驻日医疗传教士约翰·别丽的“麻风病”观

The View of Leprosy by J. C. Berry, a Medical Missionary in19th Japan

驻日美部会(American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions)的医疗传教士约翰·别丽(John Cutting Berry)是作为一名医生和社会工作者而闻名,而不是作为一名传教士。他最著名的贡献就是为改善监狱情况而建言献策。制定中央政府新政策的内务卿大久保利通接受了他的建议。但是,别丽曾于1877年就麻风病的建议写信给大久保利通的事情却不被人们所熟知。兵库县知事神田接受了他的建议。但是这项本应向大久保利通传达的建议却在下一任兵库县知事森冈手中夭折了。尽管建议失败了,但仍是有价值的。因为这项建议在日本得到了认可,针对麻风病的传教工作于19世纪80年代末期开始,于1907年被写进法律。约翰·别丽针对治疗麻风病有三大计划——改善公共卫生环境、限制结婚与建立麻风病疗养院。伦敦传道会(London Missionary Society)著名医疗传教士合信(Benjamin Hobson)记录了19世纪40年代中国的麻风病情况。日本医生后藤在东京开了一家私人疗养院尝试治疗麻风病患者。与二人相比,别丽强调要改善公共卫生环境。他为日本人民撰写了富于启发性的文章。府县(地方行政机关)在麻风病的政策制定上要比中央政府态度积极。最近,关于麻风病传教工作的研究现状正在发生巨大变化。曾经的“救济”历史如今已被视为应“谴责”的历史。其原因在于隔离、绝育、歧视等都是压制人权的行为。人们应该对作为“民主使者”的东亚医疗传教士的想法和活动作进一步研究。

J.C.Berry,who came to Japan as a trained medical missionary from the American Board for Commissioners of Foreign Mission,has been appreciated more as a medical doctor and a social worker than as a missionary.The most famous contribution of him was the suggestion to improve prison conditions.It was adopted by T.Okubo,the Minister of Home Affairs,who spearheaded the new policy of Central Government.However,it is generally not known that Berry also wrote to Okubo about his opinion on leprosy in 1877.Berry's opinion was approved by T.Kanda,the Governor of Hiogo Prefecture,but it was not implemented by the next Governor,M.Morioka,who should have conveyed it to Minister Okubo.Although it failed to materialize,Berry's opinion is valuable because it has been thought that in Japan,the work on leprosy by Christians be-gan in only the late 1880s and was written into law in 1907.Berry emphasized three schemes―the improvement of sanitary condition,the restriction of marriage,and the erection of a Leper Asylum.B.Hobson,a famous medical missionary of London Missionary Society,reported leprosy in China in the 1840s.And M.Goto,a Japanese doctor,tried to cure the lepers and opened a private Asylum in Tokyo.Compared with these two,Berry emphasized more on sanitary improvement and wrote enlightening articles for the Japanese people.In Japan,Prefectures(Local Government)were more active than the Central Government in establishing policies on leprosy.Recently,the paradigm in the studies on the Christian work for leprosy is changing drastically.It used to be the history of“relief”,but now being criticized because of the isolation,sterilization,and discrimination involved,which violated human rights.The activities and the thought of medical missionaries in East Asia as“messengers of civilization”should be reevaluated.