Scenes from the past. The dawn of radiology in Japan.

Introduction A collection of 42 radiographs produced with the first x-ray machine used clinically in Japan was unexpectedly discovered among historical materials preserved at the Academy of Medical Corps, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, Tokyo. The first x-ray machine for medical use in Japan was installed at the Army Medical School of Japan in November 1898 at the request of Captain Eijirou Haga, an army physician (1). Captain Haga had purchased the machine with his personal funds and had brought it to Japan from Germany. This report briefly reviews the early history of Japanese radiology, especially that involving the first x-ray machine, and presents some of the oldest x-ray images ever taken in Japan. The images suggest that military radiology played a pivotal role in the development of the medical use of x rays in Japan at that time.