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[Supplements to a history of Hansen's disease in Kumamoto]
1National Leprosarium Kikuchi Keifuen, Kumamoto, Japan.
Insights
Hansenites in Kumamoto lived near Honmyoji temple until 1940, possibly due to reduced prejudice and better economic conditions compared to the Kyushu Leprosarium. This paper explores their long-term settlement factors.
Area of Science:
- Medical History
- Public Health
Context:
- Hansen's disease (HD) patients in Kumamoto, Japan, were historically segregated.
- Settlements near Honmyoji temple existed despite segregation policies.
Purpose:
- To investigate the reasons behind the prolonged settlement of Hansen's disease patients near Honmyoji temple in Kumamoto.
- To analyze the socio-economic and environmental factors influencing patient community formation.
Summary:
- Hansenites in Kumamoto resided near Honmyoji temple from 1871 until a mass arrest in 1940.
- Factors contributing to this settlement include a less prejudiced environment, favorable economic conditions, and dissatisfaction with the Kyushu Leprosarium.
- The closure of settlements and Kaishun Hospital may have been war-related.
Impact:
- Provides insights into the social history of Hansen's disease management in Japan.
- Highlights the resilience and community-building efforts of marginalized patient groups.
- Informs understanding of historical public health policies and their human impact.
Abstract:
Hansenites in Kumamoto could be traced to 1871, when a number of patients were found lining the road to Honmyoji temple. Earlier records have not been found. After the establishment of two private hospitals, first by an English missionary and then by a French Catholic, a public hospital, Kyushu Leprosarium, was started in 1909. In spite of the segregation policy for the management of HD patients, they lived near the Honmyoji temple until the arrest of 157 patients on July 9, 1940. Why they lived there for a long period of time is discussed in this paper. Factors might include the absence of prejudice around the Honmyoji temple where patients and healthy people lived together, economically favorable situations of patients living there, and bitterness of life in the Kyushu Leprosarium. The abolishment of the settlements as well as that of Kaishun Hospital for HD patients, run by an English missionary, might be in preparation for the coming war, but details have not been known.