About Hansen's disease
Hansen's disease is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium
leprae.
Not all cases of Mycobacterium leprae infection result in Hansen s disease.
Nowadays, only a few people develop the disease.
Nor does the disease progress rapidly once contracted.
The primary symptoms are skin lesion, and loss of sensation.
Before effective drugs were developed, the disease often resulted in
disﬁgurement and left serious disabilities even when it was in remission.
The disabilities and disﬁgurement caused stigma and discrimination.
Now, eﬀective drugs are available. With early detection and treatment, thedisease can be cured with no aftereﬀects.

About The National Hansen s Disease MuseumInformation
Hours of Operation：9:30 - 16:30 [last admission：16:00]
Closd：M ondays (or Tuesday if Monday is a NationalHoliday), during the New Year’s holiday, the day
following a national holiday, and museum rearrangement days
A d m i s s i o n：Free※Please refrain from eating and drinking in this building.
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The history of Hansen s disease in Modern Japan

MuseumJRMusashinoLineto Oizumi

1907, but the purpose of this law was not treatment. Rather, it aimed toAk.

The National Hansen’s
Disease Museum

A k Shin
its ustabegan to take measures against Hansen s disease with legislation in●eibu-Shinjukdisease was recognized, but the married couple were not allowed to have children.

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sufferers in different regions of Japan and send them to the sanatorium also
expanded.
After the Second World War, despite the fact that an eﬀective treatment wasdiscovered, the nation did not make concerted attempts to reintegrate people
with Hansen s disease into society, and society was unaccepting of survivorsof the illness. There was no place for the survivor to stay but in the sanatorium,and thus their state of isolation was continued. For this reason, survivors haveworked hard for many years to be allowed to continue living in the sanatorium.
In 1996, the law was ﬁnally abolished, and in 2001 a court ruling foundthe nation guilty of the violation of survivors rights with its policies. In thewake of this lawsuit, the situation of the survivors has changed greatly inrecent years. On the other hand, people who have recovered from the illness
are aging and the numbers of survivors is decreasing.
Now, the daily lives and the health care of residents are not exclusively conﬁned
to the sanatoria, and survivors who have reintegrated into society expect medicalcare without misunderstanding or prejudice from the sanatorium. For this reason,
how to make the continued existence of the sanatorium possible, and how toreconnect survivors to their families and society, has become a major issueumst ega . aw
akept for life under total quarantine in the sanatorium. Social movements to ﬁnd●Aoba-cho 2crossingTokorosest a● Tokyo Hospital

Tama-Zensho ensanatorium

to leave or if they disobeyed staﬀ. The marriage between people with Hansen s

The nation eventually strengthened the legal measures and many suﬀerers wereta.

ozaw
aShin- Oume
Highway

Koganei Highway

were also required to perform labor, and were subject to punishment if they triedSus

Kiyquarantine suﬀerers in a sanatorium.
People with Hansen s disease who came here were prohibited from leaving. TheyitsHighway.

Seibu- Ikebu kur oLinThe NationalHansen’s Disease●Tokorozawa ICHansen's disease has a long history in Japan, and this history has beenaccompanied by various forms of discrimination. The Japanese government

Purposesee

The National Hansen s Disease Museum was established as part of thenational eﬀort to erase the stigma associated with Hansen s disease and torestore the respect of people aﬀected by the disease by building a spacefor public edification and dissemination of correct information regarding
this disease. The eﬀorts are based on the Statement by the Prime Minister
Concerning a Swift and Comprehensive Solution to the Hansen s Disease
Issue, and the eighteenth article of the Law on the Promotion of Issues
Related to Hansen s disease.

Missions• To promote the disseminate information and awareness about Hansen s
disease.
• To erase the stigma, discrimination of, and social exclusion against peopleaﬀected by the disease.
• To learn and teach from the long history of stigma and discrimination
against Hansen s disease with a focus on the errors of the segregation
policy, and to relate the sufferings, hardships, and legacies of people
ﬁghting against the illness.
• To restore the respect of those who have suffered difficulties andhardships due to Hansen s disease, and to nurture the spirit of respect forhuman rights.
• To realize the social integration of people aﬀected by Hansen s disease.

