Translator: Flowingcloud Editor: Arocks141
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The Bird Pecks at the Snake at Their Bosom
If you are reading from a pirate or aggregator site, please read from the translator’s site: yado-inn (dot) com I have to put the link like this or else the bots will remove it, sorry 🙁
The siblings, Nobusuke and Youko began experimenting on chickens to see if a beriberi-like symptom would outbreak in them. Since prior research was already present and this was a follow-up experiment, it was not that difficult. Three weeks after the start of the experiment, those that were only fed white rice began to be unable to walk properly. On the other hand, the chickens that were only given unpolished rice were very healthy.
“Let’s choose one of the chickens with the most severe symptoms and bring it to Father’s unit for a military doctor to observe and conduct an autopsy.”
Due to Youko’s suggestion, a dying chicken was brought to Hiromichi’s division. At first, the doctor was puzzled by the chicken they examined.
“The symptoms of the chicken in question are exactly those of beriberi. Also, the results of the autopsy showed multiple neuritis and enlargement of the heart, so no matter how you interpret these symptoms, it is unimaginable for the chickens to be afflicted with an illness unrelated to beriberi no matter how you explain it,” they concluded.
It was not until 1910 that the contents were announced in Japan.
On the weekend of that week, the military doctor explained the results of the chicken diagnosis to Nobusuke and Youko at Hiromichi’s request.
“As expected, just like how my little sister predicted, the chickens got beriberi.”
“Strictly speaking, it is a different disease, but I believe the disease is at least more similar to beriberi than it is to cowpox or smallpox.”
It was a well-known fact even at this time that vaccinating people with the pus released from cowpox provided immunity against smallpox. The fact that the military doctor brought this up suggested that the military doctor, like Youko, believed that improving one’s diet could prevent and treat beriberi even in humans.
“Then, with these results, if we could add nukazuke to the wartime menu…”
“It is possible to even serve nukazuke into the wartime menu right now.”
“Is that so!?”
“The current regulations are “900 grams of white rice, 150 grams of meat or fish, 150 grams of vegetables, and 56 grams of tsukemono per day”, so we can provide nukazuke as part of the tsukemono category.” 1
Youko was surprised by the military doctor’s reply because if the nukazuke had been provided, she would not know why beriberi had developed in the military.
“However, due to the delay of supplies during the Sino-Japanese War and invasion of Taiwan, it seems like only white rice was supplied as part of the wartime diet at the front. Also, since the rate of beriberi outbreaks increased during wartime, I, like both of you, believe that beriberi can be prevented and treated by improving the diet.”
“Ahh, that’s good…”
Youko was relieved. It would be a big concern for Youko if she did all of this only to be mistaken.
“In fact, those at the actual site wanted to bring this disease under control at all costs. However, because we had the preconceived notion that mugimeshi was the only way to treat it, we only thought about adding mugimeshi to the wartime diet. There was strong opposition from Surgeon General Mori and Surgeon Inspector General Ishiguro, who had recently joined the reserves…” 2
“I think it could not be helped. As long as the cause of the beriberi was unknown, the only way to treat it was to rely on existing experience. We were able to treat beriberi this time because it was a chicken, but we cannot do the same thing to a human being.”
“That bastard Ogai… that fella should stick to writing novels.”
While Nobusuke comforted the despondent military doctor, Youko thoroughly cursed at Surgeon General Mori (Mori Ogai) from the bottom of her heart.
“However, this time we have a new weapon—rice bran. We cannot eat it raw, so we will have to use rice bran to make a meal that can be preserved… Well, as Youko-san said, it will probably be in the form of nukazuke, but we will use this to suppress the beriberi at all costs.”
“I would ask for you to do that for the sake of the country as well. However, as you mentioned earlier about the wartime rationing regulations, I believe that 56 grams of tsukemono per day is somewhat too little to be effective in preventing beriberi. It is my humble opinion that we should provide different amounts—100 grams, 200 grams, and 300 grams—to beriberi patients to see if we can find any improvement in their symptoms.”
