We report a case of chromomycosis caused by Fonsecaea pedrosoi that developed in the left buttock of a 63-year-old female farmer. About 4 years ago, the patient developed erythema in the left buttock, which gradually spread. At the first consultation, we noted a well-defined, red-brown, infiltrated erythematous plaque (8 x 6 cm). Histopathological examination revealed a granulomatous lesion, containing sclerotic cells, associated with giant cells in the upper dermis. The causative fungus was difficult to identify due to low conidiogenesis, but was eventually identified by slide culture as F. pedrosoi. Excision and skin graft were performed, and no recurrence has been observed after 2 years. In Japan, 212 cases of dematiaceous fungal infection were reported in the period from 1982 to 2001. The causative fungus was F. pedrosoi in the majority of cases (126/212; 66%), followed by Exophiala jeanselmei (36/212; 19%). Similar incidence of dematiaceous fungal infection was reported in male and female patients. The upper limbs were affected most frequently in both male and female patients. Ten cases were associated with visceral lesions.

We report a case of a 67-year-old woman with chromomycosis on the left upper arm. The plaque was a very small, erythematous and scaly lesion with a diameter of 1.5 cm. Fonsecaea pedrosoi was isolated as the causal fungus, and a number of Phialophora type conidia, the formation of which is considered rare, were observed. Treatment involved surgical excision of the lesion with a 5 mm margin. Follow up three years later revealed no recurrence. In Japan, 536 patients with chromomycosis were reported from 1955 to 2004. This consisted of 296 cases from 1955 to 1981 as reported by Fukushiro, and 240 cases from 1982 to 2004 as reviewed by us. Our examination of data showed that the most common causal fungi was F. pedrosoi with 137 cases (57.15%), followed by Exophiala jeanselmei with a total of 41 cases (17.15%), other fungal species comprised of 16 cases (6.7%), Phialophora verrucosa in 9 cases ( 3.8%) and E. dermatitidis in 4 cases (1.7%). Compared to the previous report by Fukushiro, the incidence of infection with E. jeanselmei had increased. Of the 235 cases we reported, the site of infection involved: upper extremities in 91 (38.7%), face and neck in 42 (17.9%), buttocks in 41 (17.4%), lower extremities in 33 (14%) and body in 23 (9.8%). Compared to Fukushiro's report, cases affecting the lower extremities had decreased, whilst cases involving the buttocks had increased. Overall, the treatment for chromomycosis was either oral administration of antifungal agents, excision, thermotherapy, or a combination of these methods.

A 4‐year and 8‐month‐old Chinese‐Japanese boy, who had been visiting Dalian, China frequently, developed multiple alopecia lesions 1 year previously. At his initial visit to our department, multiple patchy alopecia with black dots was observed in the parietal scalp area. Multiple erythematous macules were also seen on the face, nape and right dorsum of the hand. A diagnosis of tinea capitis and tinea corporis was obtained on the basis of potassium hydroxide (KOH) microscopic examination of hair and scales from the lesions. Colonies grown on Sabouraud cycloheximide‐chloramphenicol agar culture were examined using Fungi‐Tape and MycoPerm‐blue, and numerous microconidia and a small number of macroconidia were observed. Trichophyton violaceum was identified as the causative organism on the basis of colony morphology, microscopic morphology and molecular biology technique. As T. violaceum infection is not often seen in Japan, we suspected that the patient was infected by T. violaceum during his stay in Dalian. Conidia formation is rarely observed with T. violaceum, and only five cases with T. violaceum macroconidia formation have been reported in Japan (including this case). We also report the method for visualizing conidia formation of T. violaceum using Fungi‐tape and MycoPerm‐blue.

After Japan's post-war reconstruction, in the early 1950s, cases of double suicide, in which two people (particularly young lovers) leave a suicide note and die together, were a relatively frequent occurrence. During the three-year period between 1954 and 1956, 5466 suicides were recorded in the special wards of Tokyo, including 79 cases of double suicides, accounting for 158 deaths. In these double suicide cases (2.89% of all deaths by suicide), the evidence revealed that 65.8% involved lovers and 29.1% involved married couples. By contrast, contemporary data indicate a large drop in suicide pacts between lovers to 15.9% and an increase between spouses to 48.8%. Conceivably, the relatively high double-suicide rate after post-war reconstruction reflected difficulties for the younger generation in reconciling ‘marriage based primarily on love’ and the traditional family system, specifically marriage problems and stress caused by rapidly changing post-war values. One notable difference between victims of double suicide in 1954–1956 and the contemporary period is the younger average age of the former. Another important shift was found in the most common causes of death among victims of double suicide: in 1954–1956 these were poisoning by cyanide or hypnotic drugs, compared to carbon monoxide poisoning and hanging in modern times. We discuss similarities and differences concerning double suicides in relation to social and economic conditions in Japan in the 1950s and today.

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