Up until around 1965, a wooden gate called the quarantine gate or patient access gate was installed at this spot. At one point, Keifuen was divided into two distinct areas: the patient area, where residents of the facility lived, and the staff area, where employees carried out their responsibilities. Residents were prohibited from leaving the patient area, and staff members wore white protective clothing called yoboi anytime they entered that area. The quarantine gate was situated on the border between the patient and staff areas, and it served as the place where new residents to Keifuen bid farewell to the outside world. Following the abolition of the Leprosy Prevention Law, the gate was removed in December 1997, coinciding with the demolition of the western side of the separation wall. “While there may be a gate to enter Keifuen, there is no gate to leave.” That was how residents described the difficulty of reentering society.
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National Sanatorium Kikuchi Keifuen History museum
At one point, Keifuen was divided into two distinct areas: the patient area, where residents of the facility lived, and the staff area, where employees carried out their responsibilities. Residents were prohibited from leaving the patient area, and staff members wore white protective clothing called yoboi anytime they entered that area.
The quarantine gate was situated on the border between the patient and staff areas, and it served as the place where new residents to Keifuen bid farewell to the outside world.
Following the abolition of the Leprosy Prevention Law, the gate was removed in December 1997, coinciding with the demolition of the western side of the separation wall.
“While there may be a gate to enter Keifuen, there is no gate to leave.”
That was how residents described the difficulty of reentering society.