Kusumoto Ine
| Kusumoto Ine | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
Shiimoto Ine May 10, 1827 Nagasaki, Japan |
| Died |
August 27, 1903 (aged 76) Tokyo, Japan |
| Nationality | Japan |
| Other names | Oine, Itoku |
Kusumoto Ine (楠本 イネ, 10 May 1827 – 27 August 1903), also known as Oine, was the first female doctor of Western medicine in Japan[1] and the daughter of German Dejima-based physician Philipp Franz von Siebold.
Her mother was Kusumoto Taki, who may have been a courtesan but who in any case bore a courtesan's stamp in her official papers, allowing her access to Siebold in Dejima,[2] the Dutch East India Company enclave in Nagasaki closed to almost all Japanese but courtesans.
Her father was caught smuggling a variety of items, chiefly forbidden maps (which, it was believed, could fall into the hands of Japan's enemies, such as Russia, which posed a threat on Japan's northern borders), and was sentenced with banishment from Japan on 22 October 1829.[3] He left the country by the end of 1829, two-year-old Oine and her mother waving goodbye to him from a small boat in the harbor as his ship pulled away.[1]
Oine remained in touch with her father during his long exile and was provided with Western medicines by him and with a training in Western medicine by his students who remained in Dejima.[1] Her father returned to Japan on 4 August 1859, after thirty years of absence. By this time, Oine had married, had a daughter of her own, had become the first female doctor of Western medicine in Japan, and had established a gynecology clinic in Nagasaki. She would see him for the last time in April 1862, as he was forced to return to Europe once again and never returned to Japan.[1]
References
- Lambourne, Lionel. Japonisme: Cultural Crossings Between Japan and the West. London: Phaidon, 2005.
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