Heritage of Prof. Kuniyoshi Katayama the founder of forensic medicine in Japan

With the increase in medical litigation since 1999 in Japan, medical law education in university medical schools is becoming more important. Although Kuniyoshi Katayama (1855–1931) founded the field of Japanese forensic medicine, little attention has been paid to his contributions to medical law. We examined the three original texts of his major works, Elements of Law Court Medicine (copyrighted in 1882, published in 1888), Elements of Forensic Medicine (published in 1891) and The Latest Lecture of Forensic Medicine: General Theory (published in 1908), and analyzed the development of his thoughts on forensic medicine. His writings can be characterized as follows: in the first book, Elements of Law Court Medicine, which is based on the teaching of Ernst Tiegel and other German teachers, the explanation of the medical law was relatively simple because the modern legal system had not yet been prepared at that time in Japan. In his second book, Elements of Forensic Medicine, which he wrote after studying abroad in Germany and Austria, his theories were more complex. Katayama stated that it was necessary to understand the concept of Staatsarzneikunde (state medicine), with awareness of the differences between German and Austrian laws and Japanese law, and he emphasised the need to develop forensic medicine that was suitable for Japanese society. In his most noteworthy book, The Latest Lecture of Forensic Medicine: General Theory, written after the framework of the Japanese legal system was established, he explained the significance of understanding the legal system for all physicians and also presented guidelines for avoiding medical malpractice.