Diseases and Deformities (Yamai no Sōshi)
This series depicts symptoms of various physical disorders, including rare diseases and deformities. Once had taken over as a single handscroll, the work was later cut up into sections, nine of which are in the collection of the Kyoto National Museum. Like the Gaki Sōshi and Jigoku Sōshi, it is thought to have been produced in the late Heian period (794-1185) as part of a Rokudo-e (“Six Realms of Existence” suite). Each composition depicts not only the curiosity that is the hapless patient but also the bewildered or ridiculing bystanders, adding a sense of detached satire that elevates this work from monotonous catalog to raw human drama. Let us look at each composition in detail. (The series underwent a four-year restoration that was completed at the end of fiscal 2015. The photographs were taken after this restoration.)
Diseases and Deformities (Yamai no Sōshi); Palsy (12th Century) by UnknownKyoto National Museum
Palsy
The text accompanying this illustration refers to the symptoms—involuntary tremors of the eyes and body—as fubyo (lit. disease of the wind), possibly indicating palsy.
The illustration shows a man shaking uncontrollably as he points his finger at a game board. Women looking on are sniggering.
Diseases and Deformities (Yamai no Sōshi); Man with a Small Tongue (12th Century) by UnknownKyoto National Museum
Man with a Small Tongue
The man on the left has a second, smaller tongue growing beneath his tongue, potentially a life-threatening condition if left unchecked as it would make eating difficult.
Diseases and Deformities (Yamai no Sōshi); Hermaphrodite (12th Century) by UnknownKyoto National Museum
Hermaphrodite
The depicted man, carrying a hand drum from his neck, had often been spotted in Kyoto. A person who grew suspicious of the occasional woman-like behavior of the man looked inside his clothes while the man was asleep to discover both male and female sexual organs.
Diseases and Deformities (Yamai no Sōshi); Treatment of an Eye Disease (12th Century) by UnknownKyoto National Museum
Treatment of an Eye Disease
Yamato province lived a man who complained of poor eyesight. When a doctor claiming to cure eye diseases presented himself to the man, he thought it was a godsend, and asked the doctor to administer his treatment.
The doctor was admitted into the man’s house, examined his patient’s eyes, and then stuck an acupuncture needle into one of them. “It will get better in no time,” the doctor said as he left.The man ended up blind in one eye.
Diseases and Deformities (Yamai no Sōshi); Man with Pyorrhea (12th Century) by UnknownKyoto National Museum
Man with Pyorrhea
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A man is feeling his back teeth with his finger. He has wobbly teeth, and cannot chew anything that is even slightly hard
Diseases and Deformities (Yamai no Sōshi); Man with Many Anuses (12th Century) by UnknownKyoto National Museum
Man with Many Anuses
The man in this picture was born with multiple anuses. Stools would pass out through all of the anuses, which must have been a very troublesome condition indeed.
Diseases and Deformities (Yamai no Sōshi); Man with Public Lice (12th Century) by UnknownKyoto National Museum
Man with Pubic Lice
A man is frantically shaving off his pubic hair. Apparently he had caught lice overnight after sleeping with the woman pictured behind him.
For reasons not known, the woman is smiling gleefully despite being the source of the infection.
Diseases and Deformities (Yamai no Sōshi); Woman with Cholera Nostras (diarrhea and vomiting resembling the symptoms of cholera) (12th Century) by UnknownKyoto National Museum
Woman with Cholera Nostras (diarrhea and vomiting resembling the symptoms of cholera)
The woman in the picture has loose bowels, and is both vomiting fluid and defecating profusely, a very agonizing condition indeed.
The old woman is nursing her, and a dog has come mistaking the liquid feces for something good to eat.
Diseases and Deformities (Yamai no Sōshi); Woman with Halitosis (12th Century) by UnknownKyoto National Museum
Woman with Halitosis
In Kyoto lived a very beautiful woman. She had suitors, but her breath was so bad it repelled any approaching man.
The picture shows the woman cleaning her teeth with a toothpick, while onlookers point their fingers at her and laugh. The accompanying text says anyone who came close found the odor unbearable.
