How did the Japanese smallpox epidemic start?
How did the Japanese smallpox epidemic start? According to records, smallpox was introduced into Japan in 735 from Korea. In the early days, smallpox was considered to come from “onryo” which is a mythological spirit from Japanese folklore. This spirit supposedly was able to return to the physical world to seek vengeance. When did smallpox become a pandemic? The Smallpox Pandemic of 1870-1874. How many Mexicans died from smallpox? The 1545 cocoliztli pestilence in what is today Mexico and part of Guatemala came just two decades after a smallpox epidemic killed an estimated 5-8 million people in the immediate wake...