Inspired by the ability of hormones to regulate metabolism, some medical researchers tried to realize the dream of human “rejuvenation” in the early 20th century. In 1920, Eugen Steinach (1861–1944) claimed to have found a scientific way to rejuvenate human bodies in a procedure he dubbed “the Steinach Operation.” Although highly controversial, the operation continued to be performed in Europe and America in the 1920s and 30s. However, its reception in Japan was different. When first introduced to Japan in 1921 by Sakaki Yasusaburō, it was immediately attacked by critics. It almost totally faded from the public eye after 1925 when Sakaki was ostracized by the academic medical community. Why did the rejuvenation method fail so quickly in Japan? Is it because this method was quackery or “pseudo-science,” or because rejuvenation was not attractive to Japanese people at all? This paper argues that the failure of the Steinach operation resulted directly from Sakaki’s defeat in the factional struggle within the medical community, while the operation’s scientific unfeasibility played a secondary role. The failure was further consolidated by the fact that the operation was not supported by or merged with other rejuvenation methods belonging to the non-Western yōjō/yangsheng tradition. This case study shows how the medical community in Japan in the 1920s evaluated the “effectiveness” of a new technology from the West and how this evaluation was strongly shaped by the power structure of the professional community. It also explores the interaction between Western and non-Western medical traditions.
