Philipp Franz von Siebold

Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796 - 1866) was the first Westerner to teach medicine in Japan. He was a resident physician on Dejima Island Nagasaki from 1823 until 1829. He was noted for his study of Japanese flora and fauna. He conducted research with the cooperation of the interpreters (institutionalised by the Shogun) and Japanese students (Rangaku).

When he was expelled from Japan in 1829, he went to Leiden, where he authored Nippon in 1832. In a specially built glasshouse at his estate 'Deshima' he cultivated the plants he imported from Japan to endure the Dutch climate. Trivial, matter-of-fact, garden-plants like the hosta and the hortensia were imported by Siebold

He also started the tea culture in Java (Then a Dutch colony) with smuggled tea plants from Japan. Till then Japan had guarded the trade in Japan very strictly. From the Hortus (the botanical garden) in Leiden Holland, many of the plants started their conquest of Europe and from there to other countries. It was not only the Hosta and hortensia, but also the Azaleas, the Japanese butterbur and coltsfoot, the Japanese larch and so on.

Quite characteristically 'Siebold' is almost unknown to the Dutch but a hero to the Japanese ('Siborut-san').