Can you tell us about Ume Tange's formative years?
	Ume Tange was born on March 17, 1873, in Kagoshima Prefecture to a distinguished and prosperous family. Growing up in the company of three older brothers and three sisters--all older than her except for one sister--Ume had a happy childhood. However, when she was still small, she suffered an accident that left her blind in one eye. While playing house with her elder sister Hana, she tripped and fell while holding on to a pair of chopsticks, injuring her right eye. Hana, who was very fond of school, helped Ume in her studies and encouraged her by promising to turn her into a first-rate scholar. After graduating from Kagoshima Prefectural Normal School, Tange found work as an elementary school teacher, but her desire to continue her own studies was not to be denied. In 1901, she enrolled in the first graduating class of Japan Women's University, together with her sister Hana.
	Was it possible for a woman to major in science?
	Japan Women's University had a Faculty of Japanese Literature and a Faculty of Home Economics. Hana Tange opted for literature, while Ume Tange chose home economics. This was the first school of home economics in Japan, and its curriculum included such scientific disciplines as natural history, physiology, hygiene, and physics, as well as psychology and sociology. After graduating from Japan Women's University in 1904, Tange joined the university's staff, and three years later she was made a teaching assistant in the department of chemistry. In 1912, she became the first woman to pass the Ministry of Education's test for certification of secondary school chemistry teachers. This achievement spurred Tohoku Imperial University to break with tradition and enroll Tange and two other women--mathematician Raku Makita and nutritionist Chika Kuroda (famous for her research on the safflower)--thus becoming the first national university to admit women. Tange enrolled in the Faculty of Science and majored in chemistry. The women faced tremendous challenges. The Ministry of Education sent a letter admonishing the university that "this unprecedented act represents an extremely important development that will have to be investigated," and male students protested that it was offensive to have women on campus. Tange, however, gave herself over to the joy of learning and gradually ceased to be troubled by the hostile atmosphere. After becoming the first Japanese woman to earn a Bachelor of Science degree, she carried out graduate work in organic chemistry and biochemistry. Eventually she decided to focus her research on nutrition as a field important to women and one in which she could apply her knowledge of organic chemistry and biochemistry. With the aim of learning from the most advanced researchers in the field, Tange traveled to the United States, where she remained for about 10 years, studying at Stanford and other universities.