New Delhi Conference 2006

8/8/2019 New Delhi Conference 2006

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Home Custody of Mental Patientsin Modern Japan

Various Perspectives of Japanese

and German Psychiatrists

Akira Hashimoto

Aichi Prefectural University

Japan


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Did the rest ra in t and confinement a t

home no longer exist in Europe in the19th century?

Inspect ion of 164 ment a l pa t ient s a thome in the Canton Fr ibourg,

Switzerland, in 1875(Klaus Ernst , 1983)


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Home custody in J apanome custody in J apan wasas n otot arelic of the preelic of the pre-institutionalizationnstitutionalizationphase. But it was reality which washase. But it was rea lity which wasauthor ized by the government inu thor ized by the government in

the modern period.he modern period.


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Ment a l Pa t ient s Custody Act(1900-1950)

The confinement of pat ien ts at home

under the con t rol of the police


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A home custody pat ient

(Oita Prefecture, 1940)

A 31-year -old sch izophrenic man

Since 7 years, menta lly ill

t respass a t s t rangers houses and

violence on the people and proper ty

there His fa ther decided to confine h im a t

home.


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The plan of cust ody room

(Oita Prefecture, 1940)Front view Side view

45cm

258cm

ceiling

floorground

295cm 197cm

doorwaylatticedwindows

Overall view of

farmers house

custody room

Main building

(dwelling house)

Source: The documents of

Oita Prefectur e Archives


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Pat ient s meal menu for a whole week

(Oita Prefecture, 1940)

breakfast lunch supper

Sunrice, misosoup,

egg and pickles

r ice and raw

fish

rice,

vegetablesand gr illed

fish

Mon rice, misosoupand pickles

(without egg)

r ice and boiled

vegetables

r ice an dvinegar ed fish

or vegetables

Tue

Sat

rice, misosoup

(without egg)

r ice an dgrilled fish

vegetables

rice,

boiled

Fish

Source: The documents of Oita Prefectu re Archives


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The number of pa t ien ts in home

custody and in menta l hospita ls

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

1924 1928 1932 1936 1940

home custody

mental hospital

year

The st a t istics of pa t ien t s

in ment al h ospita ls

before 1928 ar e th e

estimat ed numbers.

Source: Min istr y of Health and Welfa re


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Pa t ien ts a re unfor tuna teenough to be born in J apan

Criticism of home cust ody

Shuzo Kure(1865-1932)Psychiatrist,Professor of theUniversity of Tokyo


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Kure & Kashida: The present sta te and

the sta t ist ica l observa t ion of ment a lpa t ient s under home custody (1918)

Home custody in Gum ma Pr efectu re

Sour ce: Kure & Kashida (1918)


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Family, cu ltu re, andnationalism

Approval of home custody


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Cultured na t ion (Kultur land)and psychia t ry:

Germany an d J apan

Wilhelm Weygandt

(1870-1939)Psychiatrist,

Professor of Universityof Hamburg

parallelismWhere a developed care for

menta l pa t ien t s exists, thewhole cu lture there is a lso

high developed.


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beauty of familyFrom the 1930s onwards, J apanese

medica l doctors belonging to thegovernment defended home custody.

Custody room in t he house

(Aoki, 1937)

Nobuharu Aoki:

Most pat ient s a re t reat edwell because of a good

qua lity in the t radit iona l

family system in J apan.


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Conclusion

Home custody under government oversight :a pecu lia r form of inst itu t iona liza t ion .

Duality of it s inst itu t iona l and familia lcharacters

Criticism : unacceptable inst itu t iona liza t ion Approval: family and t radit ion in the

nat iona list ic framework from without andfrom with in

Documents

New Delhi Conference 2006