IAU Symposium 358

ASTRONOMY FOR EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

-- A Roadmap to Action Within the Framework of the IAU Centennial Anniversary

Abstract Submission
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Email address: hi-isobe@kcua.ac.jp
Please choose your submission: 
Talk 

Please choose at least one scientific topic(s) for your submission:

4) Astronomy for society — Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Empathy in Communicating Astronomy;

7) Diversity in Research: identity, ethnicity and culture in research teams.


Author
First Name Hiroaki
Last Name Isobe
Affiliation Kyoto City University of Arts
Country Japan

Co-Author(s)
First Name
Last Name
Affiliation
Country

Title (no more than 200 characters): Astronomical and Meteorological Observations at Nagashima-Aiseien, an Hansen's disease sanatorium.
Abstract (no more than 2,000 characters):
In this paper I present a story of a group of Hansen’s disease patients who conducted astronomical and meteorological observations at a sanatorium, in which they were forcibly quarantined by the government of Japan. 
 Hansen's disease is an infectious disease once called leprosy. It was one of the most feared and abhorred diseases because it was considered to be incurable before an effective medicine was found in 1950s and often accompanied significant changes in the appearance of the patients. There was also a misunderstanding as being hereditary, and the patients and their families received fierce discrimination. In Japan, the national policy of forcibly isolating the Hansen’s disease patients to the sanatoria was taken in earth 20th century, and the legitimation continued as late as 1996. 
 Nagashima-Aiseien is one of such sanatoria located in an island in Okayama prefecture. At Nagashima-Aiseien there was an astronomical observatory from 1949 until around 1960, which had a Newton telescope with a 5-inch mirror made by George Calver. The astronomical observatory was founded upon a request from a resident in Nagashima-Aiseien, Mr Takeo Yokouchi. There remains a moving letter from Mr Yokouchi to Prof Yamamoto in which Mr Yokouchi wrote about his passion in astronomy and how natural sciences give them the meaning of life. Mr Yokouchi and his colleagues conducted regular sunspot observations, occultation observations, and occasional public star viewing for the residents of the sanatorium. 
The astronomical observation was a part of the meteorological observation also conducted by the partients at Nagashima-Aiseien. Although the astronomical observatory seemed to be closed around 1960 by unclear reasons, the meteorological observations continued by the colleagues of Mr Yokouchi until around 2011.
 These scientific activities are very unique in the history of Hansen’s disease patients, and offer a deep insight into what it means for people to look at the sky and do science. 

Would you like to contribute to the drafting of the future proposed IAU Resolutions? No
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