Measles Outbreak of 1862

 

Measles was common in the Edo period. Originally from the Eurasian continent and brought through maritime contact, outbreaks were occuring once every 20 to 30 years. The 1862 outbreak was devasting, especially in the crowded capital of Edo where around 1,100,000 people lived according to a 1843 survey. By the end of the outbreak, an estimated 240,000 deaths had been recorded in Edo alone.

Hashika-e (麻疹絵), prints related to measles, were mass-produced at the height of the outbreak. They were often satirical representations of the disease and while some offered dietary and lifestyle advice, most criticised businesses that benefited from it. In the picture above, sake makers and party boats fight the measles demon whilst a pharmacist implores them to let the demon live.

Some of these prints were stuck on doors or walls as protective talisman to ward off the disease. This second image possibly represents Susanoo no mikoto (須佐 之男命) the complex shinto god of storms and associated with gods of pestilence. The text suggests putting the print above your door to prevent the disease from coming inside.

Here is an interesting paper which compares measles prints and catfish prints (related to earthquakes in the 1850s as mentionned in the July 28 post :)

More on this: Gregory Smits, 'Warding off Calamity in Japan: A Comparison of the 1855 Catfish Prints and the 1862 Measles Prints', in: East Asian Science, Technology, and Medicine No. 30 special issue (2009) https://www.jstor.org/stable/43150751