Dr Fitzpatrick’s Influence in Japanese Dermatology

Atsushi KukitaUniversity of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

Our connection with Dr Fitzpatrick began 52 years ago, in1952. At that time, Dr Fitzpatrick wished to have a Japanesedermatologist for pigment research in his laboratory. DrKanehiko Kitamura, Professor of Dermatology at theUniversity of Tokyo, who first described a case ofacropigmentatio reticularis, first sent me in 1953 and thenDr Miyamoto in 1955, to Dr Fitzpatrick’s laboratory at theUniversity of Oregon Medical School (now Oregon HealthSciences University). We were followed by Dr Yoshida andDr Seiji in 1957. From the time he moved to the HarvardMedical School, 29 Japanese scientists worked on thesubjects of melanin and melanocytes with Dr Fitzpatrickand his staff. As well as dermatologists, biochemistspharmacologists, and biologists have worked in his labora-tory to investigate melanin biology. The data obtained havegreatly contributed to the development and current under-standing of melanin biology.

In 1956, Dr Fitzpatrick was invited by Dr Minor Ito,Professor of Dermatology of Tohoku University, who firstdescribed cases of nevus of Ito and incontinentia pigmentiacromians, to the 55th Annual Meeting of the JapaneseDermatological Association as a special lecturer, and hegave a lecture on the Formation of Melanin. During his tripto Japan, he consulted with Dr Kitamura on establishing anInternational Lectureship of Japan in memory of ProfessorKeizo Dohi, who first introduced Western dermatology toJapan. Thereafter, his important suggestion led to theestablishment of this world-famous international lecture-ship. It was established in 1957. Now it is called the DohiMemorial Lectureship of Dermatology of Japan. A total of42 guest speakers from foreign countries have been invitedto the Lectureship.

In 1969, Dr Fitzpatrick himself was invited by Dr JunichiroDohi, Professor of Dermatology of the Tokyo JikeikaiMedical College and a relative of Professor Keizo Dohi, tothe 68th Annual Meeting of the Japanese DermatologicalAssociation in Tokyo as a Dohi lecturer. The title of thatlecture was ‘‘Melanin–1969, Some Definitions and Pro-blems’’. In this meeting, he was elected as an HonoraryMember of the Japanese Dermatological Association. TheDohi Lectureship has greatly influenced Japanese derma-tology, and since its establishment, many young dermatol-ogists from all parts of Japan have studied abroad, returnedhome, and developed the results of their studies in theirrespective specialities. These efforts have become a primeforce moving Japanese dermatology forward.

Dr Fitzpatrick also organized the internationally com-posed seminars and conferences in Japan. In 1970, heorganized the US-Japan Seminar on Pigment Cells with Drs

Kawamura and Seiji in Tokyo and published ‘‘Biology ofNormal and Abnormal Melanocytes’’ (Fitzpatrick and Seiji,1971). In 1972, he worked as one of the members of theorganizing committee of the International Conference ofPhotosensitization and Photoprotection and published‘‘Sunlight and Man’’ as a consulting editor (Pathak et al,1974). In 1980, he conducted the International Conferenceon Biology and Diseases of Dermal Pigmentation in Tokyoand published ‘‘Biology and Diseases of Dermal Pigmenta-tion’’ (Fitzpatrick et al, 1981). In 1985, he also conducted theInternational Conference on Biology of Diseases of Epider-mal Pigmentation in Tokyo and published ‘‘Brown Melano-derma’’ (Fitzpatrick et al, 1986). More recently, in 1988, heworked as a US organizer of the US-Japan Seminar onMelanoma and Skin Cancer, the Biology ComparativeFeatures in the United States and Japan and publishedthe Proceedings of that meeting as a Supplement to theJournal of Investigative Dermatology (1989).

Dr Fitzpatrick’s contributions to the development ofJapanese dermatology after the Second World War havebeen innumerable. He has been called a US ambassador of

Copyright r 2004 by The Society for Investigative Dermatology, Inc.

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Dermatology in Japan, and he really loved Japan. OnNovember 3, 1986, he received the Honor of the RisingSun Gold Ray with Red Ribbon from the JapaneseGovernment for his tremendous contributions to Japanesemedical science. Japanese dermatologists who worked inhis laboratory have learned not only medical science, but away of life in the American tradition. We all should be verygrateful to Dr Fitzpatrick for bringing the grand Americantradition of experimental dermatology to Japan.

DOI: 10.1046/j.1523-1747.2003.22250.x

References

Fitzpatrick TB, Kukita A, Seiji M, Morikawa F, Sober AJ, Toda K (eds). Biology and

Diseases of Dermal Pigmentation. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1981

Fitzpatrick TB, Wick MM, Toda K (eds). Brown Melanoderma. Tokyo: University of

Tokyo Press, 1986

Kawamura T, Fitzpatrick TB, Seiji M (eds). Biology of Normal and Abnormal

Melanocytes. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1971

Pathak MA, Harber LC, Seiji M, Kukita A (eds). Sunlight and Man. Tokyo:

University of Tokyo Press, 1974

M. Seiji and TB Fitzpatrick presentation on Molecular Biology of Melanin, with permission from the archives of the Department of Dermatology,Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.

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