Shinobu Ishihara

Ishihara Shinobu (Jap.石 原 忍; * September 25, 1879; † January 3, 1963 ) was a Japanese military doctor and ophthalmologist, who developed the so-called " Ishihara color plates ", a test for the detection of red-green color blindness or weakness what the 1940 awarded the Asahi prize.

Life

Ishihara graduated in 1905 at the University of Tokyo in medicine. Because his studies were largely paid for by the Japanese army, he entered upon successful completion of a university in the Japanese army. There he worked primarily as a surgeon. In later years he specialized more and more in ophthalmology. In 1908 he returned to the University of Tokyo, there to complete a study of ophthalmology, which he completed in 1910. In 1910, he was senior physician at the medical army hospital in Tokyo. During his work at the military hospital, he was assigned to the part of the army leadership to develop a test to detect color noise budding Japanese recruits.

Starting point of his research were first records of Johann Wolfgang Goethe, who discovered color blindness first.

Since Ishihara's assistant himself was color blind, Ishihara color test could be completed at him. The first symbols then painted Ishihara with brush and water colors, hiragana symbols were (Japanese syllabary characters).

From 1910 to 1914 Ishihara formed under Wolfgang floor ( 1874-1956 ) in Jena, Karl Theodor Paul Axenfeld ( 1867-1930 ) in Freiburg im Breisgau and Carl von Hess ( 1863-1923 ) in Munich. With the outbreak of the First World War, he returned to Tokyo. From 1922 he taught at his alma mater.

Even today the Ishihara color plates application for the detection of color weakness or blindness.

Although Ishihara has created a relatively reliable test for the detection of a disturbance of color perception, he was himself, however, never interested in a cure of this phenomenon. Maybe it's because at that time in Japan considered inter alia, a "biological elite group " sort out.

Color blindness, or weakness is surgically incurable even today. However, there are now special glasses that allow a person with such a color vision disturbance the Ishihara test - depending on the severity of the disorder - easily creates.