Main description:

While the loss of sight-whether in early modern Japan or now-may be understood as a disability, blind people in the Tokugawa period (1600-1868) could thrive because of disability. The blind of the era were prominent across a wide range of professions, and through a strong guild structure were able to exert contractual monopolies over certain trades. Blind in Early Modern Japan illustrates the breadth and depth of those occupations, the power and respect that accrued to the guild members, and the lasting legacy of the Tokugawa guilds into the current moment.

The book illustrates why disability must be assessed within a particular society's social, political, and medical context, and also the importance of bringing medical history into conversation with cultural history. A Euro-American-centric disability studies perspective that focuses on disability and oppression, the author contends, risks overlooking the unique situation in a non-Western society like Japan in which disability was constructed to enhance blind people's power. He explores what it meant to be blind in Japan at that time, and what it says about current frameworks for understanding disability.

Contents:

Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
List of Tables
Map of Japan in the Tokugawa (Edo) Period (1600-1868)
Map of Japan: Modern Regions and Prefectures
Abbreviated List of Historical Periods
A Note on Japanese Terminology and Names
Acknowledgments
Preface: A Personal Note
Introduction
Chapter 1
Japanese Ophthalmology: Medical Studies of Eye Conditions
Chapter 2
Eye Medicines: The Popular Culture of Cure
Chapter 3
The Blind Guild: Status and Power
Chapter 4
Non-Membership and the Challenge of Authority
Chapter 5
Texts and Performances: The Significance of One Blind Musician's Career
Chapter 6
Healing by Touch: Blind Acupuncturists and Masseurs
Epilogue
Onward to the Meiji Period
Bibliography
Index