The Establishment of Hygiene Norm in colonies of Imperial Japan: Focusing on Diffusion of Public Baths

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K12276
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 01080:Sociology of science, history of science and technology-related
• Research Institution: Ritsumeikan University
• Principal Investigator: KAWABATA MIKI 立命館大学, 衣笠総合研究機構, 准教授 (00624868)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 公衆浴場 / 清潔規範 / 衛生 / 入浴 / 植民地 / 公衆衛生 / 清潔 / 不潔

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this research is to examine the process by which public baths and cleanliness norms were linked and strengthened as institutions in modern Japanese colonial areas in East Asia, particularly in Taiwan, Korea, and China (formerly Manchuria), through the development of public health policy at that time. I have collected data on the discourse of the modern Japanese state's view of cleanliness and public health policy in modern Japanese colonies as the basis for our research project, and analyzed the relationship between the development of public hygiene administration and the modern state's view of cleanliness. However, from 2020 to 2022, due to COVID-19 epidemic, it was almost impossible to conduct overseas surveys, and most research periods had no choice but to limit themselves to domestic surveys.

Free Research Field

公衆衛生史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

近年、公衆浴場や入浴の歴史は国内外の様々な領域で注目を集めており、日本の植民地統治下の公衆浴場の歴史についても、検討が始められつつある。本研究はそうした一連の学際的な歴史研究のなかに位置づけられるものであり、台湾・韓国・中国（旧満州）それぞれの統治地域ごとの違いや共通項を明らかにしようとした。また同時期の日本国内や内国植民地とも位置づけられる北海道や沖縄との共通点や差異を示唆し、加えて日本国内の差別に潜む清潔観を浮き彫りにした。