11 April 2010
Troy Kaji MD
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Shin Hasegawa
Yuji Ichioka
Eugene Itogawa
Wayne Maeda
Discover Nikkei
Little Tokyo Historical
Society
Fred Fujikawa MD
Henry Sugiyama MD
Kikuo Taira MD
Yoshiye Togasaki MD
JANM Staff
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Admiral Matthew Perry led
“Black Ships” into Tokyo bay
In 1853, Perry gave
ultimatum to the Tokugawa
Bakufu to open up Japan to
outside trade or face the
consequences
On his return in 1854,
Tokugawa signed a treaty
opening Japan to the world
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Tokugawa hired Dutch naval officers to start
the Nagasaki Naval Training Center
Western-style military training academy
In 1857, Professor J. L. C. Pompe van
Meerdervoort, a Dutch naval surgeon, singlehandedly began teaching Western medicine to
133 students
Johnston, William “The Modern Epidemic: A History of Tuberculosis in Japan,”
Harvard University Press, 1995, p.167
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Nagasaki Medical
Training Institute
(医学伝習所)
One of the first
western-style
medical schools
In 1861, at
Pompe’s
suggestion,
Shogun opened a
124 bed hospital
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Japan’s most
promising medical
students came to
study under Pompe
Pompe’s students
became leaders of
Meiji-era medical
community
In 1923, elevated to
Nagasaki Medical
College (長崎医科大
学)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._L._C._Pompe_van_Meerdervoort
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Tokugawa Shogun
resigned office in 1867
Emperor Meiji ascended to
the throne
Pro-emperor forces
defeated pro-Tokugawa
forces in a series of battles
in 1868
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Oyatoi Gaikokujin (foreign advisor) in the early
years of Emperor Meiji’s reign
In 1869, Verbeck recommended adopting
German Language for medical studies, since
existing of Dutch-learned medical knowledge
was linguistically similar to German.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guido_Verbeck
TOKYO UNIVERSITY
MEDICAL SCHOOL
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Meiji Government
Appointed 2
German Physicians
to teach
Leopold Muller
Theodor Hoffman
KUMAMOTO MEDICAL
SCHOOL, 1871-76
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Kumamoto
government
established
Dutch naval surgeon
C. G. Van Mansvelt
Outstanding
students: Ogata
Masaki and Kitasato
Shibasaburo
HOSPITAL
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Physicians used
stethoscopes,
thermometers, and
recorded findings in a
medical record
Sought links between
symptoms and signs of
disease, and internal
changes in the body
LABORATORY
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Experimental method
identifies causes of
diseases
Microscopes
Laboratory animals
Bacteriology
Pathology
The Rise of Western "Scientific Medicine" in Japan:
Bacteriology and Beriberi; Christian Oberlander
•
In 1874, the Office for Medical Affairs
issued the “Medical Act” (Isei) to
establish a national licensing
examination for physicians based on
Western medicine.
Johnston, William “The Modern Epidemic: A History of Tuberculosis in Japan,”
Harvard University Press, 1995, p.171
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“to most Japanese, physicians and public alike,
the modern hospital was new and foreign.
In 1879 the leading medical journal explained:
“What sort of thing is a hospital? Broadly
speaking, it is a lodge where the ill can stay,
identical to those travelers use. But in addition,
it is a place where therapy is practiced.”
Public hospitals generally provided better care
than private
Johnston, William “The Modern Epidemic: A History of Tuberculosis in Japan,”
Harvard University Press, 1995, pp. 172.
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By 1882, 626 hospitals registered
Many individual physicians built small
hospitals next to their offices
Quality ranged from excellent to deplorable
Only the affluent could use them.
Most Meiji-era physicians rarely disposed
towards philanthropy or community service
Johnston, William “The Modern Epidemic: A History of
Tuberculosis in Japan,” Harvard University Press, 1995, pp. 172173.
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Japanese novelist Tayama Katai (1871-1930) portrayed
in Shi no hō e a working Japanese hospital, its
physicians and nurses, and the care they deliver
Nurses swish up and down corridors wearing straw
sandals and white uniforms, flirt with attractive male
patients, and take vital signs.
Doctors round twice daily, examine with stethoscope,
prescribe medicine, say nothing about proper care or
diet, and avoid offering a candid prognosis.
Family expected to nurse patient, feed and attend to
patient needs, and pay mounting bill.
