The Rickshaw Puller Experiment

The life of Erwin von Baelz in Japan (2)

After his arrival in Japan, Baelz became fascinated by the incredible physical endurance of the Japanese working class, particularly the rickshaw pullers. At the time, western medical science—specifically the “Voit Law”—asserted that a high-protein, meat-heavy diet was essential for heavy physical labor. Baelz observed that the Japanese pullers lived almost exclusively on a plant-based diet of rice, barley, and vegetables, yet they could run long distances while pulling passengers for hours on end.

To test the validity of western dietary laws, Baelz designed a controlled physiological experiment. He selected two healthy rickshaw pullers and provided them with a traditional Japanese plant-based diet and a “luxurious” Western diet rich in meat in rotation.

The results were a revelation to the German doctor. He found that the puller on the meat diet quickly began to feel sluggish and requested to return to his traditional food, finding it impossible to complete his heavy labour under the Western regime. Baelz concluded that while meat might provide a temporary boost for short, intense bursts of energy, the traditional Japanese diet was far superior for sustained, grueling work. Based on the practical insights gained from these observations, Baelz became a vocal advocate for the Japanese military to maintain its traditional, familiar rations. He also shared these findings in Europe, delivering a speech to a medical society in Berlin on 20 March 1901 regarding collective nutrition through a plant-based diet and its balance with physical work. This experiment not only challenged European medical dogmas but also solidified Baelz’s deep respect for the indigenous wisdom of the Japanese lifestyle. It became one of his most famous contributions to the study of nutrition and human physiology.