- One of the earliest mentions of Hansen’s disease in Japan dates back to more than 1400 years.
- In the olden days it was believed that Hansen’s disease was a curse or punishment from God, hereditary and contagious.
- Today we know that this is not true. But the people in the olden days believed it all and scorned those affected by Hansen’s disease and kept a distance from them.
- In order to prevent this infectious disease from spreading throughout the community it was accepted by all that sanatoriums for Hansen’s disease patients would be built to forcefully confine people affected by Hansen’s disease into isolation.
- The long history of discrimination towards Hansen’s disease has remained in the minds of people even to this today.
