TALES FROM HISTORY

How a Headless Woman Sparked a Medical Revolution in Japan

Sugita Genpaku — Remarkable Edo-era pioneer of human anatomy

Sugita Genpaku, by Ishikawa Tairō. (Public Domain)

Sugita Genpaku was born in 1733, while his father was in attendance to the Lord of Wakasa, now Fukui, at his Edo estate. Although the official physician of the Wakasa Domain, Genpaku’s father stood in helpless…