Kaiserswerth and Nightingale | Kaeko Yamashita (Dean, Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care)

2008.09.04

This summer, while attending the 13th Research Conference of the Workgroup of European Nurse: Chronic Illness Management, one of Europe's nursing conferences, I also wanted to research the state of nursing in Germany, so I visited the University of Düsseldorf for three days and two nights from August 27 to 29. There, I met Professor Masayoshi Tarui of the Faculty of Letters, who was studying abroad to research his specialty, Kantian philosophy. Fortunately, he not only provided German language support but also shared a great deal of information about university education, medical affairs, and more. Despite the short duration, it was a fruitful visit, and I returned feeling very grateful.

In particular, an email from Professor Tarui asked, "Have you ever heard of Kaiserswerth?" He said that after he and a friend had visited the place a week earlier, his wife suggested that it might be the town where Nightingale had stayed. He added, "...After looking into it again, I found that was exactly right." Realizing it was the place where a young Nightingale had stayed and received her training, I eagerly asked him to guide me there. Being able to visit was the most moving and rewarding experience. And so, this time, I would like to write about my reunion with Nightingale in Kaiserswerth, which was the most exciting part of my summer.

Kaiserswerth is located on the banks of the Rhine River in northern Düsseldorf. In 1836, Theodor Fliedner, the pastor of the town's Lutheran church, established the Diakonissenanstalt (meaning an institution for women working in welfare facilities) there. This institution was for training women who would care for the elderly, the sick, and young children in the parish. The building was called the Mutterhaus (meaning "mother's house," a term that has come to mean "nursing school"), and today, it has become a complex of facilities, including a general hospital, called the Kaiserswerther Diakonie.

In 1850, Nightingale (age 30), on her way back from a trip to Egypt and Greece, visited Kaiserswerth and served as an apprentice caregiver for two weeks. The following year, she stayed for three months to receive training. According to her résumé written upon enrollment and the book by Edward K. Cook (Japanese translation by Taeko Nakamura and Kumiko Tomoeda, *Nightingale: Sono Shōgai to Shisō*, Jikū Shuppan, 1994), Nightingale had been interested in nursing since childhood and had tried to enter the profession around 1844–45 (at age 24–25), but she was unable to do so due to opposition from those around her. What strongly motivated Nightingale was the annual report from Kaiserswerth, which an acquaintance had shown her. It is believed that upon learning of the activities there, she came to sympathize with the view of nursing not merely as an act of faith or charity but as a lifelong profession for women. In her diary from her return visit to Kaiserswerth in 1851, she described her days there as follows.

I could hardly believe I was there. With the feeling with which a pilgrim first look on the Kedron, I saw the Rhine, dearer to me than the Nile. ... I have never known a happy time, except at Rome and that fortnight at Kaiserswerth.

This summer, visiting the Kaiserswerther Diakonie, which I believe had the strongest influence on Nightingale's life in her youth, left me with many deep emotions.

Seeing the serene presence of the trees, the calm movements of the people, their compassionate gestures and smiles; the forward-looking initiatives to respond to societal changes by offering over 100 training programs of varying lengths to meet people's needs as professionals; and the banner indicating that its 172nd anniversary would be on September 14 of this year, I felt as if Nightingale's strong will and quiet demeanor, and the philosophy of Theodor Fliedner that so deeply impressed her, were still alive in Kaiserswerth. My heart was filled with the feeling of having touched "the birthplace of modern nursing."

It seems that the physical environment also influences one's thoughts. Looking at the trees of Kaiserswerth, which majestically and gracefully spread their branches far above the four- or five-story roofs, and the rich, gentle flow of the Rhine River, which Nightingale described as "dearer to me than the Nile," one cannot help but feel a commitment to a greater existence beyond human thought and an urge to support irreplaceable life.

She spoke of the Rhine as follows:

"The Rhine gave swimming to all, and was especially kind to the hesitating child. ... A little summer-house still stands in the Pastor's garden..."

As I watched the majestic and tranquil flow of the Rhine, I was moved by the realization that Nightingale herself had seen this very same flow on a day in the past, and I couldn't help but want to carry on her will for nursing education. For students aspiring to a career in nursing, and for others as well, why not take the opportunity to visit the quiet and beautiful town of Kaiserswerth?

(Date posted: 2008/09/04)