Florence Nightingale's influence on the development and professionalization of modern nursing in Japan

This article has summarized the overwhelming sociocultural and geopolitical forces that influenced the development of modern nursing in Japan. The irony of Japanese nursing is that modern nursing, first introduced by navy physicians, served the needs of Japanese military efforts and those of physicians who required others to perform menial hospital chores. Because of the harsh realities of nursing in the battlefields or in hospitals, working as a Kangofu was, and is, not compatible with a traditional family life. Like Nightingale, the majority of active Kangofus, especially the leaders in the profession, are unmarried. The major impact of Nightingale on Japanese nurses has been in her role as a spiritual icon, giving nurses the strength to survive in the face of enormous hardship. The true professionalization of nursing in Japan lies on the horizon, 110 years after Nightingale's work was introduced in Japan and 50 years after Japan became a democratic country. Toward this new vision for nursing, I offer the Hokenfu model rather than the traditional Kangofu model, under which Japanese nurses have suffered oppression and discrimination for a century. In conclusion, Japanese nurses should expand their perspective on their profession and seize the opportunity for reform that now tantalizingly presents itself, not only to best serve their patients but also to fulfill their own potential as respected health professionals-potential that is, as of now, unrealized.