Reframing the History of the Morinaga Milk Arsenic Poisoning Victim Child Relief Movement from the Perspective of the History of Emotions

What kind of “emotions” led to this movement ?

Abstract

This article is a history of emotions study of Tetsuo Okazaki's campaign to rescue children affected by the Morinaga Milk arsenic poisoning incident. As it was officially reported that there were no aftereffects of this incident, the movement in various places continued to decline. However, only the Okayama prefecture organization led by Okazaki continued its activities, and 14 years after the incident, it gained public support and established a permanent relief organization, which continues to this day. Research on the history of emotions in the field of social welfare is necessary to not only understand the emotions of leaders who resisted the feelings of such a social system of public incomprehension but also to utilize this in future support. This is because social welfare concerns human “well-being,” and well-being is an emotional term. Today, where there is an increasingly sophisticated information society such as AI, and where there are concerns about the flattening of emotions, history of emotions research focuses on the reinterpretation of the “emotional system” and the emotional words shared in “emotional communities.” This will provide useful suggestions for social work practices that pursue the value of social welfare and empower people.