Medical Statistics.
The medical statistics of the Yoshiwara for seven years (1898 to 1904 inclusive) are as follows:—
| Year. | Number of inspections. | Number of infected cases. | Infected per 100. | Number of guests entertained. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1898 | 134,602 | 7,506 | 5.58 | 1,237,885 |
| 1899 | 108,268 | 5,333 | 4.95 | 1,367,639 |
| 1900 | 108,109 | 5,117 | 4.76 | 1,428,136 |
| 1901 | 108,572 | 4,864 | 4.48 | 1,157,492 |
| 1902 | 107,260 | 4,635 | 4.33 | 1,065,674 |
| 1903 | 106,121 | 5,006 | 4.74 | 1,167,969 |
| 1904 | 119,148 | 8,592 | 7.22 | 1,285,424 |
The figures show that during seven years the average ratio of infection was 5.18 per 100, but whether these show the true facts of the case is hard to determine. However, they have the merit of being “official� even if somewhat erroneous.
Taking into consideration the above results, it appears that the figures for the whole Empire given in the “Annual Report of the Central Sanitary Bureau of the Home Department� (published in 1905) must be misleading, as they show the ratio in 1901 to range from only 0.43 in K�chi Prefecture to 6.20 in Kagoshima Prefecture. In Hy�go Prefecture, Iwate Prefecture and Aomori Prefecture the ratio is stated to be 9.69, 13.75 and 14.52, respectively, and the average for the whole country works out as only 2.75 for all the forty-six prefectures enumerated. It is hard to reconcile these differences except on the assumption that the severity of the examination varies according to the localities.
The following table shows the alleged results of examination of prostitutes throughout Japan for ten years, the average ratio being 3.31 per 100.
EXAMINATION OF PROSTITUTES FOR SYPHILIS, IN EACH OF THE LAST TEN YEARS.
| Years. | Places of examination at the end of each year. | Each day’s average of the total number of prostitutes. |
|---|---|---|
| 1892 | 484 | 30,687 |
| 1893 | 487 | 31,253 |
| 1894 | 476 | 34,023 |
| 1895 | 471 | 37,518 |
| 1896 | 472 | 39,079 |
| 1897 | 498 | 43,570 |
| 1898 | 495 | 48,780 |
| 1899 | 518 | 49,553 |
| 1900 | 536 | 52,305 |
| 1901 | 530 | 40,855 |
| Average. | Average. | |
| Total. | 496.7 | 40762.3 |
| Years. | Affected. | Unaffected. | Total. | Number of affected per 100 examined. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| True. | False. | True cases per 100 affected. | ||||
| 1892 | 8,364 | 43,237 | 16.21 | 1,379,598 | 1,431,199 | 3.61 |
| 1893 | 9,339 | 40,858 | 18.60 | 1,408,813 | 1,459,010 | 3.44 |
| 1894 | 6,327 | 52,963 | 10.67 | 1,553,422 | 1,612,712 | 3.68 |
| 1895 | 5,937 | 50,056 | 10.60 | 1,644,110 | 1,700,103 | 3.29 |
| 1896 | 7,231 | 65,049 | 10.00 | 1,707,565 | 1,779,845 | 4.06 |
| 1897 | 8,856 | 61,004 | 12.68 | 1,960,407 | 2,030,267 | 3.44 |
| 1898 | 11,692 | 56,816 | 12.07 | 2,190,325 | 2,258,833 | 3.03 |
| 1899 | 8,650 | 52,508 | 14.14 | 2,171,964 | 2,233,122 | 2.74 |
| 1900 | 11,493 | 59,406 | 16.21 | 2,249,276 | 2,320,175 | 3.06 |
| 1901 | 9,117 | 50,493 | 13.29 | 2,427,909 | 2,496,518 | 2.75 |
| Average. | Average. | Average. | Average. | Average. | Average. | |
| Total. | 8700.5 | 54139.0 | 13.45% | 1869338.9 | 1932178.4 | 3.31% |