The Great Doctor Curing Global Diseases

1. Introduction

Questions

• How did the commoners of Edo view their shogun during and after the 1862 Namamugi accident?
• How was foreigners looked upon before and after the 1862 Namamugi accident?
• Why did political satire in late Edo period use a doctor curing strange diseases?

In the center of this research paper I will analyze a common print from the year of 1863 in order to understand how the commoners viewed their superiors during the time.

fig. 1: s-44 (The Great Doctor Curing Global Diseases), part of the Yuasa collection provided by Professor Steele.

The Great Doctor curing strange diseases is a political satire based on an earlier famous print Kitai na meii nanbyo ryoji, Museums of Fine Arts, Boston where the famous doctor curing incurable diseases was a satire for how a woman was able to rule the Shogun court and those in charge. To my knowledge this print has never been analyzed before in modern times. (1)

The time this print is believed to have appeared is during the year of 1863, near the end of bakumatsu. Sources used in this research paper are two analyzed prints from the same time, two books; one about bakumatsu and one about Japanese religion, and two translations from Japanese describing the situation of the commoners during the time.

It is necessary to go back in time in order to understand the situation. After being secluded country Japan opened up several ports to trade during the Ansei era (1855-1860) after Perry’s arrival in 1853 and 1854. Due to foreign pressure the economy was tied to the vast world market which caused rapid price rises. Also during 1853 in order to prepare for Perry’s return the bakufu took action and began “the construction of batteries at a number of strategic points around Edo Bay... [where] available figures show that some 1300 Edo merchants contributed a total of 293,000 ryō toward the costal defense project”. The rapid price rices and the vast expenditures brought hard times on the lower samurai and the common masses. In 1860, ‘The Great Elder’ (Tairō) Ii Naosuke (1815-1860) became the scapegoat of the reforms and became assassinated at the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle by rōnin from Mito. (2)(3)

2. The bunkyū reform and collapse of the bakufu

The political changes during this time was big and according to some scholars it is what ultimately led to the collapse of the bakufu in 1868.

The collapse seems closely related to the bunkyū reform in 1862, led by Matsudaira Shungaku of Fukui. During this time the regime was under pressure from the court, daimyo and shishi to change policies. The changes in political policies reduced the bakufu to secondary role in national politics in just six months. Some of it was administrative, fiscal, and military changes which had potential to reverse that political decline if there was no outside pressure. By 1863/3 the bunkyū reform came to an end which had for the most part weaken the bakufu and the general policies. (4)

There was also a change in foreign affairs that caught the attention of the bakufu and the common people. Especially so after the Namamugi accident in the eight month of 1862, “when samurai in the retinue of Shimazu Hisamitsu, who was on his way back to Kyoto from Edo, killed an Englishman and wounded two others in the village of Namamugi, on the outskirts of Yokohama”. In the first month of 1863 the Shogun Tokugawa Iemochi left Edo for Kyoto leaving the common people to deal with the threat from the English which in the second month “demanded arrest of the perpetrators and the payment of indemnities." (5)

3. The spirit of world renewal (yonaoshi ikki)

The simple phrase of the ‘great doctor curing global diseases’ seems to be connected with the eeyanaika movement which were supposed to ward off plague and natural disasters and became popular during the late bakumatsu period. There was even these words to one dance in Nabari (Mie prefecture) telling that the “people who have stopped dancing have to go to the doctor and take medicine.” And a song from Itami connects the dance with both fertility and world renewal. The word yonaoshi was originally used for making the soil fertile and later became part of the bigger movement to renew the government. These rebel leaders became somewhat like priests of the time.

Shortly after the arrival of Commodore Perry in 1853, Kanno Hachirō, leader of a yonaoshi uprising in Iwashiro, had a vision of an old man with white hair who presented him the plans for the defense of the country and the establishment of “the prosperity and happiness of all people.” Kanno was also told that his own family lineage could be traced back to the seventh-generation descendants of the gods Izanami and Izanagi (divine parents of the sun goddess Amaterasu). Among the common folk, rebel heroes were ranked together with emperors, shoguns, wizards, and other religious charismatics as ikigami, living deities. It is not impossible that some were regarded as adventitious deities (hito-gami or marōdo-gami) or as gods who suddenly appear, prosper, and then disappear (hayari-gami). (6)

4. Analysis on the images in the print

That the ‘Great Doctor’ is away must mean that the one in charge has left the town and most likely means 1863 of the first month when Tokugawa Iemochi travelled to Kyoto. (7)

The man in the middle is probably Tokugawa Yoshinori (1858–1875) of the Owari clan because it was “the wives and children of retainers of the Owari domain, which was entrusted with taking care of affairs in Edo during the shogun’s absence”. The Owari clan has a black robe and also a uses a Tokugawa leaf depicted on the mattress he is sitting on. (8)

