Bälz was personal physician to the Japanese Imperial Family and cofounder of modern western medicine in Japan. 

"Bälz taught more than 800 students in Western medicine during his tenure at the Tokyo Imperial University. During his stay in Japan, he treated some of the most influential men in the Meiji government, including Prime Ministers Itō Hirobumi and Yamagata Aritomo. On Bälz' initiative, the volcanic springs of Kusatsu (200 km away from Tokyo) were transformed into the most successful hot spring resort of Japan. He compared the area with the European spa resort of Karlsbad, and felt that mountainous air, as well as the clear waters, was very conducive to health" (Wikipedia article on Erwin Bälz, accessed 02-2018).

Translated from the German by Eden and Cedar Paul as Awakening Japan: the diary of a German doctor: Erwin Baelz (New York: Viking Press, 1932).