Johnston, William “The Modern Epidemic: A History of Tuberculosis
in Japan,” Harvard University Press, 1995, pp. 139-142.
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September 1
In their second year of
marriage, Tashiro
Saburo and Mono
celebrate the birth of
their first child, a son,
whom they name
Kikuo
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Japanese naval ship
Naniwa, commanded
by Captain Togo
Heihachiro, sinks the
Chinese battleship
Kao Shan
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1899: Tashiro Saburo assumes guardianship of
his elder brother’s three children. Why?
1901: Tashiro Kikuo enters elementary school
1901: Kikuo and brother Tanenori both develop
TB and are bedridden
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In Japan, persons with tuberculosis ostracized
1930-1933 Household Survey by Tokyo Metropolitan
Police reported that:
29% of families said they had “done all they
could” for a member with TB
41% said they made “some effort”
29% “neither comforted nor nursed” their
family member before they died.
Johnston, William “The Modern Epidemic: A History of Tuberculosis
in Japan,” Harvard University Press, 1995, p. 115.
Every morning, Kikuo performed his morning
chore of feeding the horses
 When returning home from school, Kikuo
played in a creek, catching river crabs
and eels
with his bare hands
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Kikuo’s nickname was “hidari-gicho” or lefty
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May 1905: Admiral Togo Heihachiro leads
Japanese Navy to victory over Russian Fleet
1st victory of non-white power over Europeans
SF Chronicle reacts: “The Japanese Invasion—
the problem of the hour”, “at least 100,000 of
the ‘little brown men’ were here already,” and
“a torrent” would ensue once the war ended
“THE YELLOW PERIL—HOW JAPANESE
CROWD OUT THE WHITE RACE”
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On October 11, 1906, the San Francisco, Board
of Education ordered children of Japanese
descent to attend Oriental school.
“BROWN MEN AN EVIL IN THE PUBLIC
SCHOOLS”
President Theodore Roosevelt directly
intervened, brokering the return of students to
regular schools in return for Japan’s agreement
to restrict future immigration
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T. Roosevelt’s deal with Japan, “The
Gentleman’s Agreement” restricted labor
immigration from Japan effective Feb 1908.
Saburo departed for California in 1907, age 41,
leaving behind his family and his occupation as
a veterinarian, and took up farming
Mono stayed behind to support the children
through school
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With financial support from his father’s
farmwork, Kikuo attended Nagasaki Medical
School from 1914 to 1918,
“one of the three geniuses”
In May 1918, Kikuo became an assistant to
Professor Hayashi Ikuhiko at the medical
school’s department of Pathology.
Kikuo, age 25, met Mori Moto, age 19, in July
1919. Moto was then working for Asada
Shintaro, an internist, who operated the Asada
Hospital in the Shinmachi district of Nagasaki.
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1919 Kikuo joins the surgery division of
Fukuoka Medical School (now Kyushu
University), as assistant under Professor Goto
Shichiro.
Performs research for PhD dissertation, which
he finally completed in 1934.
November 1920, takes family medical leave to
attend Kaoru, his sister suffering from TB, who
died despite his efforts at care.
Married Moto on December 30, 1920. The
couple takes up residence in Fukuoka
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Sept 7, 1921, departed Yokohama for
California.
Younger brother Tanenori, a student at
Stanford University, greets him on arrival at SF
Journeyed by train with Tanenori to parents’
residence in Los Angeles’ San Gabriel valley.
Saburo directs Kikuo to stay in Los Angeles
and send remittances to support his parents
retirement in Japan, rather than pursue a
research career.
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A friend of Tashiro Saburo and Mono, met
Kikuo after he arrived at his parents home in
the San Gabriel valley
“He was tall and thin, but not really too
distinguished-looking for a physician!”
California
Physician’s and
Surgeons
Licensure Exam
•Exam
given in
English only
•Failed first attempt
•Studied English
medical terminology
at a hotel room in
San Bernardino
•Passed the June 2122, 1923 exam
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Akiko, born Jan 6, 1922 in Fukuoka City
Oct 18, 1922, Moto and Akiko depart
Yokohama for a 2-week passage to SF
Met by Kikuo and Tanenori in SF
Moto introduced to Togasaki Shigeko, who
helps Moto purchase a western style wardrobe
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Stay one night in Little Tokyo’s Higoya Hotel,
owned by Miyamoto Tsunezo from Kumamoto
Kikuo, Moto and Akiko then ride in Kikuo’s
new Ford coupe to the Tashiro home in San
Gabriel, where they live for a year.