To the left there is two foreigners easily seen by the depiction of their pants. An Englishman, Robert Fortune, during his travel in 1860 noted that “the Japanese Government have always maintained that the system was necessary for our protection; and although it has no doubt signally failed in some instances…many lives have been saved by means of it.” During his stay in Japan it was not uncommon that foreigners was killed and he talks about an incident were an American interpreter gets killed. So it was not a surprise that the Richardson was killed in the eight month of 1862. The foreigner holding a sword most likely depict how the English demands arrest and repayment from the Satsuma clan 1863 of the second month just one month after the shogun left. The sword can also symbolize someone with power. The name say Tojin which is also depicted by Fortune:  “Little urchins sometimes shouted out To-jin, To-jin, as we passed by – a term which means Chinaman, but which probably is also used to designate a foreigner, or one who is not a native of Japan.” Fortune also mentioned that the prostitutes in Japan in opposite to China were willing to take foreigners as customers. (9)(10)

The rest of the people getting cure in the print most likely depicts the commoners in Edo who benefitted from the troubles during this time. Readable names are Kabuki player, boatsman, jigsaw puller, lenders. The women on the left are probably geishas who are watching the foreigners getting treatment.

The gun in the background probably shows the treat from the foreign ships able to invade Edo any time and the cannons pulled up in the defense. It is pretty unusual to have guns depicted when curing the diseases. When shogun was away from Edo panic erupted when families began to sell their luxury goods, which made the townspeople convicted that the Englishmen would attack and burn Edo soon so many started to flee the city. This is also depicted in many other prints during this time.(11)

5. Analysis on the text in the print

Title upper right: Curing serious diseases of the World (yo no naka nanbyo ryoji)

The Great Doctor capable of curing strange diseases (nanbyo ryoji no daisensei)

[has left the court and left his disciples to cure all the diseases.](12)

Middle left: Foreigner “My feet are turned backwards so I can’t walk forward or backward” (toujin/ watashi ha ashi no kou ga/ ushiro he magatte ayume/masen ato he mo saki he mo ikemasen)(13)

Doctor “You and your feet ... I don’t understand it is impossible to cure” (isha/ omae no ha mou ? ge ashi/ ????? ryoji/ wakarimasen o koto/ wa ? de muri) “Oh, he is in trouble STOMPx3” (koma ?? monoderou PEKIPEKIPEKI)

Person “It’s impossible for me to learn the foreigners to walk. Could you nice doctor cure his sickness?” (?jin: yoi sensei no/ oisha ga dekimashite/ onbyo no toujin wo ?? oshi/ ? sarema ?? yoi ? dokoside MURI ?)

 Down left: Foreigner “Please help me, because I have not yet learned to walk and just been to Japan two times.” (mou watakushi no ha ikemasenkara/ nihon ni 2? mairimasenkara/ oryoji wo ??)

 Women “eeh look there is something wrong the foreigners leg” (onnara: “are ?? ma” toujin no ashi/ wo ??/ ? sama/ ??)

6. Conclusion

The Namamugi accident seemed to have had a big impact in the bakumatsu era. It happened right in the middle of the bunkyō reforms, when people demanded that the foreigners be expelled. The resistance could be based on both ideologi through rebel heroes and economy through the bitter situation with foreign trade and war preparations. The shogun during this time appeared weak when even his ally in 1863 the daimyō of Satsuma was not willing to put the accused ones for Namamugi on trial. This caused a lot of trouble for Shungaku who persisted in reforming the government. One of the biggest mistake was probably to send shogun to Kyoto without dealing the Englishmen beforehand who demanded excuses for the Namamugi accident. This showed the court and other daimyos that the shogun was weak and could be overthrowned. The people in Edo during this time lived in constant fear of invasion and felt that the warriors left their posts as is depicted in the print by the guns in the background. 

Probably everyone in Edo knew about the famous doctor curing patients as a political satire to depict a weak shogun and corruption. This is based in folk religion where those who make gains are forced to lose in someway and the people who get sick are ones who pay for their sins, e.g. during the eeyanaika dance people believed that people not dancing have to see a doctor. The kabuki player, boatsman, jigsaw puller and lenders are the one who gained from governments actions so they are forced to lose by attracting diseases. The title of yononaka nanbyō ryojō could be a reference to the yonaoshi ikki and the need of change in government felt by many people.

The Edo people thought that the government was in alliance with the foreigners after the Ansei reforms, due to the fact that foreigners are depicted getting diseases healed, and also the cheap prostitutes who had business with the foreigners are made fun of. It is interesting that the jokes were not overly aggressive in their tones and that people in someways accepted the foreigners superiority and became afraid them. This fear resulted in the need to depict foreigners as weaker to calm the mind. The foreigner in bakumatsu era was depicted wearing trousers whose long legs often became the center of a joke. The foreigners in the print can’t move his legs, which most likely depicts the need for guards in order to protect the foreigners from angry rōnin. The foreigners were also depicted as observers who even cared about people carrying a box on their back. The difficulties during the era made the demand in political satire high and I believe the best way to look on the bright side of life is through looking at the situation from the outside and see the comic in the situation. The demand for political satire during the Edo may have been as high as today for good or bad.

References

¹ From professor Steele during his comment on this print showcasing the Yuasa collection.

