Ansei Fūbunshū

Ansei Fūbunshū

DS871.5K351856

1856

Ansei umanoaki korori ryuko ki (Big Ansei cholera安政午秋頃痢流行記). [Edo]: [Tenshindo]. 1858. 1 v. 24.8cm x 16.5cm. Japanese binding. In addition to the concentration of natural disasters during the Ansei period, the most widespread Cholera ever recorded spread throughout Japan in 1858. Cholera was introduced to Japan in 1822 through a port in Nagasaki, which was the one open to the outside world at that time. It quickly spread from Kyūshū (Southern Island) to the Kansai (Osaka/Kyoto) area. The Big Ansei Cholera affected a large area and estimates of those killed exceeded 1 million people across the country. During the Edo period, people called Cholera (Korera in Japanese) as "Korori," a play on words after the Japanese expression "Korori to shinu (die quickly)". Kanagaki Robun reports many aspects of this epidemic in the book containing colorful woodblock prints. For example, one illustration shows people cremating the dead at a crematorium while another illustrates a mythical creature believed to understand human languages known for its intelligence. The creature was called "Hakutaku (白澤)" and it fought against the disease to help the Japanese people.

3 volumes

Asia - Japan Collection, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library

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