ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how an invisible entity like the cholera virus came to be translated through the language of the monstrous and the supernatural in Meiji hygienic discourse. It turns to a literary text whose main characters must face various hybrid monsters: Izumi Kyoka's The Holy Man of Mount Koya. The chapter begins with a historical discussion of how modern hygiene brought the body to the forefront of national debates. It moves on to the analysis of Koya, focusing on the relationship between the supernatural and the discourse of hygiene within the text. The chapter discusses on the use of gender in this translation of Meiji hygienic language into supernatural images. It also discusses how the new Western knowledge of hygiene came to be translated into the language of the supernatural, specifically hybrid bodies and monstrous women. The chapter wants to briefly point out the complexities inherent in Kyoka's language of translation.
