Tatebe Seian (1712-1782) The doctor who saved famine victims Tatebe contributed to the development of Western Studies research and received high appraisal from the people of Ichinoseki. Born to a doctor in Ichinoseki in 1712, Tatebe went on to study medicine in Sendai and Yedo (now Tokyo) and succeeded his father's practice as a clan doctor. In 1755 during the great famine, Tatebe saved many hungry lives by writing a guide on agricultural methods of edible plants and recipes for wild plants. Furthermore, Tatabe studied Dutch medicine on his own and corresponded with Sugita Genpaku, a renowned Dutch medicine researcher in Yedo. The collection of correspondences was later published and became the first important reference in medical history.