Ogino Ginko
Encyclopedia
was the first licensed and practicing woman physician
of western medicine in Japan.
(present-day Kumagaya city
, Saitama prefecture
). She was married at the age of 16 to the son of the first director of Ashikaga Bank; she soon divorced after contracting gonorrhoea from her husband. After the embarrassment of having to visit male doctors with what was considered a “shameful” disease, she resolved that she would become a doctor to help women in similar circumstances. After graduating from Tokyo Women's Normal School (present-day Ochanomizu University
), she entered the Juntendo University
, which was at that time a private medical academy with an all-male student body. Despite prejudice and much hardship, she graduated in 1882, and after numerous petitions, was finally allowed to take her medical practitioner's examination in 1885.
She opened the Ogino Hospital in Yushima, specializing in obstetrics
and gynecology, in Tokyo
the same year as the first registered woman doctor in Japan. She also served as staff doctor to the girl’s school of Meiji Gakuin University
.
Ogino remarried to a Protestant clergyman and utopian visionary, Yukiyoshi Shikata, in 1890, and went with him to Hokkaidō
in 1894, where she ran a medical practice. After her husband died, she came back to Tokyo and in 1908 resumed running a hospital. She was also active in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union
(WCTU).
Ogino died of atherosclerosis
in Tokyo in 1913.
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
of western medicine in Japan.
Biography
Ogino was born in Musashi provinceMusashi Province
was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo Prefecture, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki and Yokohama...
(present-day Kumagaya city
Kumagaya, Saitama
is a city in Saitama Prefecture, Japan.As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 203,089 . The total area is 159.88 km². The city is one of the biggest in northern Saitama Prefecture. It is the administrative, business and commercial centre in northern Saitama Prefecture. Eight...
, Saitama prefecture
Saitama Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Saitama.This prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, and most of Saitama's cities can be described as suburbs of Tokyo, to which a large amount of residents commute each day.- History...
). She was married at the age of 16 to the son of the first director of Ashikaga Bank; she soon divorced after contracting gonorrhoea from her husband. After the embarrassment of having to visit male doctors with what was considered a “shameful” disease, she resolved that she would become a doctor to help women in similar circumstances. After graduating from Tokyo Women's Normal School (present-day Ochanomizu University
Ochanomizu University
is one of only two national women's universities in Japan. The other one is the Nara Women's University.-History:Ochanomizu University was founded in 1875 as a teacher training institute for women located in Tokyo's Ochanomizu neighborhood. On September 1, 1923, the campus was destroyed in the...
), she entered the Juntendo University
Juntendo University
is a private university in Japan. Its headquarters are on its campus in Bunkyo, Tokyo for School of Medicine and in Hiragagakuendai, Inzai, Chiba for School of Health and Sports Science...
, which was at that time a private medical academy with an all-male student body. Despite prejudice and much hardship, she graduated in 1882, and after numerous petitions, was finally allowed to take her medical practitioner's examination in 1885.
She opened the Ogino Hospital in Yushima, specializing in obstetrics
Obstetrics
Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...
and gynecology, in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
the same year as the first registered woman doctor in Japan. She also served as staff doctor to the girl’s school of Meiji Gakuin University
Meiji Gakuin University
is one of the Christian universities in Tokyo and Yokohama which was established in 1863. The Reverend Dr. James Curtis Hepburn was one of the founders and the first president...
.
Ogino remarried to a Protestant clergyman and utopian visionary, Yukiyoshi Shikata, in 1890, and went with him to Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
in 1894, where she ran a medical practice. After her husband died, she came back to Tokyo and in 1908 resumed running a hospital. She was also active in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union was the first mass organization among women devoted to social reform with a program that "linked the religious and the secular through concerted and far-reaching reform strategies based on applied Christianity." Originally organized on December 23, 1873, in...
(WCTU).
Ogino died of atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is a condition in which an artery wall thickens as a result of the accumulation of fatty materials such as cholesterol...
in Tokyo in 1913.