Oku-Komyo-En Sanatorium


Oku-Kōmyō-En Sanatorium, or National Sanatorium Oku-Kōmyō-En is a sanatorium for leprosy and ex-leprosy patients on the island of Nagashima, Oku-machi, Setouchi, Okayama, Japan. The same island holds the National Sanatorium Nagashima Aiseien. As of December 2, 2005, the Oku-Kōmyō-En housed 252 residents.

History

Sotojima Hoyoen Sanatorium opened April 1, 1909 in Nakashima, Nishiyodogawa-ku, Osaka for patients in Kyoto fu, Hyogo prefecture, Nara Prefecture, Wakayama prefecture, Mie prefecture, Shiga prefecture, Gifu Prefecture, Fukui Prefecture, Ishikawa Prefecture, Toyama Prefecture, and Tottori Prefecture.
The sanatorium, built in the Kanzaki River delta valley, was hit by the Muroto typhoon on September 21, 1934. The storm left 2,702 dead and 334 missing, including 187 people in the sanatorium. On September 24, 1934, the Interior Ministry decided to transfer 416 survivors to other sanatoriums, including Nagashima Aiseien Sanatorium, Kyushu Sanatorium , Ooshima Sanatorium, Zensho Byoin , Hokubu Hoyoen Sanatorium, and Kuryu Rakusen-en Sanatorium.

Timeline

The number of inpatients in a given year depends not only on those newly hospitalized and the recently deceased, but also on other factors such as patient escapes and discharges, depending on the conditions of the times. Recently, the sanatorium was encouraged to discharge patients, but a long-standing segregation and the resulting stigma against leprosy patients might have influenced the number of patients discharged.
YearNumber of patients
1945871
1950839
1955962
1960968
1965931
1970809
1975728
1980658
1985585
1990503
1995422
1999345

YearNumber of patients
2003288
2004267
2005258
2006244
2007230
2008215