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Japanese doctors who studied abroad during the second half of the nineteenth century were instrumental in changing the health care system in their country. Between 1862 and 1912, no fewer than 763 Japanese doctors trained abroad in western universities. The prosopographic analysis conducted in this contribution underscores the strong appeal of German-speaking universities and the important role of medical studies undertaken abroad on a private basis. The Japanese doctors who trained in foreign countries fall into two categories of practitioners. First there was the country's medical elite, primarily trained at the University of Berlin, who upon their return obtained the most prestigious chairs in the country, including at the University of Tokyo. Second, there were a great many nameless practitioners. Their studies in western universities, which reflected a deeply utilitarian bent, were characterised by the priority given to clinical medicine. They worked in hospitals, clinics or private practice after they went back to Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]