The Culture of the Worms
Scenes among the Silk Workers
The Japanese, he found, knew nothing of anatomy or physiology. They were ignorant of the circulation of the blood, feeling the pulse for a quarter of an hour, first in one arm and then in the other, not knowing that both beat alike. Bleeding they very seldom practised; of the use of mercury they knew nothing; and, notwithstanding what Thunberg relates of the cures effected under his direction, by the use of corrosive sublimate, it may be doubted how much benefit he conferred by the introduction of that remedy, or by the present which he made to his “beloved pupils” of “his silver-spring lancet,” with instructions how to use it.
The two great remedies of the Japanese are acupuncture and burning with the moxa [mogusa], the former chiefly practised in a violent colic endemic to the country. According to the Japanese theory, it is caused by wind, and to let out this wind several small holes—nine being a favorite number—are made with needles, prepared for the purpose, generally in the muscles of the stomach or abdomen, though other fleshy parts of the body are, in some cases, chosen for the operation. These needles are nearly as fine as a hair, made of gold and silver generally, but sometimes of steel, by persons who profess a particular skill in tempering them. The bony parts, nerves, and blood-vessels are carefully avoided, and while they are passed through the skin and muscle, they are twirled about in a peculiar manner. There are many practitioners who confine themselves to this practice alone.[55]
A still more favorite and universal remedy, employed quite as much for prevention as cure, is burning with the moxa [mogusa],—the finer woolly part of the young leaves of the wormwood (Artemisia), of which the coarser kind is used for ordinary tinder. It is procured by ribbing and beating the leaves till the green part separates and nothing remains but the wool, which is sorted into two kinds. When applied, it is made up in little cones, which, being placed on the part selected for the operation, are set fire to from the top. They burn very slowly, leaving a scar or blister on the skin, which, some time after, breaks and discharges. The operation is not very painful, except when repeated in the same place, as it sometimes is, or when applied to certain tender parts. It is thought very efficacious in pleurisies, toothache, gout, and rheumatism,—disorders which, like the colic above mentioned, are rapid in their operation, and of which the paroxysms tend to a speedy termination under any medical treatment or none at all. The Japanese have very elaborate treatises as to the effects produced by the moxa, according to the part to which it is applied, and its application forms a science and profession by itself. The fleshy parts, especially of the back, are ordinarily selected. It is used still more by way of prevention than for cure, every person, young and old, male and female, even prisoners in the jails, submitting to the operation at least once in six months[56]. Another remedy is friction, applied by certain professors, and which proves of great use in pains of the limbs, arising from the prevailing vicissitudes of the weather. Internal remedies are generally exhibited in the form of simple decoctions, diuretic or sudorific. Wonderful virtues are ascribed to certain drugs; and, on the whole, the Japanese appear, as in the use of unicorn’s horn and ginseng, to have been not less deluded by quack medicines and medical theories than more enlightened nations.[57]
The doctors, like the priests, are distinguished from other people by the fashion of wearing their hair. Thunberg states in one place that they shaved the whole head; in another, that they had the option of retaining all their hair, like the boys and women. According to Titsingh, physicians shave the head, and surgeons wear the hair. Of surgery, however, they know next to nothing.
All the male Japanese who are neither priests nor physicians, from the time the beard begins to grow, shave the head from the forehead to the nape of the neck. The little hair left about the neck and on the temples is well oiled, turned up in a cue, and tied with several rounds of white string made of paper. The hair above the tie is cut off, leaving about the length of a finger, which, being stiffened with a sort of pomatum, is so bent that the tip of it is made to stand against the crown of the head. This arrangement is strictly attended to, the head being shaved every day, that the stumps of the growing hair may not disfigure it.
Women who have parted with their husbands also shave their heads—at least Thunberg met with one such instance; but, in general, the women retain all their hair, which they make smooth with oil and mucilaginous substances, and either put close to the head all round, or else (in the case of single women and serving-maids) make it stand in puffs on each side of the face. The ends are fastened together in a knob at the crown of the head, just before which is stuck a large comb, made, in the case of the poorer people, of lackered boxwood, and among the richer of tortoise-shell. The rich wear also several long ornaments of tortoise-shell, stuck through this knob, which, with a few flowers, constitute the whole of their head decorations. “Vanity,” says Thunberg, “has not yet taken root among them to that degree as to induce them to wear rings or other ornaments in their ears. No caps, hats, or bonnets are worn, except a conical cap, made of reeds, when travelling. Otherwise the parasol or fan is all the shelter they use against the sun or the rain.”
The official visits are thus described by Thunberg: “We were dressed in the European fashion, but in costly silks, interwoven with silver and laced with gold. On account of the festivity of the day it was requisite for us to wear our swords and a very large black silk cloak. We were carried a considerable distance through the town before we arrived at the emperor’s residence. This is surrounded by fosses and stone walls, and separated by draw-bridges. It forms a considerable town of itself, and is said to be five leagues in circumference, comprising the emperor’s private palace, as also that of the hereditary prince, each separated from the other by wide fosses, stone walls, gates, and other bulwarks. In the outermost citadel, which was the largest of all, were large and handsome covered streets and great houses, which belonged to the princes of the country, the privy councillors, and other officers of state. Their numerous families, who were obliged likewise to remain at the court the whole year throughout, were also lodged here. At the first gate there was a strong guard. That at the second gate was said to consist of a thousand men.[58] As soon as we had passed through this gate, having previously quitted our norimono, we were conducted to an apartment, where we waited a full hour. At last, having obtained leave to approach the imperial palace, we passed through a long lane of soldiers, who were posted on both sides quite up to the door of the palace, all armed and well clothed.
“The emperor’s private palace was situated on an eminence, and although it consisted of one story only, still it was much higher than any other house, and covered a large tract of ground. We were immediately conducted into an antechamber, where we again waited at least an hour. Our officers sat down in the Japanese manner on one side, and the Dutchmen, together with the interpreters, on the other. It proved extremely fatiguing to us to sit in their manner; and, as we could not hold it out long thus, we put our legs out on one side and covered them with our long cloaks, which in this respect were of great service to us.
“The time we waited here did not appear long, as great numbers of people passed in and out, both in order to look at us and talk with us. We were visited by several princes of the country, but constantly incognito, though we could always perceive when they were coming, from the murmuring noise which was at first heard from the inner rooms, and the silence that ensued upon it. Their curiosity was carried to a great length in everything; but the chief employment they found for us was to let them see our mode of writing. We were thus induced to write something either on paper or on their fans. Some of them showed us fans on which the Dutch had formerly written, and which they had carefully treasured up as great rarities.