Japan Historical Photos: The Kingendai Collection

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Undated – Shibasaburo Kitasato (1853-1931) was a Japanese physician and bacteriologist. He studied under Dr. Robert Koch in the University of Berlin from 1885 to 1891. In 1889, he was the first person to grow the tetanus bacillus in pure culture, and in 1890 cooperated with Emil von Behring in developing a serum therapy for tetanus using this pure culture. He is also remembered as the co-discoverer of the infectious agent of the bubonic plague in Hong Kong in 1894, almost simultaneously with Alexandre Yersin. (Photo by Kingendai Photo Library/AFLO)

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Soseki Natsume, was the pen name of Natsume Kinnosuke, who is widely considered to be the foremost Japanese novelist of the Meiji Era (1868-1912). He is commonly referred to as Soseki and is best known for his novels: Kokoro, Botchan; I Am a Cat; and his unfinished work Light and Darkness. He was also a scholar of British literature and composer of haiku, Chinese-style poetry, and fairy tales. From 1984 until 2004, his portrait appeared on the front of the Japanese 1000 yen note. Circa 1916. (Photo by Kingendai Photo Library/AFLO)

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June 30th, 1947 – Japanese author, Komatsu Kitamura, invites Japanese and American airplane-lovers to his house. (Photo by Kingendai Photo Library/AFLO)