Born into a village headman's family at Oguni in Higo (Kumamoto).
At the Kumamoto medical school he studied under the Dutch doctor Mansvelt and resolved to pursue medicine.
He graduated from the medical school of the University of Tokyo and joined the Home Ministry's public health bureau.
He went to Germany and began research under the bacteriologist Robert Koch.
He became the first in the world to grow a pure culture of the tetanus bacillus.
He discovered serum therapy for tetanus and published it with Emil von Behring.
Back in Japan, with help from Fukuzawa Yukichi and others, he founded the Institute for Infectious Diseases.
He went to plague-stricken Hong Kong and discovered the plague bacillus.
Protesting the transfer of his institute to another ministry, he resigned and founded the new Kitasato Institute.
He became the first dean of Keiō University's school of medicine.
He died in Tokyo.
Fukuzawa YukichiShiga KiyoshiHata SahachirōNoguchi Hideyo
Isawa ShūjiTakamura KōunKodama GentarōJosiah ConderErnest FenollosaTakamine JōkichiShimoda UtakoKomura Jutarō
People of the Meiji period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.