Sato Shunkai
Satô Shunkai was a Rangaku scholar, medical expert, and third head of the Juntendô in Sakura, Chiba prefecture.
Born the son of Sakura han retainer Okamoto Chiharu, Shunkai became a boarding student the Juntendô and studied Dutch language and medicine under Satô Taizen and Satô Takanaka. He then became an official court physician in service to the domain, and following a set of domainal medical reforms in 1866, was named Third Court Physician.
After Satô Takanaka retired in 1874, he adopted Dôan, granting him the name Satô Shunkai[1], and naming him head of the Juntendô. As head of the school, Shunkai oversaw the conversion of two of the Juntendô's tatami rooms into a single Western-style room, among other renovations to make the building better suitable for a modern/Western-style medical school and hospital. Shunkai and others associated with the Juntendô also served as medical officers for the Sakura Infantry Hospital.
References
- Pamphlets available at the Juntendô Memorial Buildings Museum.
- ↑ After his own name, Yamaguchi Shunkai, prior to being adopted by Taizen and becoming Satô Takanaka.