In modern times, the recommended intake of vitamin B1 hydrochloride for the treatment of beriberi is 0.7 mg/day. If converted to the amount of vitamin B1 that should be included in one’s diet, it becomes 0.9 mg/day. Although it may depend on the production method, for example, the amount of vitamin B1 contained in nukazuke is less than 0.3 mg per 100 grams, which means that you would need to eat at least three cucumbers a day to treat beriberi. Perhaps a little less is necessary just for prevention, but in any case, the currently provided amount was clearly insufficient.
Youko did not know the specific amount, but because she could not bear to be told “Nukazuke is ineffective against beriberi” even though the true reason was due to insufficient quantity, Youko gave a suggestion to the military doctor.
“You are right. I will do that… Nonetheless, you are a very clever little sister, aren’t you? I cannot believe you are four years old…”
“I do not know where she learned it from, but Youko has been like this since she was about two years old… Our entire family has high hopes for her future.”
“Gosh, Onii-sama…”
No one except for Hiromichi knew, but Youko was in her thirties mentally so it was natural.
Later, this military doctor conducted a vigorous investigation and succeeded in identifying the daily intake of nukazuke that could treat beriberi. However, by the time he had done so, it was already the summer of 1902. At that time, the military doctor visited the Takatsukasas and discussed something with Hiromichi.
“What? You’re telling me that the plan of transporting nukazuke in emergencies, even if it meant reducing the amount of white rice transported, did not go through?
“Yes, there is a faction who believe in Professor Aoyama and others who believe that beriberi is a contagious disease and are opposed to it…”
“I’ve seen your research and it produced evident results. It was no good even when you showed that to them?”
“ “It may be true that beriberi can be treated if we give them nukazuke, but the specific cause of beriberi has not been identified. In other words, it is a rule of thumb. We cannot accept this plan because we cannot exclude the possibility that such results were obtained by coincidence,” or so they claimed…”
“Hmm…”
At that time, the Japanese Association of Medical Sciences was strongly influenced by German medicine, which emphasized the importance of theory. In 1911, Professor Yamagiwa Katsusaburo of Tokyo Imperial University strongly condemned theory, saying, “Many things are being done to control everything with theory, but that does not mean we do not have to think.”
“I understand. I have a few ideas. I want you to make the necessary preparations without minding the opposition.”
“…Understood.”
The military doctor somehow had a bad feeling about this, but they felt that they should not touch upon this topic, so they stopped thinking about it.
Sometime later.
“Takatsukasa-dono, the proposal to focus on the supply of nukazuke even during wartime has been approved at last! It is all thanks to you, Takatsukasa-dono.”
“No, it’s because you collected the proper evidence, I was able to act. I am the one who should be thanking you. Now, we can fight without worrying about beriberi.”
“But strangely enough, at some point the opposing faction’s resistance suddenly became meek. Thanks to that, the proposal was easier to pass, but what on earth happened?”
The military doctor asked with a worried look on his face.
“I requested for the Crown Prince and His Excellency Chief Aide-de-camp Okazawa to silence those who opposed you.” 3
“Excuse me!?”
Due to the sudden mention of people who were out of reach for the military doctor, he raised his voice in disarray.
“The Crown Prince took a liking to me when I was a military officer during my time as the Crown Prince Attache, and even now, our relationship allows me to be able to accompany him during his hobby, horseback riding.” 4
“What on earth… Then, Takatsukasa-dono right now is an aide-de-camp to the Emperor, so Chief Aide-de-camp Okazawa is your direct superior!”
“Both of them spoke very highly of your research. “There are those who oppose his proposal, saying that his beriberi research is plenty effective but the theory was bad. Isn’t that too harsh of an attitude towards those suffering from beriberi in reality,” or so they said… You understand the rest, right?”
