Oku-Komyo-En Sanatorium

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Oku-Komyo-En Sanatorium" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article has an unclear citation style. The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation and footnoting. (July 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

National Sanatorium Oku Kōmyō-en
Geography
Location	6253 Mushiake, Oku-machi, Setouchi, Okayama, Japan
Organisation
Care system	HealthCare of those who had leprosy
Type	National hospital run by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan)
History
Opened	1909
Links
Website	http://www.komyoen.go.jp/
Lists	Hospitals in Japan

Oku-Kōmyō-En Sanatorium (光明園), 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 (131 males and 121 females).

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 (173 patients, 3 employees, and 11 family members). On September 24, 1934, the Interior Ministry decided to transfer 416 survivors to other sanatoriums, including Nagashima Aiseien Sanatorium (78 patients), Kyushu Sanatorium (Kikuchi Keifuen Sanatorium) (50 patients), Ooshima Sanatorium (70 patients), Zensho Byoin (Tama Zenshoen Sanatorium) (70 patients), Hokubu Hoyoen Sanatorium (50 patients), and Kuryu Rakusen-en Sanatorium (98 patients).

• April 1938: Prefectural Oku-Kōmyō-En Sanatorium was opened at Nagashima Island, neighboring Nagashima Aiseien Sanatorium
• July 1941: National Leprosarium Oku-Kōmyō-En
• 1946: National Sanatorium Oku-Kōmyō-En
• May 9, 1988: the Oku-Nagashima-Oohashi Bridge was completed from the mainland to the islands of Oku-Kōmyō-En and Nagashima Airakuen
• April 1996: The 1953 Leprosy Prevention Law was abolished
• July 1998: The trial for compensation started
• May 11, 2001: The trial for compensation ruled that the previous Leprosy Prevention was unconstitutional
• May 25, 2001: The trial for compensation was confirmed. The compensation of 8,000,000 yen to 14,000,000 yen was given to patients, depending on the duration of unconstitutional periods

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 ^{[by whom?]}, but a long-standing segregation and the resulting stigma against leprosy patients might have influenced the number of patients discharged.

• Leprosy in Japan
• Takekichi Sugai, the first physician at Sotojima Sanatorium
• Torajiro Imada, the first director of Sotojima Sanatorium

34°40′15″N 134°13′28″E / 34.67083°N 134.22444°E / 34.67083; 134.22444