Japanese medical practices in the Amur Governorate-General (1884–1917)

The article reviews the activities of Japanese doctors in the Amur Governorate-General. Archival research allowed us to observe a whole range of Japanese migrants’ private medical practices authorized by the local administration, as well as examples of their illegal medical activities. The founders of Japanese medical institutions in the Russian Far East were private individuals acting either on their own initiative, or at the invitation of the leaders of the local diaspora. The commercial efficiency of their hospitals was one of the main indicators of success of their medical practice. The medical work of Japanese residents was concentrated in cities and was not common in rural areas. The daily activities of Japanese doctors were based on the principles of Western medicine and were aimed primarily at meeting the healthcare needs and providing pharmaceutical drugs to their compatriots, but this did not exclude the provision of medical care to the locals due to the lack of medical organizations and private practitioners. The services provided by Japanese doctors and paraprofessionals (paramedics, obstetricians, dentists, nurses, pharmacists) included pre-hospital, primary medical, and specialized medical care, medical examinations of certain contingents of the locals, a number of laboratory diagnostics, nursing care, disinfection and sterilization.
In everyday medical activities, in addition to conservative therapy, operations on the abdominal organs, amputations, trepanations, incisions, extractions, and abortions were performed. Prevention, sanitation, and other public health issues were out of their scope. The provision of medical care was carried out both at the inpatient and outpatient levels. The large demand for medical services and special competitive advantages ensured high earnings for Japanese medics. But these activities were ambiguously assessed in Russian society, both due to the low level of medical education of the immigrants, and due to the existence of the discourse about the so-called “Yellow Peril”.

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