Abstract
It would be kind to say it is merely an unfortunate oversight that Western history rarely elevates the discoveries made by great men and women outside the Anglosphere to their appropriate place in the historical narrative. Frequently, those discoveries are framed in the context of how our historical contemporaries brought obscure practices, therapies and treatments out from far flung places into the sphere of ‘civilised’ society. From darkness into light. The truth, of course, is something quite different when we take a closer look.
Emily Bunker, in collaboration with Dr Akitomo Matsuki, has written an aptly titled book And She Felt No Pain which impels us to look more closely at an important figure in the great story of anaesthesia. The story of Seishū Hanaoka, a physician, surgeon and anaesthetist born in 1760 in a village some 500 km from Tokyo, is brought to life by Emily in her book. Drawing heavily from the dedicated research conducted over six decades by Akitomo Matsuki, we hear the story of Seishū Hanaoka’s life and how he developed the decoction mafutsusan, capable of inducing general anaesthesia.
When I began reading this book, I thought that mafutsusan’s contents might have been one of those long-lost mysteries, but to the contrary Emily dedicates a chapter discussing the six plants that Hanaoka identified as key to preparing mafutsusan, the active ingredients required, and the ratios needed to delicately balance their potentially harmful effects. What is even more striking is the story of how this came to be understood. In reading the story we realise how truly impressive Hanaoka was. His sheer force of will, capacity for endless experimentation (often on himself and friends) and unrelenting dedication to serving those who needed care were the other key ingredients that allowed mafutsusan’s development.
Hanaoka’s fame as a skilful physician, surgeon and anaesthetist spread widely in Japan and, we as readers discover, many sought to learn the craft Hanaoka had dedicated his life to serving. The dissemination of his techniques for performing anaesthesia and surgery undoubtedly allowed what had previously been rightly feared by many to be accepted and sought after as the ‘standard of care’. The singular fact that more than forty years before Morton demonstrated the use of ether for surgical anaesthesia, Hanaoka had refined and successfully used his formulation for the same purpose is of singular historical importance. However, this fact alone doesn’t recognise the incredible story that Bunker tells about Hanaoka’s lifelong dedication to task, his humility and sense of service.
Emily Bunker’s telling of Hanaoka’s success in developing and using mafutsusan as a general anaesthetic some forty years before ether’s first notable use is an important step towards Hanaoka being recognised more widely as one of the fathers of anaesthesia. Her easy writing style and way of telling Hanaoka’s story in the context of Japanese society in the 1800s brings his story to life.
