[Past contributions to anesthesiology by Japanese anesthesiologists].

This article describes the first events of general anesthesia in the world by Tokumei Takamine in 1698 and Seishu Hanaoka in 1804, the establishment of anesthesiology in Japan including the meaning of a scientific society, the establishment of Japanese Society of Anesthesiologist and Department of Anesthesiology at University of Tokyo, past contributions to anesthesiology by Japanese anesthesiologists, and contributions to anesthesiology by Journal of Anesthesia and the Japanese Journal of Anesthesiology.