DOI: 10.5507/ff.23.24462691.13

Illness in the Echo Chamber: The Rise of Leprosy Literature in Japan

Robert Ono (A.)

This chapter will assess the quick rise of “leprosy literature” in Japan during the latter half of the 1930s using much of the primary sources available, including diaries and letters privately penned by Hōjō Tamio, a young writer who was at its epicenter. I will begin by taking a look at the collection of “confessions” compiled by the government in 1921 to see how the authorities manipulated the voices of patients before the boom. Then I will focus on Hōjō, who was uniquely ambitious to join the mainstream literary establishment, while many residents of the leprosarium were reluctant to have their voices heard knowing that public scrutiny would only make them vulnerable in a society brimming with eugenic ideals. Finally, some discussion from a wider historical and cultural context should facilitate a clearer understanding on different forms of power that sought to control and sometimes aggravated the situations surrounding Hōjō and other patients.

pages: 347-372, Published: 2023, online: 2023