Keisai Aoki was born in Tokushima Prefecture on April 8, 1893. At the age of 16 he developed leprosy and everything did not help, including the pilgrimage of 88 holy places of Shikoku. In 1916 he entered the Oshima Leprosarium and was baptized in 1918 as a Christian. He helped with missionary work, and he sent a letter to Hannah Riddell since he was worried about women's temptation. At Kusatsu, he met Riddell who was vacationing there and decided to go to Kaishun Hospital, where she was the director. He helped with her missionary work in the facility, which he described as having an almost monastic atmosphere. During his time at the hospital, he met Aiko Tamaki, who he became attracted to. This, however, worried him because this was against Riddell's strict policy of gender segregation. He decided to go to Okinawa to pursue missionary work at the strong suggestion of Riddell. It is not clear whether Riddell discovered Keisai's affection for Tamaki or whether he was asked to leave because of it. However, Keisai, himself, described Riddell's devotion to her patients even those who left under difficult circumstances, sending them letters and gifts after their departure.
Okinawa and Okinawa Airakuen Sanatorium
With missionary Arato, he discovered people with leprosy living in caves or other places, first on Iejima Island, and later on Mainland Okinawa, and they gave them clothes, food and spiritual ministry. At one place, village people burned down the houses of people with leprosy. They also discovered about 40 people forced to live in a small island called Jalma Island. Later they landed at Yagaji Island, where they acquired a piece of land, which Keisai eventually used to found the Kunigami Airakuen Sanatorium Okinawa Airakuen Sanatorium in 1938. In 1957, he became an official missionary of Okinawa Seikokai. On March 6, 1969, he died of myocardial infarction.
Haiku
Keisai also composed many short poems. These include the following:
Leprosy in Okinawa before Aoki
Among the Japanese prefectures, leprosy had the highest incidence in Okinawa Prefecture in 1925, 1935 and 1940. The Okinawa Government was inconsistent concerning the establishment of leprosaria. In 1931, Miyako Hoyoen Sanatorium was established on Miyako Island, but it was met with strong opposition from the mainland Okinawans. Rioting and burning of houses of leprosy patients occurred. With the help of various organizations and individuals such as Kensuke Mitsuda and Fumio Hayashi, the Kunigami Airakuen, now the Okinawa Airakuen Sanatorium, was established due to the efforts and leadership of Keisai Aoki.
