Shigeo Kurata

is a Japanese botanist and Nepenthes taxonomist whose work in the 1960s and 1970s contributed much to the current popularity of these plants. Nepenthes kurata was named in his honour.

Kurata has described a number of new Nepenthes species, including N. campanulata, N. eymae, N. mindanaoensis, N. peltata, N. rhombicaulis, He also described N. pyriformis, Other natural hybrids named by Kurata include N. × ferrugineomarginata, N. × kinabaluensis, and N. × kuchingensis.