Smallpox demon
Smallpox demon (Japanese:
History
[edit]In Japanese, the word hōsōshin or hōsōgami (
Smallpox devils were said to be afraid of red things and also of dogs; thus people displayed various dolls that were red. In Okinawa, they tried to praise and comfort devils with sanshin, an Okinawan musical instrument, and lion dances before a patient clad in red clothes. They offered flowers and burned incense in order to please smallpox demon.[3] In Okinawa, there was smallpox poetry in Ryuka; the purpose of smallpox poetry in the Ryukyu language is the glorification of the smallpox demon, or improvement from deadly infection of smallpox.[4] There is a collection of smallpox poetry including 105 poems published in 1805.[5] Traditional smallpox folk dances have been observed even in present-day Japan, including Ibaraki Prefecture and Kagoshima Prefecture, for the avoidance of smallpox devils.[6][7][8]
Red treatment
[edit]In European countries the "red treatment" was practiced from the 12th century onwards; when he caught smallpox, King Charles V of France was dressed in a red shirt, red stockings, and a red veil.[9] Queen Elizabeth I of England was likewise wrapped in a red blanket and placed by a live fire when she fell ill with smallpox in 1562, and similar treatments were applied to other European monarchs. In parts of India, China, Africa and Latin America, sacrifices were made to appease the gods of smallpox. In medieval Europe, prayer and pious living were recommended as one way to guard against sickness. Many Japanese textbooks on dermatology stated that red light was able to weaken the symptoms of smallpox.[10] This was common in China, India, Turkey and Georgia. In western Africa, the Yoruba god of smallpox, Sopona, was associated with the color red.
The red treatment was given scientific authority by Nobel laureate Niels Ryberg Finsen, who claimed that the treatment of smallpox patients with red light reduced the severity of scarring, and later developed rules governing erythrotherapy.[11] These beliefs lingered on into the 1930s until researchers declared it to be "useless."[12]
References
[edit]- ^ Kyogoku[2008:295]
- ^ Sakurai[1980:262-263]
- ^ Aoyama[1997:200]
- ^ Higa[1983ge:848]
- ^ Higa[1983ge:450]
- ^ "A local smallpox dance in Ibaragi Prefecture". Joyo Living. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- ^ "Smallpox dance in Iriki-Cho, Kagoshima". Kagoshima Prefecture. Archived from the original on 23 August 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- ^ "Smallpox dance in Oura-Cho, Kagoshima Prefecture". Kagoshima Prefecture. Archived from the original on 22 August 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- ^ Uyeno [2007:264]
- ^ Uyeno[2007:264]
- ^ Finsen, 1901
- ^ Fenner, Henderson (1988). "5". The History of Smallpox and its Spread Around the World (PDF). Geneva: World Health Organization. p. 228. ISBN 978-92-4-156110-5.