St. Luke’s Hospital was founded in 1902 as Japan’s first modern hospital by a dedicated missionary, Dr. Rudolph Bolling Teusler, who had earlier started a clinic in Tsukiji, Tokyo, along with Dr. Tokutaro Kubo, and a nurse, Iyo Araki. The hospital, equipped with an operating room and five inpatient rooms, initially served many patients of different nationalities.

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With the start of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937, most non-Japanese staff, who were predominantly members of the American Episcopal Church, were removed from management roles. Many Americans returned to the United States. Nevertheless, the hospital, with Christian symbols removed, continued to operate under the name of the Great East Asia Central Hospital, and provided care and protection throughout World War II.

In 1945, after the end of World War II, St. Luke’s International Hospital was used as the General Headquarters (GHQ) for the occupying forces, and medical services were transferred to a small hospital nearby. GHQ released a portion of the St. Luke’s facility in 1953. In 1954, the hospital began offering medical examinations in order to identify and treat illness at an early stage. By 1956, the entire property was returned to the purpose of providing medical care, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare (currently, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare) designated the hospital as a training site for interns. Under an American management style, St. Luke’s International Hospital became a model for Japanese hospitals and the leader in the field of medicine in Japan. St. Luke’s College of Nursing was established in 1963, and its volunteer system was introduced in 1968.

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Around 1970, the hospital launched a plan to construct a new building to replace the current structure, which was then more than fifty years old. MPA, a U.S. company, was contracted to build an all single-patient room facility. Construction was completed in April 1992, and the facility was officially opened in the hopes of providing high-quality, patient-oriented medical care by taking advantage of a modern, well-equipped healthcare environment. Dr. Shigeaki Hinohara, then the director of the hospital, presented the inaugural address emphasizing ten key priorities, such as respecting patient privacy, serving as an educational hospital, earning recognition as an international hospital, and fully integrating medical care and nursing. The goal was to improve Japan’s medical care standards, which, at the time, lagged behind those of Europe and the United States.

Following the March 20, 1995 sarin gas attack, in which 12 died and 5,000 were injured, the hospital accepted approximately 640 patients. All other outpatient services and surgical operations were suspended while the facility in effect became a field hospital in the midst of the national tragedy. The chapel, corridors, and waiting rooms were all transformed into makeshift care units, with staff, students from the College of Nursing, and volunteers helping care for victims. Amid the chaos, St. Luke’s established its ability to provide care in the face of disaster, and demonstrated its value as a community hospital.

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St. Luke’s celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2002 and continues to explore the cutting edge of medicine and technology. Following the adoption of a centralized team care system organized by major illness, the Gynecology Center, the Heart Center, and the Breast Center were established. In 2003, SMILEIII, an integrated hospital information system, was introduced to capitalize on the emerging integration of information technology and medicine. This centralized information system significantly enhances inpatient care and other services.

St. Luke’s looks ahead to the next century with excitement and enthusiasm, eager to build upon its past strengths and to continue to develop new ways for serving its patients and the improvement of public health.