"A Hill of Nostalgia" -History of Tama Zenshoen left by the Blind Society-

National Sanatorium Tama Zenshoen Tama Blind Association, an organization of visually impaired inmates, published in 1979. This book was compiled over a period of four years on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Association for the Blind, based on the "necessity of telling the story of the blind and the Association for the Blind against the background of the 70-year history of ." It contains the testimonies of 35 people, including those with clear vision. A Hill of Nostalgia Tama Zenshoen
The book tells the stories of patients and their lives during the difficult-to-find period of the First Ward Prefectural Zensei Hospital, the search for "autonomy" in the midst of segregation, and the birth of the postwar Resident Association and the national organization All-Japan National Leprosaria Patients' Association (now All-Japan National Hansen's Disease Sanatoria Residents' Association), as well as the movements that followed. The book also describes how people who were considered "weak" in the sanatoriums because of their visual impairment lived their lives at that time and how they interacted with the staff and people outside the sanatoriums, from their own perspectives. This book is a valuable collection of testimonials that allows us to learn about the inside of the sanatorium and, at the same time, to grasp the society of the time.
In this exhibition, based on the testimonies contained in "A Hill of Nostalgia", we will introduce how the patients and Former leprosy patients, including the visually impaired, have walked through the history of Tama Zenshoen, using documents and photographs. It is significant to learn about their lives and activities in the past in order to consider the future of this park, which celebrated 110 years since its opening on September 28 this year. We hope that this exhibition will provide an opportunity for visitors to deepen their understanding of the history of Tama Zenshoen and the people who lived there.

[Date]
September 28, 2019(soil)to Friday, December 27
9:30am to 4:30pm (entry until 4pm)

【closing day】
Closed on Mondays and the day after national holidays (except October 14th, November 4th, and November 24th)

【venue】
Special exhibition room on the second floor The National Hansen's Disease Museum

[Opening hours]
9:30am to 4:30pm (entrance until 4pm) Free admission
*If you are visually impaired and would like a curator to personally explain the exhibits to you, please contact us in advance. (Special exhibition staff: Tashiro and Okubo)

Patient procedures- Laundry work for blind people
Taisho-period Zensei Hospital (now Tama Zenshoen) Museum Collection


Shogi board
1969 Tama Zenshoen Museum Collection


Nursing transition materials
1957-1976 Tama Zenshoen Tama Blind Association

Special exhibition-related events (All events are free to participate in, no prior registration required, first come first served)

gallery talk

[Date and Time]
September 28, 2019 (SAT), October 27 (SUN), November 16th (SAT), December 22 (SUN) All sessions are from 14:00 to 14:30

【place】
Special exhibition room on the second floor of the museum

We had a gallery talk on the above schedule.
The curator in charge of this exhibition explained about this exhibition.

Fieldwork: Visiting Tama Zenshoen depicted in "A Hill of Nostalgia"

[Date and Time]
October 11(Day), November 3(Celebration / Tuesday)
Both sessions run from 15:30 to 16:30.

【place】
Please come to the lobby on the first floor The National Hansen's Disease Museum 10 minutes before the start of Tama Zenshoen
First 30 people per session. May be canceled in case of bad weather.

We will do fieldwork in Inside the sanatorium on the above schedule.
A collection of testimonies by Tama Blind Association, which was the subject of this exhibition, A Hill of Nostalgia". Tama Zenshoen, which are featured here, with the curator in charge.

Former staff members talk about Tama Blind Association- Guests include Shigeko Yoshino and Yoshihiro Kamei

[Date and Time]
October 22nd(Tuesday / holiday)14:00 to 15:30 (doors open at 13:30)

