"My hands are crooked" Words revived beyond the "isolation wall" March 14, 20:38

"My hands are crooked, but I must

hold them

. "

Writing was a way of life for those who were forcibly segregated into “small town” enclosures.

What is the “phantom poetry collection” that has been revived for the first time in 70 years?

(Society Department Reporter Yuzuka Seto

)

In an enclosure cut off from family and society

Even now, my sister doesn't know about my illness. Someday

she'll understand

.

No matter how long I wait, my brother

won't be able to come

home.

Little sister, don't you feel lonely,

little sister, don't you

feel sad

?

A poem written at a sanatorium where people were forcibly isolated, thinking about their distant families.

There are also many poems that describe the feelings of hometowns that cannot be returned to.

There is a voice on the other side of the sunset sea.

The colorful voices that I had almost forgotten spread out.

(Omitted)

Is it about this time that the sirens of that firearm factory will sound?

That voice, that faint roar,

flying over the evening clouds in many layers, shining in the wind,

echoing in the distance.

On the other side of the sea, memories of a distant day

in a rural town full of sweet strawberries

are springing up.

"Beyond the Sea" Koji Kojima

*Kodama

"Phantom poetry collection" reissued for the first time in 70 years

A collection of poems published 70 years ago in 1953 and republished for the first time this year.

It contains 227 poems written by 73 people who were admitted to 8 sanatoria for Hansen's disease nationwide.

At that time, leprosy patients were forcibly isolated in sanatoriums due to the wrong government policy.

Patients and their families were exposed to severe discrimination and prejudice, and it is said that they were sometimes separated from their families or driven into their hearts.

After that, it was found that the infection was extremely weak, and a treatment method was established, but the country continued the isolation policy until 1996.

Tetsuya Kimura, a curator at the National Hansen's Disease Museum, who contributed to the republication of the poetry collection "Inochi no Sprouts."

I wanted to revive the works that can be said to be "living proof" of the residents and continue to pass them on to future generations.

Tetsuya Kimura:

“It has never been republished for 70 years, and it has been called a ‘phantom collection of poetry’ in a state where even if you want to read it, you can’t get it. On the other hand, only these words can overcome the barrier of isolation.I think you can say that it is a collection of poems filled with the desire to have someone listen to it and to know who I am.”

Hope found in despair is also "to live"

It is said that there are many poems in which one can feel an unwavering determination to live.

my hands are crooked

but you have to get hold of it.

Missing teeth.

But I have to bite.

　Even if I lose my eyeballs, I still have to see, and even if I lose my legs, I

still have to walk.

(snip)

　I live like you live.

　You live like I live

(Omitted)

“To live” Itsuma Shiki

Itsuma Shiki who wrote this poem.

He became ill at the age of 13, left his family to enter a sanatorium, and began writing poetry before the war.

He left many poems until his death at the age of 42, six years after "Inochi no Sprouts" was published.

After the war, the therapeutic drug "Promin" began to be used in Japan, and Hansen's disease became a "curable disease," and his style changed.

Mr. Tetsuya Kimura:

“It is an expression of the will to live by making the most of one’s strengths, no matter how difficult the situation may be. Even if the drug is developed and the patient is completely cured, the quarantine policy still applies, so they cannot go outside and are confined there for the rest of their lives. I think everyone asked themselves, "What am I living here for? The answer is the work."

"The light went out in my hometown house" Tracing the lives of "poets"

What were the thoughts of the residents who wrote the poems for "Sprouts of Life"?

Wanting to trace his life, I visited someone who knew one of the residents.

Akiko Kishigami, 81 years old, lives in Kitakyushu City.

She has continued her exchange with Hiroshi Shima, who contributed poetry to "Inochi no Sprouts".

Mr. Shima developed the disease when he was 20 years old and lived in a sanatorium for half a century after that.

As a writer, he not only sharply denounced discrimination and prejudice against Hansen's disease, but also served as the honorary leader of the plaintiffs' group in the trial that pursued the responsibility of the state, and has worked hard to restore dignity.

Ms. Akiko Kishigami:

“Mr. Shima has a sharp way of life and is a person who sticks to his own convictions. He was a quiet person, but he had a quiet fighting spirit.”

