The historical adventures of Takeshi Kawase: the mountaineer who explored the "no man's land" with love for art, nature, and humankind.

The anterior petrosal approach, or Kawase's approach, is a commonly used technique in skull base surgery to access the brainstem in the posterior fossa from the middle fossa, and has the advantages of minimizing brain retraction and preserving hearing. It was first successfully performed by the legendary Japanese neurosurgeon, Takeshi Kawase, for the clipping of a basilar artery aneurysm in 1981. To date, no historical article has shed light on Kawase's intriguing personal history. In this historical vignette, the authors depict Kawase's unique background, talent, passion, as well as struggles that ultimately shaped his career. By sharing Kawase's personal story from the hospital where he first successfully performed his original approach, the authors hope to pass on to future generations Kawase's spirit and philosophy that have impacted the global neurosurgical community.