Entrusting Prayers to Swollen Eyelids: A Folk History of Illness and Charms—From the Edo Period to the Shōwa Era

Although a stye is now explained as a bacterial infection known as a hordeolum, before the spread of modern medicine, a variety of folk remedies were practiced, involving prayers, charms, food, wells, and shrines and temples. The names for styes—such as “monomogari,” “mebachiko,” and “meibo”—vary by region, and the distribution of these terms offers insights into regional culture and human interaction. Practices such as dropping red beans into a well, reciting specific phrases, or washing the eyes with spring water reflect a mindset that sought healing through the power of nature, deities, and Buddhist and Shinto deities. These customs were not mere superstitions; rather, they were ways in which people combined the knowledge and beliefs available to them to cope with illness in an era when medical care was insufficient. Even after Western medicine spread following the Meiji era, folk remedies did not disappear immediately; they persisted in homes and communities until the Showa era. Through these small charms for styes, we can glimpse the lived world of people—a world where anxiety about illness, community support, views of nature, and faith were all intertwined.