Perceptions on Illness and Wellness in East Asia: Contemporary Views on Japanese Medical Systems and Traditions

Abstract

This chapter, a medical ethnography of selected case studies, looks at how Japanese living in selected cities view and act on health and illness. It is apparent that Japanese urbanites look at their bodies in the light of western scientific medicine. This study seeks to identify the extent of how these perspectives are culture-bound and how such is manifested in the daily experiences of wellness and/or illness among the Japanese. These threads are identified through analysis of individual case studies from selected cities in Japan. The choice of these places presents a wider scope of analysis as well as provides geographic points of political, economic, and cultural comparison. The research findings are based on a series of field interviews conducted in 2012 and 2013. The study looks at contemporary Japanese health and medical practices. In this context, the role of Chinese or kampo medicine is also surveyed and examined. Given extensive historical research conducted on the development of Chinese medicine in Japan, this research looks at its contemporary practice and popularity. At the same time, this study attempts to interpret diverse perspectives on the body’s wellness and illness, in seeking to understand the interplay of western medicine and traditional Japanese systems in contemporary Japan.