Takamatsu Ryōun 高松凌雲 and The Red Cross
Takamatsu Ryōun (1837-1916) was a physician during the Bakumatsu period. In
1867, he was part of the delegation representing the Tokugawa government at the
Exposition Universelle of Paris alongside Tokugawa Akitake, the 14-year-old half
brother of Shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu (centre of the above picture). Takamatsu is third from the left (back).
By 1869, the civil war (Boshin
Senso) was raging and when the mission returned to Japan, Tokugawa loyalists,
under the leadership of admiral Enomoto Takeaki, had moved their base north.
Following the Battle of Aizu, Enomoto established the Rebublic of Ezo in
Hokkaido in December 1868. Takamatsu joined him and participated in the long
battle as head doctor of Hakodate hospital. While attending the Paris Expo,
Takamatsu had taken an interest in the International Committee for the Relief to
the Wounded (the predecessor of the Red Cross), and put in practise some of
their ideas in Hakodate, treating wounded soldiers regardless of their
affiliation or origin.
After the war, he was considered a rebel but was eventually allowed to practice again three years later. In 1877, during the Seinan war (also known as the Satsuma Rebellion), Takamatsu was invited by Sano Tsunetami (who was also present at the Paris Expo and had founded the first hospital based on the spirit of the Red Cross), to help establish the Red Cross across Japan, but Takamatsu was convinced that the Red Cross should be neutral, and refused to contribute to its establishment by the military.
While working at a hospital recently built on land leased by the Tokugawa clan, Takamatsu, chairman of the medical association, became acutely aware of the need to organise free medical examinations. With the cooperation of other doctors, he proposed the establishment of an organisation aimed at spreading medical treatments and providing free healthcare for those in need. The proposal was supported and, in 1879, the Douai-sha (同愛社) was founded. In addition to consultations and treatments, they also worked in disaster relief. They are known to be the forerunner of private relief organisations.
After the war, he was considered a rebel but was eventually allowed to practice again three years later. In 1877, during the Seinan war (also known as the Satsuma Rebellion), Takamatsu was invited by Sano Tsunetami (who was also present at the Paris Expo and had founded the first hospital based on the spirit of the Red Cross), to help establish the Red Cross across Japan, but Takamatsu was convinced that the Red Cross should be neutral, and refused to contribute to its establishment by the military.
While working at a hospital recently built on land leased by the Tokugawa clan, Takamatsu, chairman of the medical association, became acutely aware of the need to organise free medical examinations. With the cooperation of other doctors, he proposed the establishment of an organisation aimed at spreading medical treatments and providing free healthcare for those in need. The proposal was supported and, in 1879, the Douai-sha (同愛社) was founded. In addition to consultations and treatments, they also worked in disaster relief. They are known to be the forerunner of private relief organisations.
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