city of Nayoro before his death and is now known as the Nayoro-Kihara Observatory. (M 22503) _ _.
Discovered on 7-2-1989 in Kitami by Takahashi, A., Watanabe, K.