Reiwa Chemist Yōko Takatsukasa Reincarnation: Saving Japan with Plastic Material

Seeing is Believing

This is one of the templates of modern history in Narō, a story against leprosy.

- Toshitsugu Utei

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"By the way, Nobusuke-oniisama, what should I feed the chickens as food?"

Yōko asked Nobusuke suddenly one day over the family dinner table.

"Well, foxtail millet, proso millet, barnyard millet, and rice. I heard some places are feeding them corn nowadays."

"Hmm. It's just like commoners in the Edo period."

Yōko pondered about Nobusuke's answer for a moment and then asked again.

"Then, if we feed them only rice, will the chickens also become leggy?"

"Hmm, I've never done that thing because it would be a waste of money..."

"I heard about ten years ago, a Dutch hygienist named Eijkman did just that thing."

When Nobusuke stopped using his chopsticks and looked worried, Hiromichi interrupted him from the side. Yōko had been telling him about the importance of taking countermeasures against beriberi and had asked him to check with a military doctor he knew to see if any experiments had been conducted on animals to see if they had ever developed beriberi.

"Ah! And what were the results?"

"Eijkman reported that it developed beriberi, just like humans. He also concluded that rice bran was effective against beriberi since it recovered when he switched its diet to brown rice."

"Yay! Then all we have to do is feed the soldiers rice bran every day—"

"But it's not that simple."

Yōko's eyes gleamed when she heard that and clapped, but Hiromichi poured the verbal cold water on her.

"Professor Tanemichi Aoyama of the Tokyo Imperial University School of Medicine conducted the same experiment and reported that the abnormality that appeared in chickens raised on white rice alone was not caused by beriberi."

"What? Isn't that a failed experiment?"

Yōko, who knew the historical facts and was convinced that there was no way it could be anything other than a vitamin B1 deficiency, confirmed this to Hiromichi with murderous intent toward Professor Aoyama, who was somewhere else.

"Apparently, that's not the case... I don't really understand it either, but he claims that although the symptoms are very similar, the details are different, so it's not leprosy."

"What is that sophistry? The structure of the body is different, so it is only natural that the detailed symptoms are different."

"Now, now, Yōko. Do you know the difference between a cold, tuberculosis, and bronchitis? It is actually possible to have similar symptoms but different diseases. That's just the way it is."

Nobusuke calmed Yōko's mood as she grew more and more grumpy. He did not understand why his sister was so desperate to get rid of that ailment, but he assumed that she must have an idea, since she was so bright that she had invented a new kind of fiber at the age of only four. In fact, it was already known at this time that barley rice, which contains more vitamin B1 than white rice, could cure beriberi. However, this was only a rule of thumb, and there was no evidence to support it. This meant that there was no reliable cure, which was feared by the people.

"...We should do a follow-up test as well," Yōko said grimly.

She was not an expert in medicine or nutrition and wanted to leave the "rice cake" to the "rice cake makers," but she was unsure if she could trust them.

"Good idea. Nobusuke, sorry, but could you take care of the chickens for the experiment?"

"I would be happy to take care of the birds again, but are you sure you want to do it?"

Hiromichi is a relatively childless man. When Nobusuke himself was hospitalized with diphtheria as a child, he received a number of stuffed birds as a gift from the hospital. However, Nobusuke wondered if he should use the Takatsukasa family's money to conduct an experiment that would require a large number of chickens and food. However, the reason that Hiromichi was cooperating with Yōko was not only because of her advice about the future damage that would result from the Russo-Japanese War.

"During the Sino-Japanese War and the conquest of Taiwan, there was an epidemic of leprosy in the Army. I also heard about the tragic situation at that time. If the same thing happens again when we are at war with a stronger country, we may not be able to fight anymore."

"I see. Then I can work on it with peace of mind."

"Please do. I may be exaggerating, but our country's future may depend on this experiment."

""Yes, Father!""

With their father's expectations on their shoulders, the siblings began their challenge.