In October 1923, after Kikuo gains his medical
license, Kikuo, Moto and Akiko move to a
house at 921 Lawn Street, Gardena, which has
an extra room for a clinic.
In 1923,
Dr. Tashiro
opens a Little
Tokyo office
on the second
floor of the
Higoya Hotel.
200 friends and members of
the Kumamoto-kenjin-kai
celebrate the opening of
Tashiro’s clinic at Hamanoya
restaurant in Little Tokyo.
http://japantownatlas.com/share/LittleTokyo_11x17_set.pdf
Tanaka Clinic and the Nanka Nihonjin Byoin
•Dr
Jyuhei Tanaka moved
from SF in 1905, and helped
found the Los Angeles
Japanese Council in 1905.
•In 1912, Tanaka opened a
well-equipped clinic called
Eisei-In on Turner Street
•During the 1918 Influenza
pandemic, Japanese used it
as a makeshift hospital.
•In response to this crisis, the
community transformed the
Eisei-In into the Nanka
Nihonjin Byoin, or the
Japanese Hospital of
Southern California
Peak capacity 35 beds
Operational 1915? to 1935
Mr Inose Inosuke
•Native
of Ibaragi prefecture, immigrated to
US as a student/ laborer
•In 1895, opened the Sunrise Restaurant at 209
East First Street
•By 1902, headed the Japanese section of the
Western Agricultural Contracting Company,
and subsequently amassed a fortune
•Co-chaired
building Japanese
Hospital in 1915 with H. T. Komai
of Rafu Shimpo
•President of the Japanese Hospital
of Southern California 1928-1935
• Mason, William M. & John A. McKinstry, The Japanese of Los
Angeles (1869-1920), p. 35
•Ichioka, Yuji, The Issei: the world of the first generation Japanese
immigrants, 1885-1924, p. 96
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I think it was 1923. One day my eldest boy had
an accident hitting his stomach . . He had an
acute stomach ache and his stomach was
swollen badly. We hurried him to Dr Tashiro’s
Little Tokyo clinic. Dr. Tashiro diagnosed an
acute hernia . . immediately hospitalized at
Nanka Nihonjin Byoin and the operation was
finished in 5 to 10 minutes. My husband was
truly surprised with the speed with which Dr
Tashiro completed the surgery
11 April 2010
Troy Kaji MD
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Prohibited "aliens ineligible for citizenship"
(Chinese, Indian, Japanese, and Korean
immigrants) from owning land or property, but
permitted three year leases.
Japanese farmers circumvented the 1913 law by
putting title in the name of their citizen
children, with land held in trust, or by forming
title-holding agricultural corporations with
noncitizen farmers as shareholders.
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In 1920 anti-Japanese activists—
including the California Grange & the
Hearst newspapers —placed an initiative
on the ballot outlawing these loopholes.
The voters overwhelmingly approved
The Japanese community responded
with test cases on naturalization and on
the Alien Land Laws.
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Takao Ozawa v. United States, in 1922, US Supreme
court ruled that Japanese immigrants are not
“free white persons” and cannot become
naturalized citizens
In 1923, the US Supreme court confirmed the
legality of the Alien Land Laws in 3 test cases
Huge Impact: in 1918, there were 7973 farmers.
By 1929, the number of farmers declined to 4591.
Ichioka, Yuji, The Issei: the world of the first generation Japanese immigrants, 1885-1924, p.
235
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“The Land Law decisions have dealt a
severe blow to Japanese immigrants,
spiritually as well as materially . . . . The
sense of despair it aroused is hard to
imagine.”
Ichioka, Yuji, The Issei: the world of the first generation Japanese immigrants,
1885-1924, p. 232-233
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The US Congress passed the Immigration Act of
1924, which strictly limited immigration from
southern & eastern Europe
Completely excluded all immigrants from Asia
Nullified the 1908 Gentleman’s Agreement
“We have been excluded, just like the Chinese”
Kokujyokubi: July 1 = National Humiliation Day
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“When the Issei faced harsh economic realities
in the aftermath of anti-Japanese legislation,
some visitors from Japan . . . showed much
prejudice toward us as we struggled in
poverty. They even ridiculed our povertystricken situation. Observing such behavior,
Dr Tashiro would take time out to explain to
them the historical background of the antiJapanese atmosphere in California.
