The separation wall was built in 1929. Made of concrete, its purpose was to prevent residents of the sanatorium from leaving the premises without permission. At the time, residents lived in an area at the north end of the sanatorium called the patient area, and the wall was constructed to close off the area’s west and north sides. On the east side, where there was no wall, a dry moat approximately 2 meters deep was created, and board fences and other barriers were installed along the border with the staff area to the south. When the grounds of Keifuen were expanded eastward following the Pacific War, a new dry moat enclosing the expanded lot was carved out, and the rule forbidding residents to leave the facility remained in place after that. When the separation wall was first built, the combined length of its western and northern sides stretched for about one kilometer. But later, the wall was torn down in multiple stages to improve the aesthetics of the landscape and to accommodate the expansion of roadways around the sanatorium. All that currently remains is a 400-meter stretch on the north side.
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National Sanatorium Kikuchi Keifuen History museum
At the time, residents lived in an area at the north end of the sanatorium called the patient area, and the wall was constructed to close off the area’s west and north sides. On the east side, where there was no wall, a dry moat approximately 2 meters deep was created, and board fences and other barriers were installed along the border with the staff area to the south.
When the grounds of Keifuen were expanded eastward following the Pacific War, a new dry moat enclosing the expanded lot was carved out, and the rule forbidding residents to leave the facility remained in place after that.
When the separation wall was first built, the combined length of its western and northern sides stretched for about one kilometer. But later, the wall was torn down in multiple stages to improve the aesthetics of the landscape and to accommodate the expansion of roadways around the sanatorium. All that currently remains is a 400-meter stretch on the north side.