About Poi Sensei
- Name: Poi Sensei
- Credentials: Board-certified ophthalmologist, Japanese Ophthalmological Society
- Hobby: Drums
- Favorite quote: “There are mysterious wins, but there are no mysterious losses.” (a Japanese proverb)
- Least favorite concept: seniority-based hierarchy
Hello, I’m Poi Sensei, a board-certified ophthalmologist in Japan. I see patients four days a week at an eye clinic, and I spend the rest of my time teaching ophthalmology, mainly the topics that residents find hardest: ocular optics, neuro-ophthalmology, and strabismus.
I built this site for ophthalmology residents, optometrists, orthoptists, and anyone else who has to read an ERG, a fluorescein angiogram, or a visual field and is not quite sure where to start.
My approach is simple:
- Start from what you see on the screen, not from the textbook definition.
- Connect every finding to the anatomy behind it, so there is less to memorize.
- Cut the details you will never use.
What I do
Clinical practice. I work as an ophthalmologist at an eye clinic in Japan, four days a week. Teaching only works if I am still seeing patients.
Teaching in Japan. Since 2020 I have run an online study group for the Japanese ophthalmology board examination. It now has more than 2,600 members. I also give online seminars on ocular optics, strabismus and neuro-ophthalmology, each with around 250 participants, and I tutor residents one-to-one before the board examination.
English content. Since 2025 I have been writing English articles here and making videos on my YouTube channel, Poi Sensei Ophthalmology. These are not translations of my Japanese work. I write each topic again in English, for readers who are not native speakers either.
Publications
I have written two textbooks with Japanese medical publishers. Both have passed 1,000 copies, the usual benchmark for a bestseller in Japanese medical publishing.
Flowchart Manual for the Ophthalmology Outpatient Clinic: First Visits and Follow-ups (Kinpodo, 2025). How to work up the common complaints of the eye clinic, symptom by symptom.
The World’s Easiest Textbook of Ocular Optics (Chugai Igakusha, 2026). Optics for the ophthalmology board and orthoptist examinations, written to be understood on the first read. This is the subject I care about most, and the one I am bringing to this site first.
I have also self-published several Kindle books in Japanese: The First-Year Ophthalmologist’s Textbook (two volumes), Ophthalmology Board Exam Notes, and question-by-question commentaries on the national orthoptist examination.
Why “Poi Sensei”?
“Poi” comes from my Japanese pen name, Guchopoi, and “sensei” is what people in Japan call a doctor or a teacher. In Japan I am known for explaining hard things in plain words. I am trying to do the same in English.
My English is not perfect. If something on this site is unclear, please tell me, and I will fix it.
Let’s connect
I would be glad to hear from you about:
- Collaborating on educational projects
- Featuring or citing my content
- Licensing content for your country or institution
Use the Contact page, or find me on X (Twitter) and YouTube.
From Japan to the world
The eye is the same everywhere, and so are the optics and the anatomy. The way we teach them does not have to be. I would like to add one more way of explaining ophthalmology to that conversation, and to learn from yours.
My Japanese site is guchopoi.com, where I write for ophthalmology trainees and orthoptists in Japan.
