100 Years of History

Ichigoro Nakahara was born on May 15, 1866, and received his license to practice dentistry in 1889. In 1890, he opened his own hospital, called the Nakahara Dental Hospital, and as a member of the local assembly he strove to improve the standards of preventive dentistry among children. In June 1907, he established Kyoritsu Dental School. In 1909, this became the Nippon Institute of Dentistry, and he was appointed principal in 1911. In September 1915, he was awarded a Doctor of Science degree from the University of Maryland. In 1920, he was made chairman of the Regent Board, and he was named honorary president in 1936. From his youth, Ichigoro Nakahara's industrious study and research resulted in many inventions and innovations in dental medicine. In addition, he enjoyed calligraphy, as well as the traditional Japanese poetic forms called haiku and tanka. He died on March 22, 1941, at the age of 75.

Minoru Nakahara graduated from the Nippon Institute of Dentistry in 1915. After receiving a dentistry degree from Harvard University in 1918, he undertook several years of research in Europe. In 1923, he returned to Japan as a professor of the Nippon Institute of Dentistry, and was appointed chairman of the Regent Board in 1941. He became president of the Nippon Dental College in 1948, and in 1962 he became president of the Japan Dental Association. In 1973, he was made chairman of the Nippon Private University Association. Minoru Nakahara's life was dedicated not only to education and medicine but also to the arts, for he was a talented painter and many books of his works were published. Between 1959 and 1988, he was first a director and then an honorary director of the Nika-kai artists' association. He died on October 15, 1990, at the age of 99.