This is a poem sent by Mr. Shima.

The day I

think of my hometown,

my heart is dark

Ever since the day

I got leprosy, my hometown house

is like a dark hollow with the lights out

My father

never

raises his

head

Cursing youth for not being able to marry,

my younger brother

was overwhelmed by everyone's anxiety,

and my hometown house

forgot to laugh

(omission)

"Thinking about my hometown home" Hiroshi Shima

Inspired by the work, Akiko began exchanging letters with Shima, and began visiting her at a sanatorium.

It is said that she heard various stories from Mr. Shima.

Shima's father had told the school that her son had died.

When she sent a letter to her classmates, she said, "Don't give me letters from leprosy patients," and she was refused.

In addition, she was forced to undergo sterilization because of her leprosy, and she was unable to have children.

Ms. Akiko Kishigami

: “I think Mr. Shima has lived a life full of regrets and sorrows.

Akiko was married and raised three children, but one day her husband took his own life.

She says she still can't forget what Mr. Shima said to her at that time.

Ms. Akiko Kishigami

: "When I called Ms. Shima, she said, 'Take your children. Don't force yourself to commit suicide. Take your three children in a taxi and come here. I'll take care of you.' I wanted to take care of Mr. Shima like a parent."

It is said that Mr. Shima later told me that this was because he had a strong feeling that children were treasures when he himself could not have children.

In 1999, Mr. Shima returned to society after completing his life in a sanatorium.

Akiko adopted her and continued to support her as her "daughter" until her death.

"Isolation site" in a "small town" with a crematorium

The sanatorium where Mr. Shima lived, "Hoshizuka Keiaien" in Kanoya City, Kagoshima Prefecture.

The area is approximately 370,000 square meters.

The vast site, which is about eight times the size of Tokyo Dome, was lined with residents' residences, schools, workplaces, a post office, a barber shop, and even a crematorium.

According to the National Hansen's Disease Museum, sanatoriums were once ``not facilities for patients to recover from their illnesses and return to society, but places for them to die there under the same treatment as prisoners''. They say they were forced to work in poor conditions with inadequate food and medical care.

Mr. Tomio Tateishi, a writer who interacted with Mr. Shima, guided me.

Tomio Tateishi

: “There was a distinction between the patient zone and the staff zone, and the patients were never allowed to go to the other side. There were no basic human rights, and people weren’t treated as human beings.

"Writing is living"

Five years after “Inochi no Sprouts” was published, Mr. Shima launched the doujinshi “Kazanchitai” in which various works such as poems and novels were published in the sanatorium, and served as editor-in-chief for 40 years. I was.

Mr. Tateishi took over as editor-in-chief and continues to work.

While attending the sanatorium and continuing to interact with Mr. Shima for about 20 years, I have felt his strong will to speak.

Mr. Tomio Tateishi

: “What Mr. Shima always said was that for him, writing is a way of life. The pen was the only thing that appealed to society. If you write, you will be recognized.To put it another way, there is no discrimination in literature.

Revived "buds of life" for people living in the present

At the National Hansen's Disease Museum, a special exhibition of "Sprouts of Life" is being held until May this year.

At the venue, there was a young generation quietly staring at the displayed words.

Mr. Tetsuya Kimura

"I think it was a few years when the connection with people really became weak due to the corona sickness.In such a situation, it was a word that crossed the wall of isolation in search of a connection with people. I feel like I have more of a base to accept things than before.Since it was 70 years ago, you may think that it is far from yourself, but it transcends the times. I believe that there will surely be works and words to strike.”

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 27,501 people died in sanatoria nationwide by the end of May last year.

About 900 people still live in sanatoria nationwide.

I myself read "Inochi no Sprouts" for the first time during this interview, and I felt that each person's emotions came close to my heart.

At the same time, I strongly felt that the problem of Hansen's disease should not be left to the distant past.

I hope that the words that have been revived in this era will reach as many people as possible.

News Department Reporter

Yuka Seto

Joined in 2022

Researched A-bomb survivors in college From now on,

I would like to continue reporting by visiting Hansen's disease sanatoriums nationwide