An adamantanemethanol derivative of the invention is represented by the following formula (1), wherein R a is a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbon group; R b is a hydrocarbon group having a carbon atom, to which carbon atom at least one hydrogen atom is bonded, at a bonding site with the adjacent carbon atom; R c , R d and R e are each a hydrogen atom, a hydroxyl group which may be protected by a protective group or the like; provided that a hydroxyl group protected by a protective group or the like is bonded to at least one carbon atom constituting the adamantane skeleton when R a is a hydrogen atom or a methyl group and R b is a methyl group; and at least one substituent, in addition to the HO-C(R a )(R b )- group indicated in the formula (1), is bonded to the adamantane ring when one of R a and R b is a methyl group and the other is an ethyl group.