江戸の老人は年金なしでどう生きたのか？ 家族・寺・藩が支えた老後の現実

How did elderly people in the Edo period manage to live in their later years, a time without pensions or long-term care insurance? Unlike today, there was no nationwide, uniform pension system in the Edo period. However, there were some mechanisms to support the elderly. Family support. Mutual assistance within tenement houses and villages. Alms from temples and shrines. Retirement allowances for samurai. There are also records of the Aizu domain providing rice stipends to the elderly, and of monetary payments being given to those over 80 during the late Edo period. However, these differed significantly from modern pensions. It wasn't a system where everyone received an equal and stable income; life in old age varied greatly depending on social status, region, family status, and the policies of the domain or shogunate. Living a long life was a cause for celebration. But when one could no longer work, and had no one to rely on, old age could be extremely difficult. This video provides a clear explanation of life for the elderly in the Edo period and the reality of the welfare system, which resembled a pension, from the perspectives of families, towns, villages, temples and shrines, feudal domains, and the shogunate. While it's often said that the average life expectancy in the Edo period was "around 30 to 40 years old," there's actually a significant trick to this. It wasn't that "everyone died before the age of 40"; the truth is that the circumstances surrounding the end of life were completely different from today. Unraveling the real life expectancy system of that time reveals three key points: 1. The "infant mortality rate" that significantly lowered the average: The biggest reason why the average life expectancy (average remaining lifespan at birth) was so short was the extraordinarily high child mortality rate. Due to inadequate medical care and sanitation, 20-30% of newborns died before reaching adulthood. At the time, it was said that "until the age of seven, a child is in the hands of the gods," meaning that it wasn't easy for young children to survive. This high early figure significantly lowered the overall average. 2. Surviving to adulthood typically meant living to around 60 years old. Data from historical records (such as religious census registers) shows that people who survived their childhood and lived to 20 years old often lived for another 35 to 40 years. In other words, most adults lived to around 55 to 60 years old. The presence of elderly people in communities, as seen in rakugo (traditional Japanese comic storytelling), is evidence that adults generally lived quite long lives. In fact, many famous historical figures lived to be as long as people today. Tokugawa Ieyasu: 73 years old (an extreme health enthusiast for his time) Ino Tadataka: 73 years old (began surveying Japan after the age of 50) Sugita Genpaku: 85 years old Katsushika Hokusai: 90 years old 3. "Unique Diseases" that Threatened the People of Edo While infectious diseases that regularly caused major outbreaks (smallpox, measles, dysentery, etc.) were fatal for adults, there was another historically unique cause: "Edo sickness." Edo sickness (beriberi): A disease caused by vitamin B1 deficiency, resulting in numbness in the legs and, in the worst cases, death from heart failure. While people in rural areas were generally unaffected by this disease due to their diet of brown rice and other grains, in Edo, eating freshly milled white rice was considered "stylish." Ironically, those who lived a luxurious urban life were more likely to suffer from vitamin deficiency and die. In summary: "While a great many children died shortly after birth, those who survived infectious diseases and the Edo plague lived healthy lives into their 50s, 60s, and sometimes even older." This is the realistic picture of life expectancy in the Edo period. Was old age in the Edo period truly supported by human kindness? Or was it a harsher reality than today? Please watch until the end. This channel presents surprising aspects of Edo period life, the lives of ordinary people, and history in an easy-to-understand way. If you found this interesting, please like, comment, and subscribe to the channel. [Main References and Materials for This Scenario] Masaaki Takagi, "Super-Elderly People in the Edo Period (2) - As Seen in Documents from the Shogunate-Territory Naoshima, Uwajima Domain, and Sendai Domain - (Part 2)," *Ritsumeikan Journal of Industrial Sociology*, Vol. 51, No. 4, 2016 Reference Collaborative Database, "How Long Did the Old-Age Pension System Established by Aizu Domain Lord Hoshina Masayuki in Kanbun 3 (1663) Continue?", Aizuwakamatsu City Aizu Library, 2010 Year Nanao Toishi, "Social Welfare Systems in Traditional Japanese Rural Villages—Focusing on the Edo Period—," *JA Mutual Aid Research Institute Journal*, No. 74, 2016 Ryosuke Ishii, "A Historical Study of the Shogunate's Elderly Welfare Po...