| Nagayo Sensai | |
|---|---|
Baron Nagayo Sensai |
|
| Born | October 16, 1838 Omura, Nagasaki, Japan |
| Died | September 8, 1902 (aged 63) Tokyo, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation | Medical doctor, politician |
Baron Nagayo Sensai (長与 専斎, October 16, 1838 – September 8, 1902) was a medical doctor and statesman in Meiji period Japan.
Nagayo was born to a family of traditional physicians in Ōmura Domain, Hizen Province (present day Nagasaki Prefecture), and studied rangaku under Ogata Kōan in Osaka. Afterwards, he established a medical training college in Nagasaki, where he combined eastern and western medical practices with the assistance of the Dutch physician J. L. C. Pompe van Meerdervoort.
After the Meiji Restoration, Nagayo was selected to accompany the Iwakura Mission on its around-the-world journey to the United States and Europe. He was especially impressed from what he saw of modern medical practices in Germany and the Netherlands during his visit. On his return to Japan, he established the modern Japanese medical establishment with the creation the Medical Affairs Bureau (the predecessor of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan)), initially under the Ministry of Education, and later under the Home Ministry. He also promulgated the Vaccination Law, the comprehensive Medical Law, and established to Tokyo Igakko, which later became the medical facility of Tokyo Imperial University.
Nagayo served on the Genrōin and was later appointed to the House of Peers in the Diet of Japan. He was ennobled with the rank of danshaku (baron) in the kazoku peerage system.
Nagoya also established a hospital for tuberculosis patients in Yuigahama, Kamakura, and publicized the benefits of Kamakura as a health resort for its clean sea air.