Chains of Bodies: Village Relay in Fukui Domain
Although Kasahara Hakuō and his colleagues hoped to spread the vaccine as widely as possible, they did not prioritize the immunization of rural domain subjects but concentrated resources in the castle town. Even in the 1860s, over ten years after the introduction of the vaccine, rural parents in Fukui domain still appeared to be taking their children into town. In part, the failure to penetrate the countryside simply reflected a lack of money and trained doctors. But the spatial concentration also had to do with the vaccine's constant need for unvaccinated bodies and the low population density in the countryside. This pathway explores the spatial and temporal implications of sustaining vaccinations in the countryside through arm-to-arm transfers.
