Following the opening ceremony for the 29th General Assembly of the Japan Medical Congress 2015 Kansai, His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito visited the Kyoto University Museum to view a medical history exhibition "I wa I nari: Inochi wo Mamoru Chi no Ayumi" ("Medicine is intention: the evolution of life-saving knowledge through history"), which was co-hosted by the Museum and the General Assembly.
This exhibition, which was presented in conjunction with the General Assembly, demonstrated the history of medicine in Japan from the Heian Era through today's cutting-edge technologies. Some 80 exhibits and panels were on display, including an old medical book, "Zoshi", written by Toyo Yamawaki in the Edo Period, and exhibits tracing the history of stethoscopes.
After being greeted by KU President Juichi Yamagiwa and others, Prince Naruhito inspected exhibits on the history of medicine mainly in the Kansai area prior to the Meiji Period, guided by Dr Yasumasa Okuzawa, an honorary fellow and former executive director of the Japanese Society for the History of Medicine. The royal visitor showed keen interest in exhibits about doctors in the Edo Period, especially Seishu Hanaoka, who developed an anesthetic drug, and Genshu Kagawa, who ran a successful obstetrics practice in Kyoto.
Prince Naruhito also toured an exhibition spanning medicine in the Meiji Period through today's state-of-the-art technology, guided by Professor Nagahiro Minato, Executive Vice-President for Research, Planning, and Hospital Administration. The Prince was particularly interested in the achievements of Dr Akira Fujinami, first professor of pathology at Kyoto University in the Meiji Period, and in the story of development of a gastros cope by Japanese engineers. Other exhibits viewed by His Imperial Highness included the "Iron Lung", a negative pressure respirator used primarily in the 1950s through 1960s.
His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito is greeted by Professor Naoko Iwasaki, Director of the Kyoto University Museum
Prince Naruhito being guided by Professor Nagahiro Minato, Executive Vice-President
