This annotation was created by Maren Ehlers. The last update was by Kate McDonald.
Evil spirit (glosse: smallpox) [folk beliefs about smallpox centered around the smallpox deity, which needed to be either expelled or mollified to keep children safe from lasting damage through smallpox]
悪魔(はうそう(疱瘡))
For more information on the smallpox deity, see Rotermund and Tyler 2001.