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Bodies and Structures 2.0: Deep-Mapping Modern East Asian History

Flyer advertising vaccination against smallpox

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The Spatio-Temporality of Virus and Vaccine
One of the most memorable chapters in the history of smallpox vaccination in Japan is the story of the vaccine's importation. In the decades before 1849, Japanese and Dutch physicians arranged for the vaccine to be sent from Batavia in the Dutch East Indies or from China on several occasions, but failed each time because the virus did not survive the long sea journey through tropical climates. In 1849, Japanese physicians finally succeeded at reconstituting the vaccine from scabs brought to Nagasaki on a Dutch ship and immunized a local child. Within Japan, the vaccine could be moved more easily through arm-to-arm transmission. But distribution still hinged on the presence of a network of physicians who were willing to share the vaccine rather than monopolize it as a potentially lucrative source of income.
This woodblock-printed advertisement for vaccinations from 1856 illustrates some contemporary Japanese ideas about smallpox, as well as some of the methods and arguments used by vaccinators to persuade people of the value of the cowpox vaccine. It especially highlights the role of religion in promoting vaccinations—not just as a traditional belief system to be overcome by science, but also as way of aiding the popularization of the new technique. (Hover over the image to read transcriptions and translations of the text.) (For a version of the image with study guide, click here.)
The tale of the importation and spread of the vaccine in Japan has already received much attention [Jannetta]. But there is another, equally important aspect to the story of the vaccine that has only begun to be told: its perpetuation over time. Because of the spatial and temporal limitations of the biological properties of the smallpox vaccine, physicians faced major hurdles in trying to keep it in circulation. As Yanagisawa Fumiko has noted, the vaccination rate in Fukui prefecture (which roughly overlaps with Echizen province) only crossed the eighty-percent mark in the second half of the 1880s [Yanagisawa, 2018, p. 59]. This figure suggests that even under the centralized structure of the Meiji state with its emphasis on public health and countrywide record-keeping, the goal of full coverage was not easy to attain.
Explore a woodblock-printed advertisement from 1856. 47 plain 2021-03-23T09:36:41-04:00
Scroll down for questions to guide your exploration of the flyer.
To view the flyer in detail and read the annotations, hover over the image (no need to click). Each annotation consists of a blue part (an English translation, or [in brackets] commentary) and a black part (a transcription of the text). To view the flyer without annotations, click on "Source File" in the image caption.
There is no particular order in which to view the flyer, but it is best to divide it into four sections and read them separately, moving from right to left. Be sure to read all annotations before answering the questions.
Note for the specialist reader: The glosses (furigana) in the transcriptions of the text boxes on the upper left and lower right sections refer to glosses printed on the flyer itself. The glosses in most of the other transcriptions were added by me to assist reading; they follow modern kana writing conventions. I consulted another print of this flyer archived at the National Museum of Japanese History to complete damaged or unreadable parts.
- Describe the images on the flyer. What kinds of scenes and processes are being displayed in the lower left and upper right segments?
- How does the flyer represent parents and children? What can their conversations tell us about the assumptions made by its creators about people's attitudes toward vaccinations?
- How, why, and to what extent does the flyer emphasize the foreign origins of both smallpox and the cowpox vaccine?
- Identify as many references to religion as you can find on this flyer. What might the authors have intended by connecting vaccination to these various religious traditions and ideas?
- Look at language and writing style. What can you infer from these about the intended audience of the flyer?
- In sum, how does the flyer try to persuade its readers?
Return to The Spatio-Temporality of Virus and Vaccine.