Tadako Urata
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|---|---|
| 宇良田 唯子 | |
Urata Tadako, aged about 60 years
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| Born | 3 May 1873
Ushibuka
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| Died | 18 June 1936 (aged 63)
Tokyo
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| Other names | Urata Tada, Yui Nakamura |
| Occupation | Physician |
Tadako Urata (宇良田 唯子) (3 May 1873 – 18 June 1936) was a Japanese physician, trained in ophthalmology in Germany. She and her husband ran a clinic in Tianjin, China, from 1912 to 1932.
Urata was born in Ushibuka (now part of Amakusa city), the daughter of writer and businessman Urata Genshō. She trained as a pharmacist in Kumamoto, then earned a medical license in Tokyo in 1899; she studied infectious diseases at Kitasato Shibasaburo's Institute for Study of Infectious Diseases.[1] In 1903, she left Japan for Germany, to pursue further studies in ophthalmology, one of the first group of Japanese women to seek advanced degrees abroad.[2][3][4]
Urata earned a doctorate at the University of Marburg in 1905, with a dissertation on the prevention of neonatal gonococcal conjunctivitis.[5] Her dissertation research was published as『Experimentelle Untersuchungen über den Wert des sogenannten Credéschen Tropfens』in Ophthalmologica.[6] "Urata was not only the first female Japanese," noted Helmut Sies in 2016, "but also the first female ever who obtained the title of medical doctor at Marburg University."[7][8] The milestone was reported internationally, in both professional journals and daily newspapers.[9][10]
Urata returned to Japan in 1906 and opened a practice in ophthalmology in Tokyo. Later, with her husband, she ran a clinic in Tianjin, China, from 1912 to 1932.[1] She was an officer of the Japanese Women's Medical Association, and held the honorary title Professor of Medicine from the Japanese government.[11]
Urata was briefly married as a young woman, but left the marriage to continue her education. She married a fellow doctor, Nakamura Tsunesaburō, in 1911. She was a widow when she died in 1936, in Tokyo.[1] In 1992 she was named a "Person of Cultural Merit" for Kumamoto Prefecture. There is a monument to Urata in her hometown.[12] A place on the campus of the university of Marburg is named after her.