² Proliferating Talent Essays on Politics, Thought, and Education in the Meiji Era, Motoyama Yukihiko, Chapter 1: Patterns of Thought and Action of the Common people during the Bakumatsu and Restoration Epoch, University of Hawaii Press, pp 20-21

³ Working Papers in Japan Studies Number Two: Edo Commoners on the Eve of the Restoration -The Coming of the Black Ships-, Minami Kazuo, trans. by M. William Steele and Robert Eskildsen, 1989, p 20

⁴ The collapse of the Tokugawa bakufu 1862-1868, Conrad Totman, 1980, The Uni. Press of Hawaii pp 3-4

⁵ Motoyama Yukihiko, p 74

⁶ Japanese Religion and Society: Paradigms of Structure and Change, Winston Davis, 1992, p 59, 77

⁷ The collapse of the Tokugawa bakufu 1862-1868, Conrad Totman, 1980, The Uni. Press of Hawaii pp 3-4

⁸ Motoyama Yukihiko, p 75

⁹ Yedo and China A Narrative of a Journey to the Capitals of Japan and China with notices of the natural productions, agriculture, horticulture, and trade of those countries, and other things met with by the way, Robert Fortune, London 1863 ICU Library Sp. Coll. 291.099 F409y, p 75

¹⁰ The pants and sword explanation from professor Steele during his comment on this print.

¹¹ Motoyama Yukihiko, p 75

¹² From professor Steele during his comment on this print in class.

¹³ In collaboration with staff at Hachiro Yuasa Memorial Museum the character for foot and gaps were solved.

The kanji 辛 used as a component.

The kanji 辛 has the well known kun-yomi of から・い meaning spicy or hot.
Furthermore, the on-yomi is sometimes used in words seen in cooking recipes like
香辛料 コウシンリョウ with the meaning of spices (aroma and spicy ingredients)

When trying to remember this word I noticed this on-yomi of SHIN made me think of some other characters using the same on-yomi like 新(new) and 親(parent) which looks pretty similar to 辛.

When checking out the components on KanjiABC I found that the only common characters with the on-yomi of SHIN and the 立  as a component is the ones mentioned 辛新親 and also 薪(たきぎ) which means fire-wood. So maybe the left component of 親 and 新 is connected to 辛.

According to Zhongwen.com the left part is a combination of 辛 and 木 which give the meaning of wood that hurts.

That means the supposed etymology for 親 is then on-looker and punisher for wrong-doing or the one looking and correcting what was wrong 辛 was the role of the parent and 新 probably meant a newly painfully newly cut wood.

Kanji that hide something away

I decided to take JLPT N2 recently and to prepare for the test I bought the new kanzen master vocabulary for JLPT N2 (新完全マスター 語彙日本語能力試験Ｎ２) book which puts the vocabulary in different groups which make learning vocabulary easier and more fun.

At the same time I put in the vocabulary in Anki for training writing kanji, where I came across the following two kanji that looks similair 穏 and 隠. The first one was used for [おだ]穏やかな and describes a persons strong point for someone who is calm and mild inside. The second one describes what a person is doing which in this case is hiding a secret away ([ひみつ]秘密を[かく]隠す).

The etymology for these two kanji are closely tied together according to the kanji etymology book 漢字源. 穏 shows two hands (爪 and 又) cowering an object 工 which is the original usage of 隠 now written with a cliff on the left side to maybe show something hidden in the mountains. The thing on the left side of 穏 is an object which gives the meaning to hide an object away with the extended meaning hiding one's true feelings and staying calm which is considered good in any social environment. However, there is also another interpretation of 穏 that seems more obvious and easier to remember that the right side shows keep something inside one's heart which is the seed 禾 for losing one's temper.

Different kinds of Noun modifiers (名詞修飾)

After reading a power point presentation about 名詞修飾 (Noun Modifiers) written by Noda 2009 I got some new insights into how noun modifiers work. It is available on google by searching using 名詞修飾型とは as a keyword.

Noun modifiers in Japanese language is always before the Noun being modified and good understanding is essential in order to read Japanese fast. One example from the book "Rapid Reading Japanese" is 日本の俳句のことについて書かれたとても面白い本 which means interesting book about haiku.

There are in particular three different kinds of Noun modifiers. Using simplified definitions from Nodas presentation they are the attributive noun modifier (属性名詞修飾), state noun modifier (状態名詞修飾) and cause noun modifier (理由名詞修飾). The attributive describes what the noun is, while the state describes what time, place and condition the noun has. The cause noun modifier is rarely seen and describes a sentence which describes the cause why something is happening.

To give an example with all three in action I provide another example from "Rapid Reading Japanese":
昨日サントリーホールへオペラを聴きに行った。ドミンゴが出る「オテロ」というオペラで、本当に素晴らしかった。今プラシード・ドミンゴは世界最高のテノールと言われているオペラ歌手だ。チケットはなかなか買えないということだったが、当日キャンセルされたチケットが安く手に入った。とてもラッキーだった。

The first two noun modifiers describes attributes; the third one describe state; the fourth one describe cause.