Pioneering medical journals of Japan

Japan's modern history begins with the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Prior to that, Japan was largely a secluded society (Sakoku). The first medical journal in Japan was in the pre- Meiji era and was the Taisei-mei-i-ikô (A Compendium of Articles by Renowned Western Doctors), published from 1836 to 1842. Its editor was Mituskuri Genpo; the journal comprised translations of Dutch journals to Japanese (for the first six issues) and Chinese script (for the last two issues). In 1869, William Willis, a British doctor, established the Nikko Kibun (Records of Daily Lectures). From December 1869 to 1870, a Dutch physician, Antonius F. Bauduin, published 11 monthly issues of a journal, which he also titled Nikko Kibun. In 1872, Stuart Eldridge, an American native, published Kin- Sei-I-Setsu (Journal of Modern Medicine), the first Japanese medical journal to publish articles by researchers based in Japan. June 1873 saw the first journal edited by a Japanese physician; Bun-en-Zasshi (Journal of Literary Bower), edited by Motonori Tashiro. We propose that the Journal of Literary Bower happens to be an erroneous translation, and the term should mean Journal of Culture and Thought. Among the 69 medical journals established in Japan between 1873 and 1889, 23 ceased to exist within 1 year.