Ida Takeo (井田武雄)
Takeo IDA (November, 1851 - 1933) was a Japanese doctor and businessman. His pen name was Rikushu. He was from Nakahama Village, Saihaku County (current Sakaiminato City), Tottori Prefecture.
Career
He was born as the second son of Yoshie IDA. In 1865, he moved to Nagasaki and studied Ranpo-igaku (Western medicine by means of the Dutch language) at Nagasaki Yojosho (current Nagasaki University, School of Medicine).
He left Nagasaki Yojosho in 1874. In the Seinan War of 1877, he went to the front as medical staff of Metropolitan Police Department and produced some achievement. In 1878 he became medical officer of the navy and was sent to Korea on the warship (gunboat) 'Hosho'; he did an excellent job in treating Koreans. After returning to Japan, he resigned from the navy and became the director of Yoshin Hospital; and he planned to establish the Meikyo Life Insurance Company. With the support from high government officials including Shigenobu OKUMA and Taisuke ITAGAKI, he worked together with Tomofusa SASSA, Shiro SHIBA and Sei ARAO to establish Toho-tsusho Kyokai (Eastern Commerce Association); he located the main office in Shanghai and was deeply involved in operations for settling the issues in East Asia.
In 1895 after the Sino-Japanese War, the arguments on the ownership of Taiwan caused the rebellion of the residents of Taiwan Island, and Japan dispatched the troops and ended up occupying Taiwan. At that time Takeo became the first-grade official doctor of Taiwan and took his post as director of Taiwan Plague Hospital. In Taipei, he worked hard as mediation together with his fellows including Arao, however his fellow Arao died. Besides Takeo himself was jailed for a charge of abetting the residents since he had objected to Japanese officials' outrages upon residents of Taiwan, so his hope was dashed. He went back to Japan and became the director of Yotsuya Hospital in 1897. He managed the hospital, and in 1914 became the director of Koraku Hospital and engaged himself in medical practice. After the Showa period started, he still kept contacting with fellows on East Asian issues while working as a consultant at the hospital.
According to a record, his address was Nagasumi-cho, Yotsuya Ward, Tokyo (current Yotsuya, Shinjyuku Ward), however the whereabouts of the surviving members of his family are unknown.
Family Line
It has been said that the Ida family was descendants of Tanenori IDA who had been the lord of Sakata Castle of Musha County of Kazusa Province, and Takeo said that he was the 25th descendant of the Gyobu no taifu (Senior Assistant Minister of Justice) (from "Biographical Dictionary of Businessmen").
They possessed letters from Kenshin UESUGI, Katsuyori TAKEDA and Hidetada TOKUGAWA to the ancestors of Ida family as family treasures.
Reference
Below is the abstract from the section of Takeo IDA in the Taisho Biographical Dictionary
Takeo was born on November 1851 in Nakahama Village, Saihaku County, Tottori Prefecture. His father Yoshie was also a person worrying about the nation's future and devoting himself to the nation. His family line goes back to Imperial Prince Katsurabara, and his ancestor Gyobu no taifu IDA was, in fact, the lord of Sakata Castle in Musha County of Kazusa Province. During the Genki era and the Tensho era (between 1570 and 1592) Keibu's descendants fought in the fierce battles. Since being from such noble family which ancestor had established great achievement in many battles and their names as samurai had spread among Kanto region, it is not surprising that his father was worried about national affairs; in 1865 he went to Kiyo (Nagasaki)and studied medicine at the 'Yojosho' which later became Nagasaki Medical School. After graduating from the school in 1868, he accepted the invitation from the government of Canada and went to Canada; during his stay for three years, he furthered his learning, and after the end of the term, he returned to Japan. He was appointed medical staff of Metropolitan Police Department, and soon he happened to be involved in the Seinan War. He worked in the war with his medical skills and produced a lot of achievements, and later he became medical officer of the navy and went to Korea as chief of medical officers of the warship Hosho-go. He treated Koreans and they greatly honored him for his service. After that he established Tokyo Yoshin Hospital and Meikyo Life Insurance Company and so on; he not only developed medicine, but also built so many businesses that we cannot enumerate all of them.