Kitazato Shibasaburō Museum (北里柴三郎記念館) 北里柴三郎記念館
The 1916 library that Kitazato paid for out of his own pocket is now a room of the museum.
Kitazato Shibasaburō was born on 29 January 1853 in Kitazato, now part of Oguni. In 1889 he obtained a pure culture of the tetanus bacillus and in 1890 developed serum therapy, in a work signed together with his colleague Behring; in 1894 in Hong Kong, where plague was widespread, he identified the plague bacillus. In 1914 he founded at his own expense the institute that bears his name; he died in 1931. His face is on the 1,000 yen banknote issued on 3 July 2024. The museum is run by the foundation 学びやの里. According to the official website the library (北里文庫) is ‘a Renaissance-style library that the doctor built with his own money for the children of the village’, in 1916 (大正5年); the guest residence (貴賓館) is from the same year and served Kitazato when he returned to the village or received guests; of the birthplace (生家) it is handed down that in 1895 it was reduced to the present two rooms when he invited his parents to Tokyo; the hall of 2023 (ドンネル館) was opened for the 170th anniversary of his birth.
Kumamoto
