Accepted Paper
Paper short abstract
In early modern Japan, health and morality gained prominence and became subjects of study, underpinned by Confucianism, Buddhism, and other traditions. This presentation examines two related cases, exploring how learning about these concepts by children and others generates awareness of disability.
Paper long abstract
In Early Modern Japan, influenced by East Asian thought, the importance of health and morality began to be explained in simple terms as subjects the common people should learn. Taking up typical examples, this presentation examines the circumstances under which perceptions of disability were shaped through the lens of ‘learning’ targeting also children.
Kaibara Ekken (貝原益軒), who studied Confucianism and medicine, taught that health was vital to repay the debt owed to the gods of heaven and earth and one's parents who gave birth to us. For if severe illness damaged one's body and mind, one could no longer perform the labor necessary to sustain life. This would amount to disability. The very foundation of life built by ancestors and parents would be threatened, ultimately amounting to neglecting the gods of heaven and earth. Therefore, Kaibara Ekken clearly presented various techniques for maintaining health, based on traditional Chinese methods of health preservation.
Kyoto merchant Ishida Baigan (石田梅岩) and his disciples spread moral teachings about the mindset necessary for living. Their writings drew upon East Asian philosophies like Confucianism and Buddhism. A distinctive feature was their explanation of the state of mind and body in relation to Tokugawa Japan's social order. They posited a master-servant relationship in which the mind directs the bodily organs. If the master, the mind, failed to give precise instructions, his servants, the organs, would become wayward, leading to paralysis of motor and sensory functions, resulting in disability. Morality was linked to the body; children born with physical abnormalities were said to be the result of their parents being ‘bad hearted’.
Lifestyles and lessons rooted in the intellectual traditions that developed across East Asia were considered essential to learn from very childhood onwards, and individuals lacking sufficient learning ability were viewed as problematic. This corresponds to intellectual disability. In Confucianism, ‘knowledge’ (知 chi) refers to the ability to discern good from evil. However, in Early Modern Japan, a Western-style conception of ‘knowledge’ as ‘the ability to comprehend things’ also began to emerge within education and discipline.
| Abstract in Japanese (if needed): | 近世日本民衆の学びと障害認識の生成 近世日本では、東アジアの思想も背景として、健康と道徳が大事との考え方が、庶民層が学ぶべきこととして平易に語りはじめられる。本発表では、その典型的な事例を取り上げ、子どもも対象とされる学びを通して、障害認識が生成される状況を考える。 儒学と医学を修めた貝原益軒は、自分を生み出した天地の神や父母からうけている恩に報いるために、健康は大事と教える。なぜなら、重い病気により心身が傷つけば、生活を営むための労働ができなくなる。これは障害に相当しよう。先祖や父母が築いてきた生活基盤の存続が危ぶまれ、結局、天地の神を蔑ろにすることにもなる。そのため貝原益軒は健康を保つための様々な技法を、中国の伝統的な養生の方法を基に、平易に示した。 京都の商人である石田梅岩や門弟は、生きるための心の持ち方を説く道徳を広めた。著作類は、儒学・仏教など東アジアの思想も参照し書かれた。特徴的なことは、心身のあり方を近世日本の社会秩序と関係づけて説いたことだ。心が身体器官を監督する主従関係を想定し、主人である心が的確な指示を出さないと、従者の器官はわがままとなり、運動機能や感覚機能が麻痺して障害になるとした。道徳と体が関連付けられ、身体異常の子は、親に悪い心があるために生まれるともされた。 東アジアに展開した思想群を背景とする生活の仕方や教訓は、子どもの頃から学ぶべきとされ、十分な学習能力がない人も問題視される。知的障害に相当する。儒学でいう知は、善悪の判断力をさす。しかし近世日本では、知を物事の理解力と考える西洋的な見方も、教育・しつけにおいて、自生し始めていたといえよう。 |
Perceptions of Children with Disabilities in Pre-Modern Japan ―From a Historical Perspective―