Takamine Tokumei (original) (raw)

Takamine Ueekata Tokumei (高嶺 親方 徳明, February 15, 1653 – 1738) was an Okinawan interpreter (Chinese-Okinawan). He was ordered to learn harelip surgery and successfully performed the surgery for the grandson of King Shō Tei, Shō Eki, under general anesthesia. It was standard at the time for members of Ryūkyū's aristocratic class to have two names: Chinese style name (唐名, Karana) and Japanese style name (大和名, Yamatona). "Takamine Tokumei" was his Japanese style name, while Gi Shitetsu (魏 士哲) was his Chinese style name.