Hideyo Noguchi Memorial Museum [Fukushima]

【About Hideyo Noguchi】

Hideyo Noguchi is familiar to Japanese people as the person depicted on the 1,000-yen bill. *A new banknote will be issued on July 3, 2024, and the face of the 1,000-yen bill will be replaced by Shibasaburo Kitazato from Hideyo Noguchi.

When Hideyo Noguchi was one and a half years old, he fell into a hearth and suffered severe burns on his left hand, which resulted in the loss of use of his left hand due to finger adhesions. However, with the support of those around him, he overcame the hardship. After undergoing surgery to heal the burns, he felt the wonder of medicine and chose to pursue a life in medicine. He then chose to study the most advanced medicine of the time, and based himself in the U.S., where he worked around the world, eventually establishing himself as a bacteriologist to the extent that he was nominated for the Nobel Prize several times. However, in 1928, while researching yellow fever in what is now Ghana, Africa, he contracted the disease and died at the age of 51.

【Hideyo Noguchi Memorial Museum summary】

The museum has been in operation for more than 80 years since its opening in 1939, and the current memorial hall was renovated in 2015 and covered to protect Hideyo’s birthplace from damage. Admission is a little steep at 1,200 yen for adults, but it is well worth it for Japanese visitors.

After the reception area on the first floor, there is an exhibition room and his birth house outside. The house where Eisei was born retains the hearth where he was burned when he was one year old, as well as the pillar on which he carved his determination. Although it is not possible to climb up from the earthen floor due to conservation reasons, visitors can see the hearth from a distance, which is said to have changed Eisei’s destiny.

【Hideyo Noguchi Robot】

On the second floor, there is an exhibition on infectious diseases, which I found very interesting, especially in these days of corona infestation. When you press a button, the staff will talk to you with gestures.

【Hideyo Noguchi Memorial Museum Nearby attractions】

Lake Inawashiro, Hanitsu Shrine, Tsurugajo Castle, Aizu Sazae-do

Haniatsu Shrine [Fukushima]

Tsuruga Castle [Fukushima]

Sazae Temple [Fukushima]

Iimoriyama Itsukushima Shrine [Fukushima]

【Hideyo Noguchi Memorial Museum Access】