He was always quick to defend our honor.”
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Japanese population in Los Angeles grew from
15,184 to 22,732 between 1921 and 1926
Number of physicians now 35 (50% of state #)
In November 1926, Dr Tashiro and 4 other
Japanese physicians applied for articles of
incorporation to construct a new hospital.
California denied application, saying
incorporation to lease land was not permitted
under the 1911 US-Japan treaty.
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Article I. The citizens or subjects of each of the high
contracting parties shall have liberty to enter, travel
and reside in the territories of the other to carry on
trade, wholesale and retail, to own or lease and occupy
houses, manufactories, warehouses and shops, to
employ agents of their choice, to lease land for
residential and commercial purposes, and
generally to do anything incident to or
necessary for trade upon the same
terms as native citizens or subjects,
submitting themselves to the laws and regulations
there established. * * *
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USC Law School
Classmate and lifelong
friend of Kashu
Mainichi founder Fujii
Sei
Fujii Sei referred
Tashiro to Attorney
Wright
In 1925 Wright had
successfully defended
Tagami Tojueru and
Ramon Sepulveda
John Modell, The Economics
and Politics of Racial
Accommodation: The
Japanese of Los Angeles,
1900-1942
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Tagami case affirmed the right of the Issei to
conduct the business of running a health
facility
However, California State argued that the
treaty did not give Japanese subjects the “right
to form a corporation, if one of the purposes
thereof is to lease for commercial purposes real
property.”
California Supreme Court said the Japanese
physicians did have this right
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In April 1928, Wright journeyed to Washington
to represent the physicians, accompanied with
his wife and two daughters, ages ten and eight
Before the 9 Justices, Wright argued:
This was the first instance in which Articles of
Incorporation had been denied to a Japanese
The doctors’ request was within the Treaty
The treaty should be liberally interpreted
Therefore the state should grant the doctor’s
request for Articles of Incorporation
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The justices sharply questioned California State
Attorney General U.S. Webb , then stopped
Webb before he finished his argument. Webb
and Wright spent 15 to 20 minutes in court.
Webb’s dismissal was a sign that the justices
had dismissed the State’s appeal. The court
issued its decision five months later in
November.
Janice Marion Wright La Moree, J. Marion Wright: Los Angeles’ Patient Crusader
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3 days after the Nov
1928 court judgment,
the Los Angeles
Japanese Physicians
Association honor Fujii
Sei and J. Marion
Wright at a victory
party at the Biltmore
Hotel
Launch capital
campaign
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Raised $129,000
Site purchased at
intersection of First and
Fickett Streets, in Boyle
Heights
The stock market
crashes October 24, 1929
Opens a year after
starting capital
campaign on December
1, 1929
J. Marion Wright JD in center next to Kikuo Tashiro MD
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Company President
Tashiro read an
opening address
Eight other speakers,
including Consul Sato
Toshito delivered
congratulatory
speeches
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Dr Miyata Yujiro
ended the ceremony
after an hour with
three banzai cheers
From 1-5 PM the
public toured the
facilities
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Fujii Sei quoted Wright
in the Dec 10, 1929
Kashu Mainichi: “I met
the Prince and Princess
yesterday. The Prince
and Princess went
through nearly every
room of the hospital
and they surely made
the patients and
everybody very happy.
Janice Marion Wright La Moree, J. Marion
Wright: Los Angeles’ Patient Crusader
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In the sun room,
reception was held for a
limited number of
people.
The Prince shook hands
with me. I was told that
I was the only one who
had the honor to shake
hands with the Prince.
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“He offered me a job as his
chauffeur in the Fall of 1924”
“He opened his Gardena clinic in
the morning. After lunch, he used
to go to his Little Tokyo clinic.
From there he went to see his
patients at the Japanese Hospital
of Southern California”
One day . . emergency visit from a
farmer in Pomona. In the middle
of the night Dr. Tashiro and I
hurried to Pomona
Dr Tashiro’s Zeiss
microscope and black bag in
the JANM collection
Such emergency calls were part of our daily
routine.
 At times, he would hurry off upon an
emergency call without even taking off his
pajamas.
In Santa Maria . . . Mr. Okamoto
was run over by a farming tractor.
Dr Tashiro’s expert operation and
treatment saved his life.
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In those days, streets did not have names,
even in the city of Torrance. He therefore
often had to search for the patient’s house
by relying on a conspicuous landmark
such as a large eucalyptus tree.
