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Erwin Otto Eduard von Bälz (; 13 January 1849 – 31 August 1913), often simply known as Erwin Bälz (without the noble ''
von The term () is used in German surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means or . Nobility directories like the often abbreviate the noble term to ''v.'' ...
'' particle), was a German
internist Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of th ...
,
anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...
, and personal physician to the Japanese Imperial Family and cofounder of modern western medicine in Japan.


Biography

The son of a contractor, Bälz was born in 1849 in Bietigheim-Bissingen in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. He attended grammar school in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
and studied medicine at
University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...
. He graduated at the age of 23, and subsequently worked at the medical department of the
University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...
in 1869, and served as a medic in the German army during the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
in 1870. He returned to the University of Leipzig in 1875. While at Leipzig, he treated a Japanese exchange student, which led to an offer by the Japanese government of a two-year contract with the Medical College of
Tokyo Imperial University The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public university, public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several Edo peri ...
in 1876. Bälz’s contract was renewed several times, and he ended up spending 27 years in Japan, the longest of any of the '' Oyatoi gaikokujin'' advisors. In 1881, he married a Japanese woman, Toda Hanako, and had four children. During his stay in Japan, he tried to promote sports activity among the students of the Tokyo University, recommending unsuccessfully to revive the practice of
jujutsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...
and
kenjutsu is an umbrella term for all ('' ko-budō'') schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration. Some modern styles of kendo and iaido that were established in the 20th century also included modern forms o ...
. He trained personally kenjutsu under Kenkichi Sakakibara, and later was introduced to jujutsu master Hikosuke Totsuka, although he was discouraged from practicing jujutsu for being deemed at 30 supposedly too old to start in the art. In the summer of 1899, Bälz visited the
Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
n capital
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
and
Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...
and undertook ethnological investigations. From 22 April to 3 July 1903, he was again in Korea and, together with Richard Wunsch, undertook an expedition into the interior of the country. In 1902, he was appointed personal physician-in-waiting to
Emperor Meiji , posthumously honored as , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the List of emperors of Japan, traditional order of succession, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which ...
and the Imperial household of Japan. Bälz taught more than 800 students in Western medicine during his tenure at the Tokyo Imperial University. During his stay in Japan, he treated some of the most influential men in the
Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...
, including
Prime Ministers A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rat ...
Itō Hirobumi Kazoku, Prince , born , was a Japanese statesman who served as the first prime minister of Japan from 1885 to 1888, and later from 1892 to 1896, in 1898, and from 1900 to 1901. He was a leading member of the ''genrō'', a group of senior state ...
and
Yamagata Aritomo Prince was a Japanese politician and general who served as prime minister of Japan from 1889 to 1891, and from 1898 to 1900. He was also a leading member of the '' genrō'', a group of senior courtiers and statesmen who dominated the politics ...
. On Bälz's initiative, the volcanic springs of Kusatsu (200 km away from Tokyo) were transformed into the most successful
hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...
resort of Japan. He compared the area with the European spa resort of Karlsbad, and felt that mountainous air, as well as the clear waters, was very conducive to health. Another medical contribution was the discovery and naming of " Mongolian spot". Finding an unrecorded feature of blue spots in Japanese babies, he thought these spots were characteristic of people of Mongolian origin. In 1905, Bälz returned to Germany with his family. In
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
, late in the summer of 1913, Bälz succumbed to heart disease.


Legacy

Bälz was also an ardent art collector; the majority of the Japanese works collected by him are located at the
Linden Museum The Linden Museum (German language, German: ''Linden-Museum Stuttgart. Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde'') is an ethnological museum located in Stuttgart, Germany. The museum features cultural artifacts from around the world, including South ...
in Stuttgart. A stone sculpture at his alma mater, University of Tübingen is a reminder of his contributions to Japanese medical science. In 1961, a sister city relationship between Kusatsu and Bietigheim-Bissingen was established. After his death, his diary ''Das Leben eines deutschen Arztes im erwachenden Japan'' (1931, tr. ''The Diary of a German Doctor in Awakening Japan'') was published, giving unique insights into Japan in the
Meiji era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feu ...
. In 1883, while staying at the
Fujiya Hotel The is a historic hotel in Miyanoshita in Hakone, Hakone, Kanagawa, Japan. History The hotel was constructed in 1891 and consists of different sections constructed in a mixture of traditional Japanese and western architecture that was popula ...
in Miyanoshita,
Hakone is a List of towns in Japan, town in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had a population of 10,965, and total area of . Hakone is a notable spa town and a popular tourist destination due to its many onsen, hot springs being within view of ...
, Bälz noticed that his maid's hands were chapped. He made a mixture of
glycerin Glycerol () is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting, viscous liquid. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known as glycerides. It is also widely used as a sweetener in the food industry and as a humectant in pha ...
and water for her, which was later sold widely in Japan under the name of ''Bälz Water''. It is also listed in the Japan ''
Pharmacopoeia A pharmacopoeia, pharmacopeia, or pharmacopoea (or the typographically obsolete rendering, ''pharmacopœia''), meaning "drug-making", in its modern technical sense, is a reference work containing directions for the identification of compound med ...
''. During his time in Japan, Bälz became a fan of
judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...
, and is credited with introducing the sport to Germany. In the year 2000, a commemorative museum honoring Bälz was erected in Kusatsu.Guide to Kusatsu
/ref>


Notes


References


Bibliography

* Baelz, Erwin. ''Awakening Japan: The Diary of a German Doctor''. Indiana University Press (1974). Translated by Eden and
Cedar Paul Cedar Paul, ''née'' Gertrude Mary Davenport (1880 – 18 March 1972) was a singer, author, translator and journalist.''Who Was Who'' Biography Gertrude Davenport came from a musical family: she was the granddaughter of the composer George Ale ...
. . * Fujitani, T. ''Splendid Monarchy: Power and Pageantry in Modern Japan''. University of California Press; Reprint edition (1998). . * Keene, Donald. ''Emperor Of Japan: Meiji And His World, 1852–1912''. Columbia University Press (2005). . * Hasegawa, Akio
''Hakone that Prof. Bälz loved''


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balz, Erwin 1849 births 1913 deaths People from Bietigheim-Bissingen German expatriates in Japan Foreign advisors to the government in Meiji-era Japan Foreign educators in Japan People from the Kingdom of Württemberg German military doctors 19th-century art collectors 20th-century German art collectors Academic staff of the University of Tokyo