Shiki Nagaoka

There are those who affirm that the birth of Shiki Nagaoka presented problems because of the abnormality of his nose, and even that the child's life was endangered by his extraordinarily prolonged birth. The mother was assisted by two midwives, as Shiki Nagaoka belonged to an aristocratic family. When they saw the child, the women discussed whether the nose was a punishment for having participated the mother as much as a good part of society in the excessive enthusiasm that accompanied the arrival of foreign ideas. For many, that alteration of habit was a real blessing, but for others, among whom the midwives found themselves, that attitude was associated with a full depreciation of the national dignity. The first group was represented principally by the aristocrats and artists, who saw in the exchange of ideas and products the key to modernization. On the opposing side were the clergy, the military caste, and the people of the village, who clung to atavistic customs for both physical and spiritual subsistence. When Shiki Nagaoka was born, the new, liberal politics of commerce were still recent, before being installed by decree when military forces abandoned absolute power

Curse · Eugenics · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Chinese history and philosophy · Gender Studies · Law