It also appears from the article that the disease again appeared in the 5th
year of Ansei (A. D. 1850), during the reign of Komio Tenno, when it began
in the 7th month and raged most furiously during the 8th month, “the men who
worked at the cremation furnaces in the evening being themselves changed
into smoke the next morning,” and “the name of the tombstone cutter of one
day was found carved on a stone on the morrow.” It was believed, the writer
states, that all water and all fish were poisoned. The article further
states that in the same year (5th of Ansei, A. D. 1850) the record published
the 9th month of that year showed that in the city of Yedo, from the 1st to
the 30th of the 8th month, the number of deaths were 12,492, as appeared
from “the statistics of deaths reported to the government daily,” and that
in addition 18,737 persons, whose names had not been properly registered at
the ward offices, died.
It also appears that in the 5th year of Ansei the name of the disease was not
known, and in the notification issued at that time by the bakufu, a copy of
which is appended to the article, it is called the “prevailing disease of
sudden purging.” It would seem from this history of the disease that before
the eighteenth century this dreaded and destructive pestilence was unknown
in Japan, and it is therefore to be inferred that it was imported, as
afterwards, in the nineteenth century, it was imported into Europe and
America, from India, where, according to the general belief, it has
prevailed from time immemorial.
[Inclosure 1, in No. 940.—Extract from the
Japan Daily Herald, August 12, 1879.]
A brief history of cholera in Japan.
[From the Osaka Nippo.]
Our object in taking up the pen to write a short article on cholera in
Japan, which appeared before the restoration, is that, by so doing, the
public may learn the past [Page 669]
history of this dreadful disease, observe its effects in the present,
and take heed for the future.
In the summer of the sixth year of Shotoku (2376, era of Jimmu), in the
reign of Nakamikado Tenno, and during the rule of the Shogun Yoshimune,
fever prevailed, and the mortality in the city of Great Yedo exceeded
80,000 per month. Owing to the rapid spread of the disease, and the
number of deaths, the carpenters were unable to keep pace-with the
demand for coffins, and empty sake casks had
therefore to be employed for the purpose. The grave-yards were at length
all filled up, no space remained for more burials, and the priests of
the various sects refused to permit the interment of the remains,
insisting that the bodies should be burned and only the ashes be
buried.
At the various cremation grounds, therefore, coffins in countless numbers
were seen piled on top of each other, the burning of bodies being done
in regular succession, according to the order of their arrival. Numbers
of corpses, mostly of poor persons, had to be left unburnt for upwards
of half a month, and the head man of the ward was at his wit’s end what
to do in the matter. The government was therefore asked for
instructions, and an order was issued that the bodies should be wrapped
in coarse mats, and that (after the performance over them of a brief
religious ceremony) they should be conveyed in boats to the Bay of Yedo
and sunk in the sea.
This we read in the Shokio Kanki, and we may judge
from the virulence of the disease that it was quite different from
ordinary fever. We are inclined to think that it was what we now caU
cholera, and that this was the first appearance of the pest in our
Toyoashihara [“fertile, sweet flag-plain,” Japan]. We, however, invite
an expression of opinion from antiquarians.
Again, in the fifth year of Ansei, (2518, era of Jimmu), during the reign
of Komio Tenno, and at the time when Iyeshige was Shogun [A. D. 1850],
an epidemic prevailed in Yedo, as many persons will recollect. This
disease first manifested itself in the neighborhood of Akasaka, in the
beginning of the 7th month of that year; according to some, it was
brought from the Tokai-do. Reiganjima became infected, and soon
it-spread in all directions.
During the first half of the 8th month the epidemic raged most furiously.
At the gates of every temple there were hills of coffins; the men who
worked at the cremation furnaces in the evening were themselves changed
into smoke the next morning, and the tombstone cutter of one day found
his own name carved on a stone on the morrow. The panic among the
populace beggared description. The epidemic was regarded with even far
greater dread, by both high and low than is the prevailing one in this
12th year of Meiji, for medical knowledge was in such a crude state that
no one was able to ascertain the cause of the disease, and the people
could do nothing but sit down in dread suspense and await the approach
of death.
The disease was generally attributed to diabolical agency; hence the
people gave it the name of “Ko-ro-ri,” that is,
“fox, wolf, and badger.” It was also believed that all water and all
fish were poisoned, so that people dared not draw water, even from the
pure stream of the Upper Tamagawa, nor eat any fresh fish, even when it
was brought to their doors alive. Each one adorned his gate with
branches of pine and bamboo, and straw ropes, and prayed that so
dreadful a year might pass away as quickly as possible; some praying to
the Kami and some to Buddha. The whole city was
filled with horror and dismay, and a state of things existed to which
that in Osaka at the present time bears but a faint resemblance.
