This content was created by Maren Ehlers. The last update was by Kate McDonald.
Vaccinated Arm
1 media/Naika Hiroku, vaccination cut and bandaged arm (1)_thumb.jpg 2020-01-12T22:32:11-05:00 Maren Ehlers 18502c6775e5db37b999ee7b08c8c075867ca31d 35 7 From the medical textbook "Naika hiroku," vol. 14, by Honma Sōken, physician of Mito domain, 1866 plain 2021-08-31T18:30:24-04:00 Waseda University Kotenseki Database, https://archive.wul.waseda.ac.jp/kosho/ya09/ya09_00777/ya09_00777_0014/ya09_00777_0014.html. 20200112 222810 20200112 222810 Waseda University Library. Used with permission. Maren Ehlers ME-0001 Kate McDonald 306bb1134bc892ab2ada669bed7aecb100ef7d5fThis page is referenced by:
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2019-11-18T17:16:24-05:00
Bodies, Society, and Smallpox Vaccinations in Echizen Province
102
Maren Ehlers
image_header
5385
2021-10-22T15:06:36-04:00
Echizen Province
35.984018, 136.23969
Fujisawa
35.3667, 139.4833
Hida Province
35.7809, 137.0540
Leicester
52.6333, -1.1333
Mito Province
36.3104, 140.3161
Kyōto
35.0000, 135.7500
Batavia
-6.1333, 106.7500
Fukui
36.04297, 136.21834
36.068670, 136.216957
36.069758, 136.217013
Nagahama
35.378403, 136.265175
Tochinoki Pass
35.69897, 136.15961
Fuchū
35.903320, 136.168458
Nagasaki
32.7500, 129.8667
Toyama
36.693891, 137.211447
Kanazawa
36.569352, 136.658639
Daishōji
36.306761, 136.307344
Kanazu
36.215187, 136.231635
Maruoka
36.152340, 136.272033
Katsuyama
36.063221, 136.498611
Ōno
35.984868, 136.487710
Sabae
35.944509, 136.183610
Tsuruga
35.654632, 136.073904
Mikuni
36.209156, 136.157829
Futsukaichi
36.127618, 136.184396
Saga
33.245531, 130.302805
Shimizubata
36.033574, 136.106405
Hirao
36.037597, 136.108063
Ōniu
36.073363, 136.028304
Koniu
36.070409, 136.024402
Hatakenaka
36.043704768457495, 136.04437892479424
Gamō
36.039075, 136.013335
Matsugatani
35.9367210178177, 136.36376357115012
Kakigahara
35.92523613992294, 136.34651313879627
Mochikoshi
35.92794697180036, 136.35420768209588
Kōchi
35.9263494069414, 136.32148578873236
Shimizudani
35.912500563721856, 136.33447561871776
Nojiri
35.91654675065047, 136.35882283575307
Azodani
35.920125941741496, 136.41855892253136
Hirose
35.909946566939354, 136.35109234834016
Yamada
35.89923563495062, 136.32493951236404
Teradani
35.900981438254966, 136.34377277804523
Anzenji
35.899136477686426, 136.35780014112754
Taniguchi
35.90298498376383, 136.3672638352303
Kanamidani
35.907248304949384, 136.38188406309914
Yabuta
35.89424592714006, 136.34835130942133
Itagaki
35.881218796558684, 136.31924480799557
Terajima
35.885430464759196, 136.33964182255926
Inari
35.88796140709585, 136.34564672863672
Mizuumi
35.89142703851644, 136.36701024864018
Ichi
35.881767710935705, 136.33911100170127
Sugō
35.864701713890916, 136.3024206390611
Nishi-Kakuma
35.86626698681555, 136.3133639627209
Sadakata
35.86946602957074, 136.32044499591225
Kami-Aratani
35.8732741732114, 136.33150653733367
Tsuneyasu
35.872578629066716, 136.34697741268434
Tsukigase
35.87739746270159, 136.36011874288693
Shinbo
35.8536600964108, 136.3071813732128
Uomi
35.8438306056836, 136.28055173026598
Higashimata
35.83906600821303, 136.30971596322956
Doai-Sarao
35.84307515260663, 136.35763135979522
Shizuhara
35.842716631402695, 136.39580563319518
Minomata
35.84690296224519, 136.42480456800808
Waridani
35.81653400068014, 136.35764655571472
Kidani
35.82632735737685, 136.37452888925424
Tashiro
35.811645655990496, 136.40567415790454
Naramata
35.798280985646535, 136.41528699609322
Motodo
35.849778, 136.552875
Ōta
35.956728, 136.056500
Itō
35.991555, 136.097231
1866
1849
1803
1868
Maren Ehlers
ME-0001
