[Manase Dosan (the Elder) and leprosy].

The aim of this paper is to describe the main features of Manase Dosan's (1507-1594) study and treatment of leprosy. Contrary to general medical opinion in the Middle Ages that leprosy was the result of divine retribution. Dosan viewed leprosy as simply another disease and treated it accordingly from a medical perspective. Furthermore, the commonly held belief from the latter half of the 17th century onwards amongst Early Modern era doctors and also the general populace that leprosy was a hereditary disease, was not considered by Dosan. The foregoing two points can be explained by his rational approach to medicine, plus the fact that leprosy at the time was widely prevalent amongst all areas of society, not just restricted to particular households. It is thus fair to say that Dosan's medical philosophy reflected the state of Japanese society during the transition from medieval to the Early Modern period. It should be noted, however, that Dosan's view that leprosy was caused by meat-eating and overindulgence in sex gave rise to a new, negative image of the disease, and in so doing tied in with the Early Modern era prejudices against "lust", "intemperance" and "laziness."