The purpose of this study is to clarify the experiences of nurses in the British Army Nursing Services during World War II, focusing on Southeast Asia, especially Burma. When the Japanese military suddenly invaded Burma, many wounded British soldier and refugees of Burma and India lost their lives, despite the fact that they might have been saved if the medical system had been fully prepared. As the medical system was in place, nurses were also dispatched to the front lines, along with members from diverse cultural backgrounds, and they all nursed patients as well. Regarding new treatments such as penicillin, it was important to provide medical treatment and nursing at appropriate timing, and to transport patients to a good healthcare environment suitable for recovery. Nurses witnessed many civilians who were involved in the battle and who were injured and died. It is considered that structural factors had an influence on the narratives made by nurses, such as with regard to whether they had belonged to military organizations or leadership positions, and whether their narrative was written after the war or written over time.

View full abstract

After WWII, the Public Health and Welfare Section (PHW) in the General Headquarters of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (GHQ/SCAP) started to reorganize the medical system in Japan. The reformation signified the shift from a German-style medical system to an American-style medical system. Historians of medicine have examined how the PHW, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Education in Japan implemented the reformation, by using the GHQ/SCAP documents. In this article, I will elucidate the role of private hospitals and physicians, who contributed to the new American-style medical system. Specifically, I will focus on St. Luke’s International Hospital and its director Dr. Hashimoto Hirotoshi. The hospital started to operate and expand before WWII, but during the post-war period it played a significant role in promoting American medicine in accordance with the medical reformation of the PHW.

View full abstract

Seishu Hanaoka collected extra-traditional herbal prescriptions (ETHPs) because he considered the ETHPs as extremely important in his practice of medicine. Although Gencho Honma, one of the leading disciples of Hanaoka, re-edited Seinohiroku in 1850, describing 224 ETHPs, its bibliographical detail has remained unknown. I made a meticulous investigation of its thirty-six manuscripts. The manuscript transcribed by Yoshimi Harasawa in 1814 is the oldest among them. According to his preface, the original manuscript is most likely to have appeared as early as 1810, mentioning more than twenty ETHPs. Most manuscripts describe six general anesthetics with five anesthetics out of six originating in Chinese medicine, and with one in Dutch medicine. In this paper, I discuss bibliographies, titles, and contents of Seinohiroku.

View full abstract

The Arima family of doctors continued to the end of the Edo period and they served the feudal lords of the Tanba Fukuchiyama Domain and the Kishu Wakayama Domain. Gentetsu Arima was the originator of the Arima family of doctors. He learned medicine from Gensaku Manase, who was later appointed as a Hoin, and served the Emperor Gomizuno. Because of this, he was called a hero. His eldest son Ryotiku took over the Arima family and gave the headship to his younger brother Ryokyu. Later, Ryokyu served Yorinobu Tokugawa (called Nanryu). A descendant of Ryotiku served the Fukuchiyama Kutsuki feudal lord, and a descendant of Ryokyu also served the Kishu Tokugawa feudal lord. Especially, Ryokyu behaved as he pleased, but he is regarded as the founder of Japanese Kohou medical group and he became a one of the famous doctors in Japan. On the other side, Ryotiku Arima and his adopted son Buntyu also became famous doctors. Buntyu Arima learned from Gentaku Otsuki, and he wrote “Ransetu Benwaku” which explained the products of Western civilization. In conclusion, the Arima family is one of the famous families of doctors in Japan.

View full abstract

Dogen was one of the founders of Japanese Zen Buddhism. He wrote many instructive scriptures regarding the way of meditation and discipline of monks. Although most of their contents were religious philosophy, still they included practical matters, such as, hygiene, nutrition, respiration, sleep, cognitive control of sensation, and other such matters. Especially, his classic literature, such as Shobogenzou and Eiheikouroku, contain many tips on sanitation, breathing, and psycho-physical relationships. Prior to the development of modern respiratory physiology, Zen meditators are considered to have had knowledge that nutrition and way of breathing have significant impact on psychiatric state and general body condition. Examples of their knowledge regarding respiration include the effects of deep inhalation and slow exhalation on anxiety and general wellness. In the present review, the contents of Dogen’s classic literature are compared with modern medical recommendations and scientific evidence. Dogen’s descriptions regarding hygiene, nutrition, sensation, breathing, and such matters are considered practical and medically explainable from the scientific evidence of modern medicine.

View full abstract

[in Japanese]

View full abstract

[in Japanese]

View full abstract