If we may believe the “Ri-riu-koki” or “Record of
the Ravages of Dysentery,” which was published in the 9th month of the
5th year of Ansei, there were then in Yedo, 1,775,215 houses, and a
population of 7,101,318. The disease was most virulent between the 1st
and the 30th of the 8th month, during which space of time the number of
deaths was 12,492, as appears from the” “statistics of death reported to
the government daily.” Besides these, 18,737 persons, whose names had
not been properly registered at the ward offices, died. For the first
three or four days in the beginning of the 9th month there were 50 or 60
deaths daily; after that the number gradually decreased, and at length
the disease entirely disappeared, and tranquillity was once more
restored.
Amongst those who fell victims to the scourge were the following
celebrated men: Odake Shoto and Ichikawa Beian, the famous penmen;
Riokutei Seurin, Riukatei Tanekadzu, and Rakutei Seiba, the novelists;
Seian Seiba, the poet; Rissai Hiroshige, the painter; Ichiriusai Teizan,
the story-teller; Kiyomobo Enju and Kirieya Rokuzayemon, the
music-masters; Takaragawa Ishogqro, the wrestler; and Onoye Hoshinosuke,
the actor; besides many other men famous at the time.
Even in the present age, the era of civilization, there is no infallible
remedy for the dreadful disease, its origin being not yet well
understood, owing to its violent nature and the danger attendant on an
analysis and microscopical examination of the matter thrown out by the
patient. There are, however, medicines sufficiently good for
disinfecting purposes; and even when a person is attacked by the true
cholera, his life may be saved it the services of a skilled physician be
secured at once. Besides, there are [Page 670]
shoshangin (?) and
morphine, which are reported to have the virtue of curing the
disease.
But in the period of Ansei even the name of the disease was not known;
naturally, the proper remedy was unknown, and the people had no
alternative hut to lie down and patiently await the approach of
death.
At the present time, however, there are not a few persons who make light
of the disease and pay no attention to the kind advice and good
treatment of the government, thereby often making themselves a medium
for the spread of the disease, and thus causing calamity and misfortune
among society, Such persons are in no better condition than those who
lived in the period of Ansei.
Thus whole families often depart together for the dark world, to our
great lament. Sanitary measures and other necessary precautions are now
undertaken by the government, and the people have nothing to do but obey
its orders and take care of their health. Even in the period of Ansei
certain precautions were observed, so that those who ignore the sanitary
regulations made by the present government of Meiji are not only
offenders against it, but also against the late Bakufu. We give below a
copy of a notification issued by the Bakufu in the fifth year of Ansei,
that our readers may learn what measures were taken to combat the
disease at that time:
“For the prevailing disease of sudden purging there are various methods
of treatment, among which the undermentioned is notified for the benefit
of the people. In the way of precaution, avoid exposing your body to
cold air, always wear a cotton belt around your abdomen, be careful to
avoid gluttony and excessive drinking, and the eating of indigestible
food. If symptoms of the disease appear go to bed, be extremely careful
of what you eat and drink, keep the whole body warm, and take the
medicine called hoko-san, as prescribed below.
Many valuable lives have been saved by it alone. If you vomit and purge
much, and your body becomes cold, put 2 monme of refined camphor into 2
go of spirit (sho-chic), warm the mixture over the fire, dip a cotton cloth in
it, and rub the body and limbs briskly; then put a mustard plaster over
the stomach every half hour. To make hoko-san,
mix together powdered cinnamon, yekichi, and
dried ginger, in equal quantities, and boil; drink at intervals one or
two cupfuls at a time.
“To prepare the mustard plaster, mix together powdered mustard seeds and
wheat en flour, pour in vinegar, and mix well; spread the mass over a
cotton cloth and apply to the stomach. In urgent cases, when time is
precious, use mustard only, mixing it with hot water.
“Another medicine: Into a certain measure of hot tea pour about one-third
the quantity of spirit, add a little sugar and drink. The patient must
shut himself up in a close room and rub his body with a cotton cloth
that has been soaked in spirit. If his extremities are cold warm them
with hot stones until he perspires.
“The above is a course of treatment which may be applied with benefit in
the case of any one attacked by the prevailing disease. This is notified
to all.
“Eighth month of the year of the Horse.”—[Hiogo news, translation.]
