Kurokawa Masayasu (黒川良安)
Masayasu KUROKAWA (March 21, 1817 to September 28, 1890) was a doctor who practiced Western medicine and a Dutch scholar (a person who studied Western sciences by means of the Dutch language) during the end of Edo period. He was from Shinkawa-gun District, Ecchu Province (present Kamiichi-cho Town, Toyama Prefecture).
He studied the medicine under Philip Franz von Siebold and Koan OGATA. Because he founded Kanazawa Vaccination Institute which became the foundation of Kaga Domain Medical School (one of the schools streamed from the present Department of Medicine, Kanazawa University) and was the founder of modern medical science in Hokuriku region, a relief sculpture of him was set up in the campus of Department of Medicine, Kanazawa University, to commemorate him.
He is also known for having taught Western studies to Shozan SAKUMA.
Chronological list of the main events
In 1817, he was born as the child of Genryu KUROKAWA, who was a doctor. In 1828, he followed the interpreter Gonosuke YOSHIO who was from Dejima, Nagasaki City and went oversea to study. In 1836, after he visited Koan OGATA at his school of western sciences in Osaka, under Koan's instruction he entered the school of Shindo TSUBOI, who was a Dutch scholar in Edo, and became the head of the school. In 1844, he began to teach Western studies to Shozan SAKUMA. In 1862, he founded Kanazawa Vaccination Institute. In 1867, he founded Kanazawa Clan Medical Center. In 1868, he went to Nagasaki for the investigation of the establishment of a medical school. In 1870, he endeavored to reorganize Kanazawa Domain Medical School. In 1871, he retired from Kanazawa Domain Medicine School. In 1890, he died.