Dr. Shiro Amako began practicing medicine in Sendagi, Tokyo in 1903. In March of that year, he first published Japana Centra Revuo Medicina (known officially in Japan as Igaku Chuo Zasshi and colloquially as Ichushi). Japana Centra Revuo Medicina is the second oldest medical abstract publication currently in existence. The Index Medicus, first published in the United States in 1879, is the oldest. Dr. Amako is well-known in Japanese medical circles for his pioneering work that contributed so much to Japanese medicine. Soseki Natsume returned to Japan from an extended period of study in England in January 1903. In March 1903, he began living in Sendagi near Dr. Amako. Soseki (the author is generally known by his given name rather than his family name in both Japan and the United States) launched his career as a novelist with I Am A Cat in 1905. This novel continues to be widely read in Japan and has been translated into many languages. One of the characters in I Am A Cat is Dr. Amaki. The fictional Dr. Amaki is said to be based on the real-life Dr. Amako. Recent scholars have placed increasing emphasis on this fact. Great achievement in both medicine and literature took place in Sendagi in the early years of the 20th century. There was a complex relationship between Soseki and Dr. Amako. Starting as a doctor/patient connection, it grew into a deep personal friendship involving not only the author and the doctor but members of their extended families as well.
