Kanzen Teruya (1920–2004) was an Okinawan physician who contributed much to the Okinawan medical world in post-World War II days. He reported a mass '' Cycas revoluta'' (sago palm) poisoning in people living on Miyako-jima island in 1956. He later became a professor at the

University of the Ryukyus The , abbreviated to , is a Japanese national university in Nishihara, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Established in 1950, it is the westernmost national university of Japan and the largest public university in Okinawa Prefecture. Located in the S ...

(1978–1985).

Life

Kanzen Teruya () was born in January, 1920 in Shuri,

Naha is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area i ...

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. He graduated from Kyushu Medical College, now the medical department of

Kurume University is a private university, established in 1928. Kurume University is located in Kurume ( Chikugo district), Fukuoka (on the island of Kyushu), Japan. History *1928 Kyūshū Medical School established. (A precursor of Kurume university) *1949 F ...

in 1942. In the last days of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he worked as an army physician stationed in Southeast Asia. After repatriation, he went to Kurume and then Okinawa. In 1956, he became the head of Okinawa Health Institute. In November, 1956, he studied a mass '' Cycas revoluta'' poisoning, the first in the world, which occurred because of starvation. In 1961, the vice-president of the Health Department, Ryukyu Government. In 1963, he became the principal of Okinawa Nursing School. In 1973, he became the president of Okinawa Public Health Institute. In 1976, he became professor at the Department of Health,

, and in 1981, professor at the Department of Medicine, University of the Ryukyuus. In 1985, he retired from the university. In 1990, he became the head of Olive En Institute for the aged. He died in 2004.

Other activities

*Medical policy regarding and control of the habu or '' Trimeresurus flavoviridis'' snake. *Control of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in Okinawa; he himself was a patient. *Control of

Paragonimiasis Paragonimiasis is a food-borne parasitic disease caused by several species of lung flukes belonging to genus ''Paragonimus''. Infection is acquired by eating crustaceans such as crabs and crayfishes which host the infective forms called metacerca ...

lung fluke in Okinawa. *Critic of literary articles and essays for patients with leprosy at Okinawa Airakuen Sanatorium. *On 2 and 3 February 1960, Teruya explained actual Okinawan medical conditions to

Taro Takemi Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and Petiole (botany), petioles. Taro corms are a food ...

, the then president of the Japanese Medical Association, and Takemi promised that Japan would help Okinawa in this regard.Kanzen Teruya. ''History of Postwar Okinawa Medicine.'' p. 162–181.

Honors

*Recipient of 39th Health Culture Award in 1987 by

Dai-ichi Life , or Dai-ichi Life for short, is the third-largest life insurer in Japan by revenue, behind Japan Post Insurance and Nippon Life. Founded on September 15, 1902, Dai-Ichi was one of the oldest mutual insurance companies in Japan until a motion to d ...

. *Recipient of

Iha Fuyu Iha may refer to: *James Iha, American rock musician *Iha Fuyu, Japanese scholar *Iha language, a Papuan language spoken on the Bomberai Peninsula * Iha language (Maluku) or Saparua language, an Austronesian language spoken in the Mulukus *Iha Cast ...

Award (), in 1989 for Okinawan Classic studies.

References

*Teruya K. ''Postwar History of Medicine in Okinawa'' Medical Friend. Co. Ltd., 1987. .
Okinawa Eiken Monogatari, including Teruya's pictures.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teruya Kanzen People from Naha People from Okinawa Prefecture Japanese healthcare managers Japanese toxicologists 1920 births 2004 deaths Ryukyuan people