| Visiting the House where Hideo Noguchi was Born | Reporter: Yuko Yamamoto Click here for Yuko's report! |
 The statue of Hideo Noguchi and the birth place monument in the courtyard |
In May I visited Aizu city in Fukushima prefecture. The Aizu district is famous for Mount Bandai, Lake Inawashiro, and Byakkotai but it is especially famous for the house where Hideo Noguchi was born. The house is now called the Hideo Noguchi Memorial Hall. Does everyone know about Hideo Noguchi? Well then I'll tell you why he is so famous. Hideo Noguchi was born into a very poor family in the town of Inawashiro in 1876. When he was one and a half years old he badly burned his left hand in a fireplace and his fingers were stuck together. When he was sixteen his friends and teachers raised money for an operation to mend his hand. The operation was successful and Hideo was so moved by their help that he decided to become a doctor. Due to his tremendous effort he was able to pass the examination to become a doctor by the age of twenty one. It was at this time that he first saw a disease causing germ under the microscope and became interested in this strange creature. After treating plague patients in Yokohama he researched poisonous snakes in Philadelphia. At the Rockefeller Research Institute in America he contributed to the research in the spirochete germ that causes syphilis. When he was forty one he discovered the bacteria responsible for yellow fever in Equador. In order to research yellow fever he went to Africa but he himself caught the disease and passed away in Arak, Africa on May, 1928 at the age of fifty two. His grave is located in New York. Now you know what a great person Hideo Noguchi was. In order to make us better he researched many diseases. I think that Hideo Noguchi is a really great man. |
 The fireplace is preserved as it appeared originally |
| 1996 is the 120th year after Hideo Noguchi was born. His biography is one of the most read of the famous people. Many are moved by his spirit to overcome hardships and the motivation to make your dreams come true. What's your dream for the future? Please let me know your feelings and your dreams! |  |