Tadako Urata
Tadako Urata | |
|---|---|
| 宇良田 唯子 | |
.jpg) Urata Tadako, aged about 60 years | |
| Born | 3 May 1873 Ushibuka |
| Died | 18 June 1936 (aged 63) Tokyo |
| Other names | Urata Tada, Yui Nakamura |
| Occupation | Physician |
Tadako Urata (宇良田 唯子) (3 May 1873 – 18 June 1936) was a Japanese physician, trained in ophthalmology in Germany. She and her husband ran a clinic in Tianjin, China, from 1912 to 1932.
Early life and education
[edit]Urata was born in Ushibuka (now part of Amakusa city), the daughter of writer and businessman Urata Genshō. She trained as a pharmacist in Kumamoto, then earned a medical license in Tokyo in 1899; she studied infectious diseases at Kitasato Shibasaburo's Institute for Study of Infectious Diseases.[1] In 1903, she left Japan for Germany, to pursue further studies in ophthalmology, one of the first group of Japanese women to seek advanced degrees abroad.[2][3][4]
Urata earned a doctorate at the University of Marburg in 1905, with a dissertation on the prevention of neonatal gonococcal conjunctivitis.[5] Her dissertation research was published as "Experimentelle Untersuchungen über den Wert des sogenannten Credéschen Tropfens" in Ophthalmologica.[6] "Urata was not only the first female Japanese," noted Helmut Sies in 2016, "but also the first female ever who obtained the title of medical doctor at Marburg University."[7][8] The milestone was reported internationally, in both professional journals and daily newspapers.[9][10]
Career
[edit]Urata returned to Japan in 1906 and opened a practice in ophthalmology in Tokyo. Later, with her husband, she ran a clinic in Tianjin, China, from 1912 to 1932.[1] She was an officer of the Japanese Women's Medical Association, and held the honorary title Professor of Medicine from the Japanese government.[11]
Personal life and legacy
[edit]Urata was briefly married as a young woman, but left the marriage to continue her education. She married a fellow doctor, Nakamura Tsunesaburō, in 1911. She was a widow when she died in 1936, in Tokyo.[1] In 1992 she was named a "Person of Cultural Merit" for Kumamoto Prefecture. There is a monument to Urata in her hometown.[12] A place on the campus of the university of Marburg is named after her.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c IBBO-International Biography and Bibliography of Ophthalmologists and Visual Scientist (A-Z). Wayenborgh Publishing. 2018-11-30. p. 414. ISBN 978-90-6299-896-8.
- ^ Fujimoto, Hiro (2020-04-02). "Women, missionaries, and medical professions: the history of overseas female students in Meiji Japan". Japan Forum. 32 (2): 185–208. doi:10.1080/09555803.2018.1516688. ISSN 0955-5803. S2CID 149982495.
- ^ Ogawa, Mariko (September 2017). "History of Women's Participation in STEM Fields in Japan". Asian Women. 33 (3): 65–85. doi:10.14431/aw.2017.09.33.3.65.
- ^ "Interview with Aeka Ishihara". Keio University. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
- ^ "Japanese Lady Doctor". Evening Express. 9 March 1905. p. 2. Retrieved November 13, 2021 – via Welsh Newspapers, The National Library of Wales.
- ^ Urata, Tada (1905). "Experimentelle Untersuchungen über den Wert des sogenannten Credéschen Tropfens". Ophthalmologica. 13 (4): 335–346. doi:10.1159/000290336. ISSN 0030-3755.
- ^ Sies, Helmut (December 2016). "German-Japanese relationships in biochemistry: a personal perspective". Nagoya Journal of Medical Science. 78 (4): 335–347. doi:10.18999/nagjms.78.4.335. ISSN 0027-7622. PMC 5159459. PMID 28008189.
- ^ Kim, Hoi-eun (2014-07-31). Doctors of Empire: Medical and Cultural Encounters between Imperial Germany and Meiji Japan. University of Toronto Press. pp. 190, note 47. ISBN 978-1-4426-6048-9.
- ^ "Medical News". Physician and Surgeon. 28: 426. September 1906.
- ^ "Honors for Japanese Co-Ed". The Miami News. 1905-03-28. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-11-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "News and Notes: A Japanese Woman Professor of Medicine". American Medicine. 12: 176. June 1906.
- ^ "Monument Urata Tada". Ushibuka Tour Guide. Retrieved 2021-11-13.