The history of hay fever in Japan is intrinsically linked to the Cryptomeria japonica. But to lay all the blame on the Japanese cedar tree misses some interesting parts of a story of the fortunes of modern living. Japanese people often refer to hay fever as the national illness, or
The history of hay fever in Japan is intrinsically linked to the Cryptomeria japonica. But to lay all the blame on the Japanese cedar tree misses some interesting parts of a story of the fortunes of modern living.
Japanese people often refer to hay fever as the national illness, or kokuminbyo (国民病). About a quarter of the population is estimated to suffer from it. That compares to just 8 percent of adults in the U. S., where it is simply referred to as a pollen allergy.
It wasn’t always this way. Hay fever was first reported here in 1964, the year of the Tokyo Olympic Games, when the nation sought to showcase its recovery from World War II defeat.