I remember a night when we went to
Redondo-Torrance and our car got stuck in
the mud . . . Once we got stuck in the mud
in Inglewood. It took a long time for the
two of us to get the car out . . .
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Most of us (residents of Terminal Island) were
fishermen from Wakayama. Dr Tashiro . . .
always said to us “Pay when you have some cash
on hand.” (Matsutsuya Ichitaro)
One night . . . he simply ignored the inquiry from
the patient’s family about the fee, saying “I know
you don’t have any money to pay.” (Matsutsuya)
“You need to be hospitalized. It is not time to
worry about money now. What you must be
concerned about is your health.” (Kuita Kameichi)
“Dr. Tashiro’s incessant pursuit
for ever higher surgical
technology was an inspiration
to all of the nurses . . . who were
expected to observe his surgical
work closely and provide
appropriate instruments to him
without being asked. The result
of such teamwork was that minimal
time was needed for surgery. When
a surgery ended successfully, he
used to praise us for our
efficient assistance.”
Japanese Hospital of Los
Angeles Nurses and Doctors:
Kuroiwa collection at JANM
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After 1924, no more Japan-trained physicians
Quota limited Nisei entry to medical schools
Nisei graduates had difficulty finding internships
Dr. Tashiro took in 4 to 5 Nisei physicians, who
slept on cots in his library, shared meals with his
family, and accompanied him at his clinics in
Gardena & Little Tokyo and on rounds at the
Japanese Hospital of Los Angeles.
Co-authored with the Nisei physicians 2 studies
published in American medical journals
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Capacity: 42 beds
2 stories
Prewar: 1929 to 1942
1935: Merged with
Japanese Hosp of So. Calif.
1942 to 1946: Entrusted to
White Memorial Hospital used as obstetrics ward
Postwar: Drs Tashiro,
Kuroiwa, Murase,
Murakami, Sekiyama, and
Niseis Ito and Kobayashi
reopened the hospital
1946-60
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Since 1901, Dr Tashiro had bouts of illness
from tuberculosis.
His two sons died in childhood
At the time of the evacuation, Dr Tashiro
was confined in Maryknoll’s Monrovia TB
sanitarium. Sent to Denver to convalesce.
Near fatal hospitalization in 1950.
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In February of 1953, old friend Miyamoto
Tsunezo, owner of the Higoya Hotel, needed
surgery. Dr Tashiro performed the multi-hour
surgery himself.
Early morning the following week, Dr Tashiro
suffered a heart attack, and was admitted to the
Japanese Hospital of Los Angeles.
Despite the efforts of Dr Kuroiwa and other
colleagues, he had a second and third heart
attack, and died later that day.
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Boku no hone ni tomatte iru
kotori yo kekkaku yo
Omae ga kuchibashi de
tsutsuku kara boku no tan ni
wa chi ga majiru
Omae ga hane bataku to
boku wa seki o suru
Omae o nemuraseru tame ni
boku wa kyūnyūki o kakeyo
Kutsū o gomakasu tame ni
boku wa shi ni karakau inu
ni de mo karakau yō ni
Shi wa boku ni kamitsuite
kare no inishiaru o irezumi
shiyō to ha o boku no mae ni
muki dasu
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The tiny bird of tuberculosis
is perched on my bones
Your beak pecks at me
mixing blood in my phlegm
When you flap your wings I
cough
I turn on my inhalator to
make you slumber
To conceal the pain I tease
death as if teasing a dog
Death bites into me and
shows its teeth intending to
tatoo its initials
Johnston, William “The Modern Epidemic: A History of Tuberculosis in Japan,”
Harvard University Press, 1995, pp. 149-150.
Utsukushiku sumiwataru Coachella ni
 Tou hito wa yuki kyomo samishi
Today is again an empty day, now that our friend who
came to see the beautiful blue skies of Coachella is
long gone
 Aremo uye koremo uyeyoto hanasakedo
 Kokoro yasashiki hito wa nemureri
That flower, this flower, all now are in bloom but their
kind hearted friend is asleep forever
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Hitono tame sukoyaka nare to teni kakete
Wagami wasureshi oshiki hito
He lived to keep others in health, though
forgetting himself to do so.
On Feb 11, 1953, >1000 people
attended Dr. Tashiro’s funeral
service at Union Church.
Tsunezo Miyamoto fully recovered.