Hakaru Hashimoto

was a Japanese doctor and medical scientist of the Meiji and Taishō periods. He is best known for publishing the first description of the disease that was later named Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Biography Hashimoto was born on 5 May 1881, in the village of Iga-cho, son of Kennosuke Hashimoto, a physician. Hashimoto's family traditionally served as physicians to the district's feudal lords for centuries. Hashimoto's grandfather, General Hashimoto, was the most famous physician in the prefecture in his time, after having studied Dutch medicine.

Hashimoto began his primary education in 1886 and entered the in Kyoto, considered to be at the time a leading pre-university educational establishment. In 1903, he enrolled in Fukuoka Medical College in Fukuoka, a branch of the newly-established Kyushu University. He was amongst the first medical graduates when he graduated in 1907. While working on his M.D. thesis, he examined four histology samples from surgically excised thyroids and described his findings as 'struma lymphomatosa'. He published his findings in the German journal Archiv für Klinische Chirurgie as German was considered the lingua franca of academia during this time. Hashimoto also published two further papers on erysipelas and on penetrating chest wall injuries.

Personal life

Hashimoto married Yoshiko Miyake, the daughter of a naval doctor who studied Japanese literature at the Nara' Women's Higher College for Education. The couple had four children; one daughter (Hanako) and three sons (Ken'ichi, Haruo, Kazuo). He was a devout Buddhist and was head of the Buddhist association at Kyushu University during his time as a student. On holidays, he was known to frequent Osaka or Kyoto by train and particularly enjoyed Kabuki theatre and foreign book-shopping.

Hashimoto Street To honor his achievements, Kyushu University named a road on its Maidashi campus "Hashimoto Street".