“Woah…”
The military doctor swore to himself that he would not make an enemy of Hiromichi who had an unpleasant face. 5
Thus, unlike our history, the army’s food situation was greatly improved. The 250,000 or so people who suffered from beriberi in history did not suffer from beriberi in this world and later would be able to fight to the end of the Russo-Japanese War.
Furthermore, as an unforeseen byproduct, the Institute of Infectious Diseases was not absorbed by Tokyo Imperial University because Professor Aoyama and his colleagues lost their positions due to the anger of an ‘esteemed individual’. As a result, this allowed Director Kitasato Shibasaburo to concentrate on his own research, which resulted in some of his achievements being made earlier than they actually were. 6
If you are reading from a pirate or aggregator site, please read from the translator’s site: yado-inn (dot) com I have to put the link like this or else the bots will remove it, sorry 🙁
Author Note: So now, the Japanese army could fight the Russians with a little more room to spare.
Historical Fact: Hiromichi was an accomplished horseman and he seemed to have been the riding partner of Emperor Meiji when he was his Aide-de-camp. He liked horses so much that he even kept one at home, and in Nobusuke’s “Living with Birds”, it was mentioned that Hiromichi loved horses.
It is not known whether he rode with Emperor Taisho, but it is said that His Majesty was also a good rider and had a keen eye for horses. It is not hard to imagine that they had a good relationship, given the position Hiromichi would later ascend to.
- Flowingcloud: Tsukemono is similar to pickled vegetables, however, the pickling method is different from Western methods since tsukemono are not usually preserved in acetic acid or distilled vinegar. I make them from time to time and they taste awesome. Tsukemono was used in the military as they could be preserved and kept for a decent amount of time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsukemono - Flowingcloud: Mori Ogai is relatively famous, however, more known for his literary talent than his medical talent. He was considered one of the leading writers who modernized Japanese literature.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mori_%C5%8Cgai
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishiguro_Tadanori - Flowingcloud: Okazawa Kuwashi in his final years was the army general of the Imperial Japanese Army. It is said that Emperor Meiji had a lot of trust in him.
The Crown Prince would later be the next emperor of Japan, Emperor Taisho. While this novel has been relatively historically accurate so far, it is questionable whether Emperor Taisho as the Crown Prince would have the authority to help due to his lack of interest in politics and illness since childhood. It is currently 1902 and Emperor Taisho was only promoted in 1903 to the rank of colonel in the Imperial Japanese Army and captain in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Even then, his duties were only ceremonial.
You might also want to read up on what an ‘aide-de-camp’ is if you don’t know what it is. In Japan, the aide-de-camp to the Emperor is a special military official whose primary duties are to report military affairs to the Emperor and act as a close attendant (chamberlain). This was a position that existed from 1896 to 1945.
Okazawa Kuwashi JP Wikipedia: https://bit.ly/3lQaFx8
Emperor Taisho: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Taish%C5%8D
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aide-de-camp_to_the_Emperor_of_Japan - Flowingcloud: A supplement to the previous footnote. Despite all the things I said, it is certain that Hiromichi did serve as the ‘東宮武官’ (translated as ‘Crown Prince Attache’) from November 1889 to October 1898, so he indeed has contact with the Crown Prince at least.
- Arocks141: Cruel and ruthless, but kudos nonetheless.
- Flowingcloud: Baron Kitasato Shibasaburo is known as the co-discoverer of the infectious agent of bubonic plague in Hong Kong during an outbreak in 1894. His studies focused on the bubonic plague. Many argue that he should have been awarded the Nobel Prize.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitasato_Shibasabur%C5%8D
I do so love these Assassin’s Creed like stories that blend fiction with actual history in a this could have actually happened kind of way. No wait, there’s no way this could have happened. What she’s doing is totally going against history and creating an alternate timeline. It still makes interesting use of actual history though sooooooo…screw it, I still like it.
Thanks for the chapter.
Next please😇