Shinobu Ishihara

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Shinobu Ishihara (石原忍, Ishihara Shinobu^?, September 25, 1879-January 3, 1963) was a Japanese ophthalmologist who created the Ishihara color test to detect colour blindness. Shinobu graduated from medicine in 1905 on a military scholarship and immediately joined the army as a doctor, serving mainly as a surgeon. He later changed specialities to ophthalmology. In 1908 he returned to Tokyo University where he dedicated himself to ophthalmic research. In 1910 he became an instructor at the Army Medical College. There, in addition to seeing patients, he conducted research on "battlefield ophthalmology" and how to select superior soldiers. While working at the Military Medical School he was asked to devise a test to screen military recruits for abnormalities of color vision. His assistant was a color blind physician who helped him test the plates. The first charts were hand painted by Ishihara in water colors using hiragana symbols.