Giants in History: Ogino Ginko (3 March 1851 – 23 June 1913) was the first registered female doctor to practise modern medicine in Japan. After contracting gonorrhoea from her first husband and being embarrassed from having to seek medical attention from male doctors, Ginko resolved to become a doctor to help women in similar situations.
She graduated from Tokyo Women's Normal School (present-day Ochanomizu University) and despite facing prejudice, took her medical practitioner’s examination in 1885. Ogino opened the Ogino Hospital specializing in obstetrics and gynaecology. She was also the staff doctor at the girls’ school of the Meiji Gakuin University. Additionally, Ogino ran a medical practice in Hokkaido and a hospital in Tokyo.
