Kuji goshinhō
The Kuji goshinbō is a Japanese health manual first published in or around 1815, the version presented here being an 1881 reprint. Unlike most contemporary health manuals, which offer dietary and exercise advice, the Kuji goshinbō promotes the cultivation of a moral and religious mindset to ensure the blessings of gods and buddhas. The goal of a healthy life can be achieved, so the text explains, through fulfilling one's social duties and performing the correct prayers and ritual actions. To ensure that as many people as possible could benefit from the knowledge to be transmitted, the Kuji goshinbō was composed in vernacular Japanese. In addition, virtually every Chinese character comes with a pronunciation guide, to allow even those with minimal literacy access to the information. As an indication of the theories on health and well-being that a wide swathe of the nineteenth-century Japanese population adhered to, the Kuji goshinbō is invaluable.
(Transcription and translation by Stephanie Van Rentergem and Andreas Niehaus.
This project was realized with support from the Flemish Research Council (FWO).)
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