Great Construction

Tuberculosis and Its Psychological Aspects

     One aspect of tuberculosis that has not come under relatively much attention until now is the psychological. Nothing, however, is more important. The great psychological impact that is received upon being told one has tuberculosis is well known. All hope for the future is lost and the world becomes as dark as pitch. It is as if a death sentence has been received for which the date of execution is not set. Curiously, however, to guard against this sort of reaction, the authorities and doctors have lately come to publicize vigorously the opinion that tuberculosis can definitely be cured if the proper rest and care is taken, but this advice is not taken seriously. The attempt to assuage the public falls on deaf ears because of those who enter facilities such as sanatoriums, there are actually very few who leave genuinely cured. A few are discharged as being completely healed, but most patients have a remission and are either sent back to the hospital or else die while under care at home. It is probably only natural that the reports one can be healed of tuberculosis are not believed.
     For these reasons, those who are told they have tuberculosis immediately despair and lose hope, their appetite for food, and all vitality. It is so pitiful. Those who hear this news cannot separate themselves from the premonition that they will die. I was around seventeen or eighteen years of age when Tatsukichi Irisawa, a very well-known doctor at the time, diagnosed me with tuberculosis, so I understand this feeling well. Due to such circumstances it is not good to tell individuals they have tuberculosis, but at the same time, the way current therapies of rest and other special treatments are conducted, patients must be told of this diagnosis, so it causes a dilemma. The recent requirements of tuberculin shots and health check-ups with x-rays are thought to be infallible methods to prevent tuberculosis, but it is doubtful whether these measures are of any use either. I do think it best if they are not undertaken.
     People without apparent symptoms of tuberculosis who think they are in perfect health will receive an emotional shock from out of the blue when told that they have latent tuberculosis. In addition even with rest, they rapidly decline in vitality and within several months grow emaciated to a surprising degree. Simply ludicrous was the case of a vigorously muscular male holding the fourth rank in kendo who, told that he had latent tuberculosis and upon undergoing absolute rest, became confined to bed, huffing and puffing. I ask readers to imagine the ordeal of those with no apparent symptoms who are ordered to rest in bed. After about half a year, their cheeks have greatly thinned, their complexion has become sallow, and their physical appearance shows an individual obviously suffering from tuberculosis. I have often heard that such people are dead within a year. These occurrences are a grave problem. It saddens my heart to think that these people would still be going strong if they had not undergone a physical check-up.
     There are many cases these days of the kind described above. What is interesting in this regard is that, according to medical statistics, about ninety in a hundred persons have in their bodies the traces of having had and recovered from tuberculosis at one time. Similar statistics also show up in autopsies, and doctors ought to be aware of this fact. I really think that it cannot be imagined how much the number of tuberculosis patients would decrease if medical check-ups were not performed. But to this doctors will probably say, if tuberculosis were not infectious, that might be all right, but since tuberculosis is contagious all are in danger as long as someone has the tuberculosis germ, so it is important to discover who has it as soon as possible in order to prevent the disease from spreading. Another point they will probably make is that it is easier to cure tuberculosis if found in its early stages.
     I have already explained about tuberculosis bacteria, so I will not go into that subject here, but the idea that tuberculosis is contagious requires comment. The contagion theory is a great fallacy, and I guarantee that tuberculosis is not contagious. This declaration always incurs the ire of the medical authorities because they still do not understand the fundamentals of tuberculosis. One of my previous experiences speaks to the problem. During the war, I was asked by the Naval Ministry to resolve their problem of many cases of tuberculosis among the members of their air corps. I sent one of my followers to the naval air station at Kasumigaura. The personnel stationed there were told that tuberculosis is not contagious and the naval doctors got angry. They said that if they accepted that theory, tuberculosis would spread throughout the entire service. My help was summarily dismissed.
     I advocate the non-contagion explanation of tuberculosis because I have total confidence in it. The best proof is the large number of my followers who throughout the years have not contracted tuberculosis contagiously. Another proof is an experiment I carried out in my home years ago. In those days, I would have staying in my home one or two tubercular individuals. At that time, I had six children, boys and girls, ranging from about five to around twenty years old, and over a period of ten years, not one was infected with tuberculosis, rather they are now healthier than average individuals their age. Of course, during this period, my children lived under the same roof as these patients, and I did not employ any kind of disinfection or sterilization measures at all. I treated those with tuberculosis as ordinary people. Let me give another example. Several years ago, a widow about forty years old came to my place. I heard she was at her wits’ end because, after her husband had died of tuberculosis, relatives and friends fearing they would catch tuberculosis from her, would not even let her get near them. I felt sorry for her and had her stay at my home. Even now she is working there, and, of course, not only has no one been infected with tuberculosis, she has come to have the same good health as any other person and works very diligently. Even if she had become infected, she would have easily recovered, so none of the people in my household are concerned about tuberculosis in the least.
     As can be seen in the examples above, my followers and I are convinced that tuberculosis is not contagious, so even on only this one point, you can understand why we feel ourselves to be so fortunate compared to the average person on the street. Most members of society, however, fear tuberculosis, which gives rise to tragedy and living in constant fear. Couples, parents and children, brothers and sisters cannot approach each other even to talk, eating utensils and bedding have to be kept separate, and sufferers are treated as outcasts. If you believe in medical science, the correct way is to yield to and comply with all these procedures. Previously, the following interesting affair occurred. This happened in a farming household in a certain village. They had a daughter sixteen or seventeen years old. She was diagnosed with tuberculosis, so her family had her live all alone in a separate building which they had built for her. Since this separate structure bordered on a public street, pedestrians would cover their mouths and pass by the building quickly, almost running. I heard of this affair from the girl herself and had to laugh. Of course, if you think tuberculosis can be spread through the air, acting as these villagers did is easy to understand, but it was true tragicomedy. My disciples and followers number in the tens of thousands, so it would be interesting to try an experiment involving tuberculosis with even just ten or twenty thousand of them.

Revolutionary Treatment for Tuberculosis, page 20, August 15, 1951
translated by cynndd

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“Kekkaku to Seishinmen” is the fifth chapter of the book Kekkaku no Kakumeiteki Ryōhō (Revolutionary Treatment for Tuberculosis), 1951, page 20. Meishu-sama made several slight revisions in addition to adding the paragraph at the end to include this essay as the sixth chapter of the second part of Bunmei no Sōzō (Creation of Civilization), the manuscript of a book that remained unpublished while he was alive. A translation of the revised manuscript has appeared previously. Citation is given below for reference.

“Tuberculosis and Psychological Aspect,” Creation of Civilization, 1978, page 48.