Japanese medicine and Berlin: a very special and successful relationship.

We describe a unique interaction between the very advanced German medicine and the ambitious Japanese medicine at the end of the 19th century and some of their protagonists. The Japanese sent some of their brightest young doctors to Germany where they not only studied medicine but also contributed to medical progress in Germany. Most went to Berlin, but before coming to Germany, in Japan they had to learn not only the German language but also German medicine as students of prominent German doctors in Japan. Both groups complemented each other in this cooperation to the benefit of all.