【place】
First 130 people in the video hall on the first floor of the museum

We interviewed two people who were assigned to the Association for the Blind as staff members and had a close relationship with the editorial board members of "A Hill of Nostalgia" about what it was like at that time.
In 1981, Shigeko Yoshino and Yoshinobu Kamei were assigned to the staff of the Association for the Blind at a time when the caretaker positions, which had been previously held by the residents, were being replaced by staff. As this was his first attempt, Mr. Yoshino recalls, "Naturally, I had no idea how to do my job, and I started out in a state of groping.
The blind people's association was founded by visually impaired people who had more difficulties in their daily lives than those with clear vision, and in some cases were treated as a "nuisance. He himself visited the Diet building about twice a year to make a petition to improve the living conditions at the sanatorium.
Hansen's Disease The people in the sanatorium who had lost their eyesight or suffered from low vision due to the aftereffects of the "earthquake and tsunami" were people who secretly kept in their hearts the joy and pleasure they once felt when they could see, and fond memories of their childhoods. It was also an important part of Mr. Yoshino's job to support the people in the blind people's association who created haiku, tanka, and other short literary works that expressed the images stored in their "mind's eye" through words. When asked by those who had other senses besides sight, such as hearing, "What was that bird that just chirped? Mr. Yoshino himself was often asked "What was that bird that just sang?
Tama Blind Association Yoshinobu Kamei became involved in the Association for the Blind when he wrote a letter to Kaoru Matsumoto, whom he recognized from the book "Kukai Ichidokoro: Patients Write about the Seventy Years of Zenseien" published by Tama Zenshoen Resident Association in 1979, before he became a staff member of the Association. At the time, Mr. Matsumoto, who was the president of Tama Zenshoen Resident Association, was himself visually impaired, and was also making efforts in the activities of Tama Blind Association.
Kamei said that it was a time when the work that had been done by residents helping each other as "mutual aid," so to speak, was now being done as "public aid" in the capacity of an employee.
Kamei's energetic work included the creation and delivery of tapes for the tape library, which provided readings of books and other materials to the 13 Tomozonoen (Leprosy sanatorium) associations for the blind and Inside the sanatorium throughout the country. When he first began his work, open-reel tapes were used.
Mr. Kamei was also asked by members of the blind associations to write letters on their behalf. The reason why we were often asked to write for them as employees of the blind people's association, rather than the caregivers who were closest to them, was because the contents of the letters included personal stories, such as about family members who are now separated from them, and we were the easiest people to ask," Kamei said.
Ms. Kamei, who was an employee of Tama Blind Association for two years, later continued her work at Facility for the disabled, and was also involved in activities such as the chorus group that held a presentation at the public hall during the Zenseien Festival every November. Ms. Kamei sang nostalgic songs from the hall to the ossuary adjacent to The National Hansen's Disease Museum for the former residents who have now passed away.
Ms. Yoshino also touched on the memory of Haruzuki Sakai, the last member of Tama Blind Association since its establishment, who passed away in August 2019 at the age of 99. The participants were impressed when she mentioned that she missed many of her friends who had passed away.

The National Hansen's Disease Museum Public Relations Officer Kiyohara Ko

Let's try bell ball! Experience recreational activities held by the blind association

[Date and Time]
November 2(soil)

【place】
Training room on the first floor of the museum

We tried our hand at bowling using sound, which can be enjoyed by everyone, visually impaired and sighted, children and adults alike.
Bell ball is a recreational activity that Tama Blind Association has been holding on an irregular basis since 1985. Players ring a tambourine and throw a ball containing a bell (blind ball) in the direction it rings to knock down pins and compete for points. This time, participants were blindfolded with eye masks. By having participants imagine what it would be like to be "blind," as well as experiencing sensory paralysis and motor disabilities, the aim was to get closer to the senses of our blind members.
On the day, 24 people participated, from children to adults. Even if they scored high on their first practice throw, they sometimes failed to knock down a single pin on their second and third throws in the actual game, and it seemed that they were experiencing the difficulties of throwing the ball while blind, and the difficulty of figuring out the direction of the sound of a tambourine. Young children who were afraid of being blindfolded got to experience the sport by throwing backwards, and the whole family enjoyed it.
In the bell ball event held by the blind group, some people threw the ball with the help of staff, while others threw while sitting in a wheelchair. Despite the different disabilities caused by Hansen's Disease, each person participated in the competition while devising their own way of throwing. In the situation of being "blind", it seemed that each visitor was devising their own way of throwing. The highest score was 215 points.