In 1849, Japanese physicians imported the smallpox vaccine from Batavia through the Dutch trade factory in Nagasaki. Although Japanese specialists of Western medicine had learned of the vaccine’s existence as early as 1803 (Jannetta 2007, 57-58), restrictions on foreign trade and the difficulty of transporting the vaccine over long distances in hot climates had prevented its importation for several decades. But once the vaccine reached Japan, a network of physicians trained in Western medicine quickly transmitted it all over the country. By the end of the Tokugawa period in 1868, vaccination clinics were operating in many towns and cities with governmental support. Vaccinations represented the first organized instance of preventative medicine in Japan (Umihara 2014, 209-10), and became an important steppingstone for the development of modern public health after the Meiji Restoration.
This module explores the vaccine's introduction to Japan as an intervention into notions of space and time. The intervention began on a microscopic scale—the life cycle of the vaccinia virus, which set the conditions for anyone hoping to spread and perpetuate it over time. Because the substance could not survive for long outside the human body, it had to be moved to another unvaccinated body every six or seven days. Such transfers required human involvement, and it was here that the biological process surrounding the cowpox virus began to translate to a larger scale—the scale of human social interactions.
To accommodate the pace set by the vaccine, the people who handled, received, and promoted vaccinations had to simultaneously navigate geographical, social, and biological spaces. They had to rethink existing notions of territoriality and the structure of professional and social networks to ensure the smooth sharing of knowledge and vaccines. They had to reimagine human bodies as vehicles for transmission and consider methods of moving bodies across space. They also had to experiment with new forms of documentation and built environments to ensure precision of timing and movement throughout the vaccination process. These innovations both built upon and challenged the fragmented polity and compartmentalized social structure of Tokugawa Japan.
This module focuses on Echizen province, a region on the Sea of Japan whose territory was divided between many different overlords. Physicians from Echizen played a pioneering role in bringing smallpox vaccinations to Japan. But what did they do to perpetuate vaccinations over time? The module invites the reader to explore a number of “vaccine stories” from this province that highlight the transformative power of vaccine transmission. Many of these stories involve some form of border-crossing—from town to village, from domain to domain, from commoner to outcaste, and from licensed to unlicensed handlers.
Roadmap to the Module
Most of the content in this module is organized under Vaccine Stories. The six pathways in that category tell stories about vaccinations in Echizen province and each can be read in a linear way. However, the reader is encouraged to move off the suggested pathways and seek out new connections between sites.
The first two pathways—The Spatio-Temporality of Virus and Vaccine andThe Networks and Vehicles of Vaccine Transmission—lay out basic ways in which configurations of space and time conditioned smallpox vaccinations in Tokugawa Japan. Each of these problems resurface in the Vaccine Stories. I recommend starting with these two introductory pathways.
Click here for a list of references for this module, which is also available from the module's Conclusion page.
The author wishes to thank Yanagisawa Fumiko, Usami Masaki, Nagano Eishun, Peng Hao, Brigid Vance, Justin Churchill, two anonymous peer reviewers, the providers of images, and of course Kate McDonald, David Ambaras, John Corrigan, and all participants of the Bodies and Structures project for their feedback and advice on aspects of this module. All shortcomings remain my own.