Fukuzawa Yukichi (福澤 諭吉) and Moles ?

Menu: Famous people with Skin Problems

• FUKUZAWA Yukichi (福澤 諭吉, 1835 – 1901) was a Japanese professor in the era of Japanese opening to the West called the Meiji Period. In this regard he helped as a translator being fluent in English and Chinese.
• He is regarded as one of the founders of modern Japan and founded the first University of Japan called Keio University (in Tokyo)
• For his important contribution, he is depicted on the 10000 Yen note, which has remained despite the banknote series changing.

….Now back to Dermatology

• On some of his portraits he has 2 lumps in the left nasogenial fold and between the eyebrows.
  These are skin-colored papules which look like intradermal-melanocytic nevi (IDMN). The resolution of portraits does not allow us to exclude neurofibromas, adnexal tumors.

• IDMN’s are common moles which are limited to the dermis, hence pigmentation is not present on the surface. They represent the normal evolution (downward migration of melanocytes) from the epidermis when they appear as flat brown macules.
• Contrary to Chinese culture, there is NO cultural stigma of its presence on the face in Japanese culture (see the bottom of page of the article on Mao Zedong to read more)