International Leprosy Association -
History of Leprosy

  • International Leprosy Association -
    History of Leprosy

    Database

    Kaijin Akashi

    Status Advocate
    Country Japan

    Notes

    Kaijin Akashi (1901-1939) was an author and poet who lived in confinement in the Japanese National Sanatorium Nagashima Aisei-en from 1926 until his death in 1939. His anthology ‘Hakubyo’ sold 250,000 volumes. His best known prose is:

    Leprosy fell upon me a divine scourge.

    As my afflictions mounted one after the other, I sobbed, I cried out, I moaned in agony, even as I groped through the dark days of my illness for a ray of light to guide me. But like those luminescent fish dwelling in the sunless depths of the sea, I would have no light until I lit up from within.

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