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Michio Matsuda

まつだ みちお

Matsuda Michio

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1908-10-26 (Mizukaido, Ibaraki Prefecture (now Joso City))
Died
1998-06-01 age 89
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Kyoto → Osaka Prefecture → Wakayama Prefecture

Career

Occupations
physician, pediatrician, childcare critic, historian, writer, translator
Active Years
1932-1998
Affiliations
Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University (collaborator), Peace Issues Discussion Group (member)
Memberships
Peace Issues Discussion Group
Influenced By
Yukitaro Hirai, Osamu Kuno
Influenced
Michihiro Matsuda

Education

Third High School (old system)
Country: Japan
Kyoto Imperial University Faculty of Medicine (now Kyoto University)
Faculty of Medicine / Medicine
Degree: 医学士(後に医学博士)
Period: 1929-1933
Year of Graduation: 1933
Country: Japan
Awarded Doctor of Medicine in 1943 for research on chronic pediatric pulmonary tuberculosis

Awards

Mainichi Publishing Culture Award
1949
Work: The Science of Babies
Organization: Mainichi Newspapers
Result: winner
Children's Welfare Culture Award
1963
Work: Make Use of Your Talents
Organization: Children's Welfare Cultural Organization
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Tuberculosis

1940 Medicine / Public Health

A general-audience overview of tuberculosis and measures to prevent it.

tuberculosispublic healthpreventive medicine

The Science of Babies

1949 Childcare / Parenting

A childcare book presenting scientific perspectives on infant growth and care.

infant caredevelopmentparenting methods

Encyclopedia of Childcare

1967 Parenting encyclopedia

A bestselling encyclopedic guide to childcare. Later issued in paperback and with media supplements.

comprehensive childcarechild developmentfamily education
Adaptations
  • [Laserdisc / Video] Encyclopedia of Childcare (media-accompanied edition)

History of the World 22: The Russian Revolution

1974 History

A volume on the Russian Revolution based on Russian-language sources.

Russian Revolutionsocialismsource-based research

Bibliography

  • Tuberculosis (Kobundo) 1940
  • The Science of Babies (Sogensha) 1949
  • Encyclopedia of Childcare (Iwanami) 1967
  • Make Use of Your Talents (Chikuma) 1962
  • History of the World 22: The Russian Revolution (Kawade) 1974

Adaptations

  • Encyclopedia of Childcare (media-accompanied edition / laserdisc & video)

Translations by Author

  • Lenin (co-translated with Trotsky translation collaborators) Kawade Shobo Shinsha 1972
  • Yojokun (Kaibara Ekken) Chuko Bunko 1973

Style & Themes

Literary Style
clear, colloquial expressionessayistic and reflectivelogical, explanatory prose
Recurring Motifs
child development and freedomfamily and societymedicine and everyday lifeemphasis on primary sources in modern history

Legacy

He left influence across pediatric practice and scientific childcare writing as well as pioneering studies on the Russian Revolution. His personal library is preserved as the Michio Matsuda Collection at Kumamoto Gakuen University.

Archives

  • Michio Matsuda Collection (Kumamoto Gakuen University)

Trivia

  • He was born into a family of physicians said to trace back to the physician of Senhime.
  • At university he engaged with Marxist study and activism but did not join the Communist Party.
  • His son, Michihiro Matsuda, is known as a magic researcher and writer.
  • His personal library is preserved at Kumamoto Gakuen University as the Michio Matsuda Collection.