Functionsto Shinjuk• Education and edification• Exhibition• Collection andpreservation • Research and study • Information center• Management and services • Planning and coordinationuHistoryAccess■By Bus1. About 10 minutes by the bus for“Kumegawa Station North Exit”
from the south exit of Kiyose Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line.
Get off of the bus at the stop "Hansen's disease museum".
2. A bout 20 minutes by the bus for“Kiyose Station South Exit”fromthe north exit of Kumegawa Station on the Seibu Shinjuku Line. Getoff the bus at the stop "Hansen's disease museum".
3. About 10 minutes by the bus for“Kumegawa Station North Exit”
from Shin-Akitsu Station (JR Line). From the bus stop "Zensho-en
Mae", it is about a 10-minute walk.
■By Train
About 20 minutes walking from Shin-Akitsu Station (JR Line).
■By Car
About 30 minutes from Tokorozawa IC (Kan’etsu Expressway).

The National Hansen's Disease Museum
189-0002 4-1-13 Aoba-cho, Higashimurayama City, Tokyo, Japan
Telephone: 042-396-2909 FAX: 042-396-2981
URL http://www.hansen-dis.jp
Thanks to Otemae University's Kathryn Tanaka for assistance with this pamphlet.
©2016.6 National Hansen's Disease MuseumJune 1993 ｜ On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Tōfū
Kyōkai (literally,The Wisteria-Maple Association), the“Prince Takamatsu Memorial Hansen's Disease Museum”
was established with a view to commemorating thelives of the people affected by Hansen’s disease, andto appeal to society to never repeat the wrongs of thepast.
April 1996 ｜ Abolition of the Leprosy Prevention Law.
May 2001 ｜ The plaintiffs won (in the Kumamoto District Court)
in a lawsuit over the unconstitutionality of the Leprosy
Prevention Law. The state revoked its right to appeal toa higher court and released a“Statement by the Prime
Minister Concerning a Swift and Comprehensive Solution
to the Hansen’s Disease Issue”.“The expansion of Hansen’sdisease museum”was incorporated in this statement.
September 2006 – March 2007
｜ Temporarily closed for the construction of a newbuilding and display production.
April 2007 ｜ Reopened as the“National Hansen’s Disease Museum”.
April 2009 ｜ The“Law on Promotion of Issues Related to Hansen'sDisease”was enacted. Article 18 of this law advocatesthe“Establishment of the National Hansen's DiseaseMuseum”.

Message from The National Hansen’s Disease Museum
This building is a museum that survivors of Hansen’s disease first created on
their own initiative.
We have collected materials that serve as a demonstration of the kinds of lives
led by sufferers, survivors, and people who have recovered from the illness.
Through these displays, we hope that the same mistakes our society has madein the past will not be repeated.

1F

2F

Exhibition Room
1. The history of Hansen's disease
2. Leprosarium
3. The proof of survival
Special Exhibition Room
LibraryInformation
PromenadeAudio Visual HallGallery
Study RoomNow, this has become a national facility, but it also plays a role in the recoveryof people who have suffered from Hansen’s disease and the restoration ofStudy Roomrespect to them.

This is a place forsmaller workshops
or lectures.

From your visit, we hope that you learn that even if an illness changes aperson’s appearance, people have certain unalterable and inalienable rights,
and we hope you think about these anew. We hope you will ask yourself,“Do I
respect people, do I have a caring heart?”Change starts with you.

1F
A place for survivor testimonies, lecturesand movies, and other events.

Exhibition Room 3“The proof of survival”
These exhibitions show how people
with Hansen’s disease searched formeaning in their lives and how theysurvived despite the terrible fate towhich they were condemned.
It also offers visitors important
information about how to live
together with people affected byHansen’s disease.

Library
Exhibition
Room 3Special
Exhibition
RoomEVEVExhibition
Room 1
Gallery

Gallery
Small displays are held here.

EVStudy
RoomExhibition Room 1

EVPromenade

Information◁ Entrance“The history of Hansen’s disease”

Exhibition
Room 2LibraryThis room offers an overview of the historyof Hansen’s disease in Japan with a focus on
government policy.

Audio VisualHall

Audio Visual Hall

2F

Personal Testimonies
Visitors can listen to personal
testimonies by survivors ofHansen’s disease and persons
concerned with Hansen's disease
that are preserved in video
recordings here.

PromenadeThe history and activities ofthis museum are exhibitedhere.
In addition, materials about
the process of how webecame a national facility
are displayed.

Books on Hansen's disease are available
for public use.

Exhibition Room 2“Leprosarium”
This room displays theharsh circumstances people
with Hansen’s diseasewere forced to live within
leprosarium, with a focus
on the days before effective
treatment was developed.

SpecialExhibitionroom
Special exhibitions
on a wide varietyof themes are heldtwice a year.