The history of modern surgery of the hand in Japan, along with the establishment of the Japanese Society for Surgery of the Hand in 1957, is described in the following article. Major and unique contributions of Japanese surgeons in various aspects of hand surgery are introduced. These contributions encompass microvascular and replantation surgery, tendon repair and grafting, neurotization in brachial plexus injury, reconstruction of nail-bed and paronychial tissues for nail regrowth and that of post-traumatic contracture, congenital anomalies, and osteonecrosis of the lunate. These contributions are not well known internationally because most of the authors have been published in Japanese.