Regimenting the Skin

This article investigates the history of a seemingly simple health-maintenance practice as a prism for understanding processes of medical popularization. Kanpu masatsu, rubbing one’s skin with a towel, was developed and spread during the late Meiji and Taishō eras by medical doctors who combined older theories and practices with contemporary ones. But it was intended for popular use, to strengthen the nation by training individuals to prevent disease. What ultimately made kanpu masatsu particularly widespread, however, was the rise of militarism and imperial expansion during the 1930s and 1940s, when it became a tool for mobilization and social regimentation.