Megumi Yamaguchi Shinoda
A young Japanese-American woman with wavy hair cut in a bob
Megumi Yamaguchi (later Shinoda), from the 1928 yearbook of Barnard College
BornFebruary 9, 1908
Cleveland, Ohio
DiedMay 1, 2007
ChildrenJean Shinoda Bolen
RelativesFumiko Yamaguchi (sister)
Grace Aiko Nakamura (niece)

Megumi Yamaguchi Shinoda (February 9, 1908 – May 1, 2007) was a Japanese American physician and was the first Asian American woman to graduate from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.[1][2][3] Alongside Kazue Togasaki, Shinoda was one of the first women of Japanese ancestry in the United States to receive a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1933.[1][4] Additionally, she was the first Japanese American intern at what is now Los Angeles General Medical Center.[1]

Personal life

In 1908, Shinoda was born as Megumi Yamaguchi to Dr. Minosuke Yamaguchi and Yuki Sasaki Yamaguchi in Cleveland, Ohio.[1][5] She had 6 siblings.[5] One of her older sisters is Fumiko Yamaguchi.[6] After her father finished medical school in 1918, her family moved to Inwood.[1][7]

Around 1935, Shinoda married Joseph Shinoda.[1][8] On June 29, 1936, Shinoda gave birth to their daughter, Jean Shinoda Bolen.[1] Her niece is Grace Aiko Nakamura.[9]

Education

Shinoda graduated from Barnard College in 1928 with Phi Beta Kappa honors.[5][10][3] Her sister Aiko Yamaguchi Takaoka graduated from Barnard in 1925.[10] Shinoda started attended Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in Fall of 1929.[1] She graduated in 1933 with Alpha Omega Alpha honors and became the first Asian-American woman to graduate from Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.[1] Shinoda's residency was at, what is now called, Los Angeles General Medical Center and was the first Japanese-American intern at that hospital.[1]

Career

After her residency, she started a general practice in Los Angeles focusing on obstetrics and gynaecology.[1] Between 1939 and 1941, Shinoda also authored a medical column in the newspaper Rafu Shimpo.[11] During an interview with Densho, her niece claimed that Shinoda's column was the first medical column in the newspaper.[9]

Due to Executive Order 9066, Shinoda was forced to close her business and moved back to New York City.[1] After World War II, Shinoda is reported to have returned to Los Angeles and restarted a medical practice at 224 1/2 East 1st Street in Los Angeles.[12] Around this time, she established a new medical practice in Hollywood focusing on psychiatry.[1] In February 1958, Shinoda was named as one of the claimants that, in accordance with the Japanese-American Claims Act, the Japanese Claims Section of the Department of Justice had awarded monetary compensation for property loss.[13]

She retired in 1980.[1]

In a 1986 political advertisement published in the Pacific Citizen, Shinoda was listed as a supporter of the Nixon-Agnew U.S. presidential ticket.[14]

Death

Shinoda died on May 1, 2007, in her Los Angeles home at age 99.[1][2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Zhang, Jingwen (2023-05-31). "Megumi Shinoda: First Asian American Female Graduate". Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  2. 1 2 "SHINODA, M.D.,Megumi Yamaguchi". The Los Angeles Times. May 8, 2007. p. 77.
  3. 1 2 "Celebrating the Women Who Did It First". Barnard College. Archived from the original on 2023-06-04. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  4. ↑ Ware, Susan, ed. (2004). Notable American women. 5: Completing the Twentieth Century, A - Z / Susan Ware, ed. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Pr. p. 639. ISBN 978-0-674-01488-6. Archived from the original on 2023-11-29. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  5. 1 2 3 "Minosuke Yamaguchi (death notice)". The Los Angeles Times. 1956-04-25. p. 42. Archived from the original on 2023-11-29. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  6. ↑ Barnard Alumnae. Vol. 74. Barnard College. Barnard College. March 1985.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: others (link)Barnard Alumnae. Vol. 74. Barnard College. Barnard College. March 1985
  7. ↑ "Tokyo on the Hudson: Inwood's Early Japanese Community – | My Inwood". 2023-03-26. Archived from the original on 2023-03-26. Retrieved 2023-11-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ↑ "Obituary for Megumi Yamaguchi Shinoda, M.D. at Fukui Mortuary, Inc". www.fukuimortuary.com. Archived from the original on 2022-11-22. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  9. 1 2 Shinoda Nakamura Interview. January 25, 2012.Densho ID: denshovh-ngrace-01. https://ddr.densho.org/media/ddr-densho-1003/ddr-densho-1003-8-transcript-20f2fcd04c.htm Archived 2022-10-04 at the Wayback Machine
  10. 1 2 Barnard Alumnae. Vol. 60. No. 1. Barnard College. Barnard College. September 1970. https://archive.org/details/barnardalumnae601barn
  11. ↑ Yoo, David (2023). Growing Up Nisei: Race, Generation, and Culture among Japanese Americans of California, 1924-49. University of Illinois Press. p. 200. ISBN 9780252054334.
  12. ↑ "PROFESSIONAL NOTICES" (PDF). Pacific Citizen. 17 August 1946. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  13. ↑ "Justice Dept. lists 33 claimants for February awards"(PDF) Archived 2023-05-07 at the Wayback Machine. Pacific Citizen. 7 March 1958. pp. 7–8. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  14. ↑ "This Is the Time NIXON • AGNEW" (PDF). Pacific Citizen. 1 November 1988. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 May 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
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