The History of Hansen’s Disease Sanitaria inPostwar Japan
A description through thelife-history of a resident
2021 Volume 18 Pages 13-33
Details
2021 Volume 18 Pages 13-33
This article describes the history of Hansen’s Disease sanitaria in postwar Japan
through the life-history of Toshio Nakaishi, who worked as one of the leaders
of the Residents’ Association of the National Sanatorium Oshima Seishō-en,
on Oshima Island in Kagawa. The data consists of life-story narratives, in particular
the essays published in ‘Seishō,’ the sanatorium literary journal, and Nakaishi’s
notebook given to me by Nakaishi’s guardian after he passed away.
In 1944, at the end of World War II, Nakaishi entered the sanatorium at the
age 17, and passed away in 2001 at the age of 74. His life is examined as four
separate periods: the period during which he and his friends formed the ‘Shisaku-
kai,’ a non-religious group; the period during which he was active in the
residents’ campaign against the new Leprosy Prevention Law, the period in
which Nakaishi worked as the chairperson of the Residents’ Association of
Seishō-en and the secretary general of the National Council of Sanitarium Patients
during ‘turning points’ in the sanitaria system; and the period of the later
days of his life, highlighted by the abolishment of the Leprosy Prevention Law
and a lawsuit.
As the result of this analysis, the following points became clear. The young
people devoted to literary art led the Residents’ Association, confronting the
problem of subsidies for residents, returning labor to staff, and other issues,
during a ‘turning point’ in sanatoria history. In spite of Nakaishi’s efforts, the
residents felt distrust and indifference toward the Residents’ Association. Nakaishi,
however, approved of acting while maintaining the ideals of the early Resiabstract
dents’ Association. Nevertheless, he witnessed again the disruption of the
Seishō-en community during the lawsuit and after its decision in his final days.
This article is also the result of conversations between Nakaishi and the author.
