Results and Issues of Modern Historical Studies on Disabled People: Using the Research of Katsumi Namase as a Case Example

With the research of disability history gaining much attention within the discussion of disability studies, along with the emergence of the journal of disability history studies, historical studies on disabled people have flourished in the modern era. However, there has been a lack of critique on the discussion of research up until 1990. Thus, within this said research, I examined the results and issues of the research of Katsumi Namase. A disabled person herself, Namase revealed the history of disable people from a variety of perspectives such as the modern population of disable people, protection via authorities, and attitude towards disabilities. Furthermore, she left great results and a huge imprint on the research field, as she was the first to reveal the mechanism of using historical studies of disabled people as a whole rather than distinguishing between the different types of disabilities, and compiled historical records related to disabled people. Conversely, this paper points out that Namase’s arguments: carry a prejudiced sentiment towards disabled people; do not progress in explaining the actual situation around the lives of disabled people; oversimplify the origin of prejudice against disabled people by attributing it solely to the “disabled” label; lack validity in the composition of “prejudice and fellowship” seen in the modern-day attitude towards disable people; and do not consider regional factors. From there, as a reference for future historical studies on disabled people, this paper uses real examples to demonstrate: concrete explanations of the lives of disabled peoples in areas such as marriage; the viewpoint that prejudice and fellowship are one and the same; and the perspective of relatively thinking through the intentions of authority without capturing the current reality.