We are being asked to change our lifestyles, such as how to dine, in the so-called New Lifestyle advocated by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry and other groups concerned with preventing the spread of the coronavirus.
The lifestyles and customs considered common today are the results of a series of changes over time.
--Dining
The New Lifestyle is expected to continue until vaccines and the other measures can take effect. Some suggestions of the New Lifestyle include "Do not sit face-to-face, rather besides someone," "Concentrate on eating; refrain from chatting," and "Serve individually; avoid sharing plates."
In the Nara period (8th century), food being served on an individual plate was common among the upper-class. In the Meiji era (1868-1912), dishes were served on an individual box-shaped table, called hakozen, to each family member in merchant and farmers houses, and where to sit and what to eat were decided mainly by the family head. The head of the family could give a lecture to his family members during meals, but it seemed to be desirable not to chat during meals.
Use of the chabudai low table spread in central Tokyo from around the end of the Meiji era and then spread throughout the country in the early Showa era (1926-1989). The whole family surrounds the chabudai, and each member takes portions of the meal onto their own small plate from a large plate or bowl of side dishes. This style became a proper dining style for a nuclear family, which began to spread during the Taisho era (1912-1926), and it was OK to have conversations at the table.
Tall dining tables became popular along with the emergence of housing complexes, called danchi, in the postwar-period of between 1955 and 1965, with its layout of two bedrooms and an eat-in kitchen. Danchi was the admiration of families at the time.
"Eating at the dining table became a time to enjoy conversations as a family," University of Nagano Prof. Hiroko Nakazawa said. "The spread of the new coronavirus may have been an opportunity for many people to realize once again the importance of being connected through conversations during meals."
The risk of infection through conversations during meals is low between healthy family members only, according to experts on public health, but high when eating out, where many and unspecified people gather. Individuals should do what they believe is safe.
--Commuting
Telecommuting has been recommended in the New Lifestyle, and the way people commute has also been reviewed.
Commuting by train began in the latter half of the Meiji period, when streetcars operated by Tokyo Shiden (a city tram) started running in Tokyo.
"Trains began being jam-packed in the Taisho era," said transport critic Nobuyuki Sato.
A postcard of Tokyo Shiden dating from the Taisho era depicts a crowded streetcar titled "Tokyo's famous jam-packed train," indicating the situation has become par for the course.
From the end of the Meiji to the Taisho eras, government offices and companies grew, industry developed, and there were more factory workers, all leading to more crowded trains.
In 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake struck, and people living in central Tokyo moved to the suburbs. The current JR lines in the Tokyo metropolitan area have also become congested due to commuting. After that, private railways developed the suburbs and expanded railway infrastructure. During 1955 and 1965, the Japan Housing Corporation built danchi in the suburbs, and private railways also became crowded. Congestion became a social problem.
"Telework has the advantage of reducing commuting times and increasing productivity, but it can also affect the earnings of railway companies," Sato said.
--Sanitation
It was only in modern times that the importance of washing hands was recognized in Western countries as a measure against infectious diseases. In the mid-19th century, Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis pointed out infections in hospital were transmitted via the hands of doctors, and for the first time stressed the importance of hand-washing to disinfect one's hands. His claim was not immediately accepted in the medical world at that time, but the practice of hand washing has spread in Western countries with the progress of bacteriology and the rise of hygiene awareness.
In Japan, hand washing seems to have been practiced since the Taisho era to prevent infectious diseases. The use of soap has also spread since the latter half of the Meiji era, with the current Kao Corp. starting to sell soap in 1890. After World War II, schools and homes practiced hand washing to combat infectious diseases such as food poisoning and dysentery.
"With the spread of school meals, the practice of washing hands was taught as a part of strengthening hygiene education and became widespread," said Akiyoshi Tsuji, a professor emeritus at Toho University who specializes in infection control science. "The coronavirus outbreak has renewed the recognition that washing hands is an important preventive measure."
Protective masks became recommended after the 1918 influenza epidemic known as the Spanish flu.
We must continue working to prevent the virus from spreading based on the three principles of "keeping physical distance," "wearing a mask" and "washing hands" as stipulated in the New Lifestyle.
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