Japanese pandemic manual from 1918

Feel like reading how to avoid Spanish flu - in Japanese?
This article has links to a black and white version, as well as a range of colour pictures.
Don’t forget to read right to left! :smile:

Posters From Japan’s 100-Year Old Pandemic Manual | Spoon & Tamago

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Can you read the cover? It doesn’t make sense to me…I got this:

「テバナーレ」「セキ」をさんては堪らない

I can’t stand “tebanare” and “seku”

And

「ハヤリかゼ」はこんな事からうつる!

“Hayari cold” is transmitted from such a thing

I think it’s「手放してばなし」に「せき」をされては堪らない
手放し = let go of one hands, not using hands
咳 = cough
We can’t stand being cough on without hands (されて is suffering passive)

流行風邪はやりかぜはこんな事からうつる
流行風邪=influenza
うつる=to be contagious; to spread
Influenza spreads from things like that.

Edit: 手放し can also mean “lack of reserve, lack of restrain” probably stemming from the concrete base meaning “let go of own hands”, so I’m not sure here if the cover is about literally putting your hands in front of your mouth when coughing or a general appeal to refrain yourself from coughing on others ?

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I think you are right, Arzar33, because I clicked in to the next vintage health poster, and it has 咳セキ and a line about covering your nose and mouth. As with nowadays in Japan, they strongly advise gargling (#4)

流感予防 (ryūkan yobō) Flu Prevention
(内務省衛生局) (naimushō eiseikyoku) (Ministry of Home Affairs)

一、近寄るな…咳する人に 1. Don’t near…coughing people
二、鼻口を覆ヘ…他の為にも身の為にも 2. Cover your and mouth…for others, for yourself
三、予防注射を…転ばぬ先に3. Preventative injections… before falling ill
四、含嗽せよ…朝な夕なに 4. Gargle…in the morning, at night

Very interesting.

On the linked page there is a link where the manual from the
内務省衛生局 (hygiene bureau of the interior ministry) can be donwloaded.
The manual has information on all registered epidemics back to the 14th century.

The kana are pre-reform of course, so you get some h-column, and w-column were nowadays vowel only is used. There are also kana redoubling signs (like 々 but for kana, さんさん being written さん+(a sign looking like く but spanning larger).
Emphasis on kana was done putting a “。” as furigana on each kana.
The rare horizontal text (on page header) is written right to left.

Most European countries are written in kanji, as well as Australia (with a Chinese name: 濠洲 ). China is written not 中国 but 支那 (shina).

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