The Changes in Housing Planning and Living Environment in National Hansen's Disease Sanatoria in Japan

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K22446
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0304:Architecture, building engineering, and related fields
• Research Institution: Okayama University
• Principal Investigator: Park Minjeong 岡山大学, 環境生命科学学域, 特任助教 (80881094)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-09-11 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: ハンセン病 / 国立療養所 / 居住環境 / 住宅計画 / 入所者 / 患者住宅

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study focused on the function of Hansens’s disease sanatoria as residential facilities, not medical facilities, and investigated the changes in housing in response to changes in social background and residents' needs. The housing planning of each sanatorium was clarified and the overall trend and characteristics of each facility were analyzed, based on the changes in patient housing, population, age composition of residents, and facility maintenance.
Even facilities installed and operated under the same system were found to have different characteristics depending on the construction period and location conditions. Also, it is confirmed that ideal facility image of each sanatorium is reflected in each plan. These characteristics tend to be noticeable during the period of change, such as the expansion and reduction of facilities. In recent years, differences appear in terms of choosing the final abode for residents and opening the facility to the outside world.

Free Research Field

建築計画

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

全ての施設は目的と用途に応じて計画されているため、療養所の住宅計画の変遷を追うことは、近代の衛生政策と患者の療養生活の関係を明らかにすることであり、建築計画史の側面において重要な意味を持つ。これまでも個々の療養所に対する調査は行われてきたが、国立療養所13か所を網羅的に調査するのは初の試みである。ハンセン病療養施設の建設は諸外国でも多数確認されており、特定の療養所や時期に限らず全体像を明らかにしたことで、国際社会における日本の療養所の位置づけを明確にするための基礎的データとしての役割が期待できる。